Snowshoe Question: Atlas 8 Series

[una_dogger]

Hi
Does anyone have Atlas Series 8 (825) snowshoes?
How do you like them?

Thanks,
Sabrina

 

[Greg]

I have the 8 33's

They have been fine for me doing short to moderate winter hikes. The crampon is the same length as the 10 series, but lacks the side grippers that the 10 have. What I really like about them is that they are quiet, they don't make alot of harsh noise while walking. I just bought 1025's, but haven't tried them yet.

 

[mavs00]

I have the 833's as well. I like them for local stuff around here (Western NY) which is mostly just rolling terrains stuff, but as greg mentioned, the crampons are not really overal aggressive for peakbagging.

They tend to slip a bit on steeper stuff so (it seems that) you end up spending lots more energy than normal to make upward progress, particularly breaking trail. It never stopped me from doing the hikes, its just that I felt spent more energy. It kinda like you gotta climb 75 feet in order to climb 50 given the consant slipping back.

I upgraded to the 1033 this year and have yet to use them. One other thing about the 8 series is that I am not a real fan of the bindings. They work, but they are designed for rolling terrain so when you go into steeper stuff they loosen on a semiregular basis and have to be tightened (which is pretty easy, but annoying).

Overall, not bad shoes, you can get away using them for most activities (I did), but I'd spend the extra if you plan on doing lots of mountain stuff in them.

 

[una_dogger]

Thanks very much!
I have the opportunity to get a new pair for ninety bucks, so I'm goin' for it.
These will be my first snowshoes!

 

[mavs00]

I don't blame you. I find any minor imperfections and design annoyances always look better when your buying at about 50% of retail

All in all, you'll be fine. Just understand they are made for "rolling terrain" and you'll have a little extra workout going on serious ups.

 

[Jonatha]

Atlas 8 series

una dogger

I have the 10 series but I also work for Atlas! Did you have a specific question? Were you planning on climbing the Whites this winter in them? Can you get the 10 series for a discount as well?

 

[king tut]

I've got the 1033 series, and i like em quite a bit. I'm not sure how many "teeth" the 8 series have on the bottom for crampons. Probably depends on what you plan on snowshoing. With the 1033's, i can pretty much climb up an icefield with all the teeth on them suckers.

 

[Lawn Sale]

I have the 1025's, and while the crampons are ruthless, they don't look like they'd take much abuse as they're pretty thin.

 

[una_dogger]

Oh man!

I saw them on Craigslist and they were brand new, tags and all. Seller said she'd ship, do paypal, etc. When I emailed her back she had already sold them!
Doh!
But thanks for all the tips, I'm definately in the market but need a deep discount because my funds are low!
If anyone has already upgraded and has a used pair they'd like to sell, please email me at
[email protected]

PS Darren,hope this is OK to solicit used goods!

 

[Chip]

This is a link to a discussion with links, where there is a good "intro" to snowshoe options.
The loss of the Atlas shoes may be an opportunity to take a step back and look at all the options. I was surprised at how many options there are; shape, bindings, crampons, hinge, etc.

 

[Jonatha]

Tubbs and Atlas

yes Kevin, they are both owned by K2!

 

[bruno]

you may want to take a look at the 12 series (the yellow ones) if you're gonna go up some of the steeper icier routes as the crampons on 'em are more aggressive. i don't know how much heavier they are but i love 'em. you can move a lot faster in winter on them! good luck!

 

[carole]

And I'll add: I agree with Bruno.

 

[mavs00]

I upgraded to the 1033 this year and have yet to use them. One other thing about the 8 series is that I am not a real fan of the bindings. They work, but they are designed for rolling terrain so when you go into steeper stuff they loosen on a semiregular basis and have to be tightened (which is pretty easy, but annoying).

Afterward:

I have now, The 1033's are FAR SUPERIOR to the 8 series in mountainous terrain. Having used both, I can definitely say that the 10's (if not 12's - never used them) make hiking in steep stuff way easier.

2 things stick out. The bindings, which are designed for this type of stuff handle the greater movement and lock your feet in better. Very little futzing around with them. And two, the crampons on the bottom have some serious teeth. Weather it was over typical steep snow or rime covered rock above treeline, I did very little slipping (hence less work).

I used the 8's for a few years and got where I was going, but now that I've used the 10's, I'm way happier. I'll keep my 8's for the local rolling stuff though.

 

[Lawn Sale]

I take back my previous statement about the crampons not holding up on the 10 series. The trip up Mt. Adams a few days ago was easy with the crampons and they didn't waiver a bit on the ice. In fact, being thin allowed them to dig into the ice and snow easier than with my Tubbs snowshoes, and there was no deformation of the picks, even with my 36 pound pack.