( 2 reviews )
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Posted: Jan 31 2009
A friend of pointed me in the direction of these snowshoes. Wow, was he right on the money. These are best snowshoes I've tried. The grip is incredible, far superior to everything else when the snow turns hard like it does in the Sierra Nevadas. They are light, easy to walk in. Definetly buy the tails to use after you get a foot of more of new powder. Take them off when you don't need them on the firm snow and you can actually run with these things. I'm going to get another pair with the first sale I see.
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( 1 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Jan 28 2009
I couldn't resist buying the EVO Ascents when they were on sale at EMS during their January 20% off sale. Get the tails anywhere you find them (LLBean online & free shipping) but definitely get them. My old Tubbs Mountain 30s and my Atlas 10-25s have served me well and both companies have replaced the snoshus(!) when they failed under my heavy use. Both were badly worn and ready to fail. My thinking was these EVOs could serve the functions of both my old snoshus. I first tried my EVOs sans tails on a run around my local Grafton Lakes ponds to see how they compared to my Atlas 10-25s used for the same purpose. The EVOs felt lighter and their slightly narrower width worked beautifully. I tried them again on some packed snow both in Grafton and up in the VT Aiken Wilderness. The uphill and downhill traction were better than my Atlas. Next trip was to ascend Stratton Mtn on the AT trail, a modest 6+ mile hike on moderate slopes. The EVOs with tails performed superbly. They were better than my old Tubbs Mtn 30s that have been up and down Stratton many times. My 150lb weight and about a 20lb pack were easily handled by the EVOs. The cross slope traction was far superior to Tubbs and notably better than the Atlas. Soon, I will take the EVOs to the Dacks and try them on some steep ascents and see how they compare. I am very confident they will stay my first choice, though. Noise - many complaints have been voiced about the MSRs slapping on the snow. Yet, I found them to be acceptable and not really any noisier than my Tubbs on cold snow. So far, the EVOs have not been on wet snow. Traction - the EVOs have outperformed both my Atlas and Tubbs models. Rankings - On gentle to steep trails...1, EVOs, 2, Tubbs, 3, Atlas - On flat runs...1, EVOs(no tails) 2, Atlas If you run a lot, get dedicated running snoshus!
