Northern Lite snowshoes..

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I bought a pair of these on sale several years ago ... at the end of the season. With this year's snowfall, I suspect there may be some good sales coming up again soon. I had used a pair once that I liked so much I bought them as a spare because I already had a good pair of Tubbs.

The ones advertised appear a bit different than mine. The tails on mine are offset to one side. I lent these to someone whose feet turned out slightly and he much preferred them because this prevented him from stepping on his own snowshoe so much.

They are really light weight but I find the crampons smaller than my Tubbs. Mind you, mine is probably an older model. The result is that I use the Tubbs in steep or heavy duty conditions; the Northern Lites otherwise.

The binding is very user friendly and I much prefer it to the Tubbs, Atlas or any other snowshoe I've worn.
 
I have been fortunate to have tried/demoed much of what is out there for Snow Shoes. The best thing about the Northern Lites is that they are just that LIGHT! When I first tried these they were so light that I thought for sure I would bust them up in a heart beat; but I was proven wrong. These puppies have stood up to multiple Presie Traverses among other bigger expeditions. What I like best about them is that they are simple in design and therefore easy to carry basic parts for repair.
 
Hey Skiguy, I hope so, I've been eyeing a pair for awhile but I still think there is still some usable life of the sherpas anyway.

I think I must of gotten the last pair of Elite 25s! I notice that yesterday when I followed my link that I posted, the Elite 25s don't show up anymore...

Jay
 
I have a pair of NL's (25'') and they weigh about 3/4 lb less each than MSR's. I have carried one as a spare on a rough hike involving a large group and it came in VERY handy. I would rather carry the weight of a NL than a repair kit and freeze my hands trying to fiddle around doing a repair job. Just swap the busted shoe for a NL and keep moving!

In conditions such as those encountered at xmas in the Sewards I prefer to carry them on my back versus heavier shoes.

I loaned them to a friend for a trip to Iroquois and they really sucked on Algonquin.

Do NOT leave them laying around on a windy summit or they will blow away.
 
As Skiguy said, they look pretty fragile, but I've put three solid years on my Elites with no problems. When I first held them I would have bet they'd break the first time out. Not much crampons under them and the bindings allow a little side to side movement , but they're fun to use. And they're LIGHT !

Dave
 
Ask Pete Hickey. :D

(It was icy and the crampons just wouldn't grab.)

Actually he didn't say they they sucked, I think he said they were the $hits.
 
Was it the length of the crampon that made it bad on Algonquin? I know the NLs seem to have short ones. I could PM pete for sure if he doesn't read this...

My Sherpa Climber's crampons are big and tall, I found them adequate on Algonquin on saturday.. Crampons would of been better but I managed to go up and down with snowshoes. Crampons were used by both of us on Wright though.

Jay
 
I have a pair that the decking broke toward the end of the first season I had them. They were repaired free of charge by the company. I've had them for 4 years and like the fact that they are so light but they could use a more aggressive crampon. I weigh about 260 with my pack and they have held up pretty well since that first year.
 
So.. While JoeCedar is talking up the demise of his Lighting Ascents, I thought I'd revisit my Northern Lites that I have. This is the third winter season, I'm using these and can report that I've basically had to replace the three rivets in the binding with bolts and nylok nuts due to the large aluminum washer failure. The big AL washer that the rivet goes through has a tendency to basically bend into a concave like manner which eventually fails and then the rivet simply pulls through the binding decking.

So far, my fixes have held up, and I carry a spare bolt/nut/washer setup and tools to fix. It is almost impossible to fix a broken rivet in the field because usually the old rivet is still intact, but without the washer, the crampon has no chance of staying close to the binding. Once, two of the three rivets fail, the binding usually fails because the snowshoe will just rotate/pivot around the one remaining rivet.

My decking is holding up, one rivet in the back is starting to enlarge and I can see some signs of stress on the back, probably because I tend to jump down ledges on occasion. :)

The kevlar(????) mesh underneath the rubber binding is starting to show from age, might want to try to protect that some more soon... Over the years, the protective rubber cover is starting to wear.

Overall, happy with them, they are fairly durable, despite their insane lightness...

And customer service has been good. I paid for a crampon that I broke (out of warantee) and the guy there sent me three crampons so now I have spares.

Jay
 
My NL Elites have held up well, but I would agree with the above.

Strengths are a very light deck, and general durability.

Weaknesses of the model include a wimpy crampon (short and non aggressive), and not the greatest binding. The binding has two problems:

1. The heel strap tends to slip down off the heel of a boot, causing one to "walk out " of the shoe, unless the binding is made quite tight. (The heel strap needed to be attached to the binding an inch higher, so it would tend to stay up.)

2. The "Voile" style straps are made from a synthetic rubber (probably a PU) that is rock hard with no stretch at temps below 0F. It may stretch just fine in the store, but not in the cold. (These straps needed to be made from a natural rubber based elastomer.)

I've given this feedback to NL (a few years ago), but it was not well received. They basically told me that they knew what they were doing, and they weren't interested in my input.

TCD
 
Ah, yes, I have noticed the rear strap slippage, though I wasn't sure if it was sliding down or just slipping as it's just a friction binding and not a buckle like the MSRs... Thought about a new system, but haven't had time to play with it..

Jay
 
TCD said:
I've given this feedback to NL (a few years ago), but it was not well received. They basically told me that they knew what they were doing, and they weren't interested in my input.

TCD
Click to expand...

Yes, unfortunately that has been my experience with them as well. I called and talked to the owner, inquiring if they ever planned to make a more Northeast mountain-friendly model of the Elite, with an improved binding, and a larger chrome-moly or stainless crampon, opining to him that this would be a hot seller in a market dominated by much heavier shoes. The owner didn't seem very interested - same attitude.

Reviving this Zombie, we might as well link to a previous NL thread by Jay: Northern Lites
 
Tim Seaver said:
I called and talked to the owner, inquiring if they ever planned to make a more Northeast mountain-friendly model of the Elite, with an improved binding, and a larger chrome-moly or stainless crampon, opining to him that this would be a hot seller in a market dominated by much heavier shoes. The owner didn't seem very interested - same attitude. [/URL]
Click to expand...

I completely agree. I would love a light, durable and capable snowshoe suitable for our neck of the woods!

So when are you going into business? ;)
 
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The crampon could be easily replaced if you have the time, you could go crazy with it if you want to. All you need to do is replicate the three hole form for the binding and go at it. I had grandeos plans to do such thing but life kind of got in the way.

Jay
 
I often wonder if a more kick-ass crampon on the NL's would result in increased or premature wear and tear of the rest of the snowshoe.

Also, I believe these snowshoes are primarily designed for and sold to snowshoe marathoners in the Wisconsin area.
 
Neil said:
I often wonder if a more kick-ass crampon on the NL's would result in increased or premature wear and tear of the rest of the snowshoe.
Click to expand...

I got tired of wondering some time ago :D and tried this. I have upgraded 2 pairs of NLs to larger crampons (front and back) and haven't noticed any unusual wear or tear. And it does kick ass.

One could even speculate that a larger, more secure crampon might actually result in less wear, not only because said wearer of aforementioned snowshoes would be taking less 30 foot screaming, sliding wingers over mixed ice and granite surfaces ala' Fred Astaire (or the pop equivalent, the Happy Feet Penguin ), but also because this larger, taller crampon is also distributing the weight of the hard contact points to a broader surface, but I'll let Doug take over from here...
 
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