During winter in Oregon, I lean toward Snow sports over sailing and, this being an El Niño year, we've had plenty of snow. Lisa and I decided to try out snowshoes and our neighbor loaned us two pair. MSR Lightnings and Tubbs Sojourn 25s. Both pair were purchased used but in good condition.
The Lightnings were an older model, with no heel lift and two toe/instep straps 25"x8" (retail new $219).
The Lightnings were an older model, with no heel lift and two toe/instep straps 25"x8" (retail new $219).
Underneath the foot pad are two lateral static crampons extending the full 8" of width. There is also a toe crampon attached to the binding. Adding to all this gripping power are serrated sides to the aluminum frame. I never once felt like the shoes would slip, uphill, downhill, sidehill, climbing over logs.
Lisa however was wearing hiking boots and the shoes seemed sloppy in the binding.
She had some difficulty getting her foot positioned properly fore and aft in the binding. The result, she tripped twice in these shoes and fell down. She also said her right foot, which seemed to be too far forward, hurt.
The Tubbs Sojourns are no longer made. They seem to be a beginner model which probably retailed around $150-$200. Note the tag end of the straps are not secured and flopped loose on my left boot.
The bindings have a molded plastic toe pocket that really holds your boots in place with straps that cross over the instep. Current year models seem to have improved on the already good binding design.
Traction comes from the toe crampon and a V shaped crampon under the heel. The 25"x8" frame is aluminum tubing.
After using the MSRs with the long serrated side rails, I felt unsure when walking downhill or side hill. The snowshoes slipped and our conditions were not icy.
Bottom line: Tubbs have a nice toe pocket and binding, but the shoes lack traction. The MSR Lightnings have great traction, but it is harder to get your boot placed correctly in the binding. If these were the only two models of snowshoes in the world, I would choose the MSRs and Lisa would choose the Tubbs. I felt like the 25" long shoes gave plenty of buoyancy for day hiking with me at 5'8" and 180 lbs and a fanny pack. With a full backpack, I might want some extra length.
Next we'll try renting MSR Evos and something else so, I'll be back.
So I just bought the MSR EVOs. We used them one day at Timberline Lodge in 24" of fresh snow and they were great.
