I bought my MSR Lightning Ascents four years ago when I started climbing the ADK 46W. The first pair lasted about three weeks--OK, I was a little hard on them, but according to MSR, that's what these snowshoes were intended for. "Our premier snowshoes, the Lightning Ascent™ snowshoes are prepared for anything" (from MSR website). The second pair lasted a little longer but broke at the same place; the rivets attaching the crampon to the binding pull out and then the crampon breaks across the rivet hole. Later I determined that the rivets were aluminum and obviously not suited for the intended use. I told MSR that, but they didn't seem to be interested.
Overall, I think I got two new pairs of snowshoes and then two new sets of bindings, before the MSR representative told me it was "time to move on, and get another type of snowshoe". They supported their product warranty, but they seemed not to have any interest in listening to what the problem was or trying to improve the product. Relatively simple changes are all that are needed to make this a robust and dependable snowshoe.
Last spring I put a pair of Denali evo bindings on my Lightnings after the rivets pulled out again. This hybrid combination, the stronger evo binding paired with the excellent frame of the Lightnings, seemed to work very well. I probably put 100 miles on them till I noticed a funny sound when I was between Colden and Avalanche lakes on Jan. 7. This time the tab on the frame, into which the bindings are pinned, was broken. The other side held and I was able to walk back to the Loj.
I should assure the casual reader that this is not an isolated problem with an aggressive hiker--just do your own search on this forum or adkhighpeaks.com to read all about it. If you buy or own these snowshoes, I recommend that you check the rivets after every use. It is not a question of if the problem will occur with active use, it is when.
I considered the final breakage to be the result of normal wear and tear, not poor design or materials. The steel tab broke across another rivet. Actually, it was a relief to be done with them, and now I can now move forward with my MSR evo ascents which are a great product.
If anyone wants some spare parts to extend the life of your snowshoes, I can send you one 25" orange snowshoe with unbroken binding. Seriously, send me a PM if you are interested; otherwise they are going into the recycling bin. UPDATE: the spare parts have been claimed and will be going to a good home.
Overall, I think I got two new pairs of snowshoes and then two new sets of bindings, before the MSR representative told me it was "time to move on, and get another type of snowshoe". They supported their product warranty, but they seemed not to have any interest in listening to what the problem was or trying to improve the product. Relatively simple changes are all that are needed to make this a robust and dependable snowshoe.
Last spring I put a pair of Denali evo bindings on my Lightnings after the rivets pulled out again. This hybrid combination, the stronger evo binding paired with the excellent frame of the Lightnings, seemed to work very well. I probably put 100 miles on them till I noticed a funny sound when I was between Colden and Avalanche lakes on Jan. 7. This time the tab on the frame, into which the bindings are pinned, was broken. The other side held and I was able to walk back to the Loj.
I should assure the casual reader that this is not an isolated problem with an aggressive hiker--just do your own search on this forum or adkhighpeaks.com to read all about it. If you buy or own these snowshoes, I recommend that you check the rivets after every use. It is not a question of if the problem will occur with active use, it is when.
I considered the final breakage to be the result of normal wear and tear, not poor design or materials. The steel tab broke across another rivet. Actually, it was a relief to be done with them, and now I can now move forward with my MSR evo ascents which are a great product.
If anyone wants some spare parts to extend the life of your snowshoes, I can send you one 25" orange snowshoe with unbroken binding. Seriously, send me a PM if you are interested; otherwise they are going into the recycling bin. UPDATE: the spare parts have been claimed and will be going to a good home.
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