The TSL 226 mentioned upthread are fine for this kind of thing... I have had a pair of TSL 225 (previous version of the same snowshoe) for about 15 years now and they are still going strong. I have a pair of MSR Lightning Ascent as well - supposedly a more upmarket snowshoe - but I actually prefer the TSLs, especially for going downhill in powder. I think you get a better sliding effect than with the MSR model.

There seems to be something of a snowshoe Röstigraben... you see a lot of people with TSL models in Suisse romande, but MSR seem to have a near monopoly over this side of the country.

I know this thread was a loong time ago but for whatever reason (priorities, blah) I never bought any snowshoes... until now.

First I recently did a little snowshoeing and had an older pair of MSR Revo snowshoes with the 3-strap binding. While I enjoyed the walk and scenery, the shoes themselves were a bit uncomfortable due to the straps creating pressure points through my hiking shoes. Also, I didn't feel that they held my foot very well.

However, I knew I wanted to keep doing it so I then did my research and went and bought myself a pair of MSR Lightning Ascent snowshoes with the new paragon bindings as see here: https://www.msrgear.com/ie/snowshoes...ng-ascent.html

Holy crap, what a difference. The binding is ridiculously comfy, it's like a glove on your foot and it holds the foot to the shoe snugly whatever angle my foot went to. The snowshoes themselves are light and yet strong and give great traction (pretty much in best in class), although this still has its limits as I found out during a particularly steep and challenging part where I slid on a rock, couldn't get traction in the deep and steep snow and then almost disappeared into the netherworld.

I spent ages reading up again before I bought some and although MSR and most snowshoe brands recommend a 25" for my height/weight, in the end I went with a 22" based on the recommendations of experienced snowshoers posting on forums who swore by downsizing to 22" (despite being bigger and heavier than me) as it was more maneuverable and fine for the majority of snowtrails they encountered and they could then carry flotation tails if needed. I am happy to say this was true, as the shoes were light and nimble yet still gave me decent float on pretty much everything I tried. Snowshoeing is really a fun activity to do with a good cardio workout and great scenery. I shall now be a regular.

I saw some TSL's in a store and I really, really did not like the design where it has no metal teeth running along the side of the show and instead only has a limited number of "spikes" (6 or so) that dig into the snow (see image below). I cannot see how that provides enough traction and so I wouldn't put my faith in that system.

Simplest solution seems obvious, pop into a sporting good or mountain gear store to determine your size

The whole base is made of sections with rdiges that stick into the snow. The additional spikes are for hard ice.

These are more for simple hiking.

The ones you bought would be fine for almost anything and possibly overkill on a lot of stuff.

It isn't made of numerous ridges of any substance, I checked it in person. It's mostly smooth-ish plastic with the metal spikes placed at intervals. Considering that the TSL 206 costs 130chf (https://www.decathlon.ch/ch_en/snow-...name=match_and) , versus the 85chf of the Quechua SH500 (https://www.decathlon.ch/ch_en/sh500...en-s13258.html) (which has heavy duty steel rails and coped with tough terrain this weekend when my friends who were wearing them joined me) I consider it a crummy design.

When you need a pair of do-it-all snowshoes and your comfort and safety is at stake, there is imo no overkill and it was 300chf well spent. I would trust them in pretty much any situation (within reason).

They are designed for easy-hiking. In a similar fashion to the ladies who go Nordic walking around where we live, I can imagine them wearing these to do the same sort of thing in the snow.

The actual plastic underside has reinforced sections which basically divide the snow shoe into sections that dig into the snow.

Get a strong plastic cup and push it an inch or so into the snow. It's not going to move horizontally. The undersides are like that.

They are designed for a particularly light, easy form of snow shoeing waking and definitely have an upper limit to their purpose. Yours don't.

There are sign-posted snow-shoe walking trails at Raten, Oberägeri. I sometimes take the kids there for some "snow-shoeing". These TSL snow shoes are ideal for that kind of thing. No sharp edges to catch ankles or rip trousers etc.

Yes they don't have toothed outside-edges. They don't need them for what they were designed for.

But comparing them with yours is like comparing a full-suspension MTB with a folding shopper bike - pretty pointless.

That is why I did not compare them to mine, but in fact to much cheaper snowshoes.

Chuff, why bother arguing ?


You obviously did your research you found what you want, bight the Rolly Royce model of snow shoes and are eveidently very happy with your choice.


I also tend to go for the over kill and buy far better than i may need, gives me the choice of knowing i have the best and can go anywhere, i do need to worry if they're going to break.


Buy cheap, buy twice

I'm not dismissing his choice. I'm just saying the ones he is criticizing are designed for a different purpose.

I see your point, but as he took the time to respond I just wanted to make it clear that he was mistaken in some of what he posted. No big deal.

I still think they are a crap design and even if I wanted light-use shoes I would still buy the Quechas (which are the ones I compared them to), so lets agree to disagree.

Well, a spammer seems to have bumped this thread so I will update.

In the end after doing a lot of research I bought a pair of MSR Lightning Ascent in size 22" (in cobalt blue, really nice colour), with the optional tails for if I need more float. I have now used them a fair few times and they have been really, really good. Not only are they very light and well made, but the binding system is excellent and is very snug, secure and comfortable while being very easy to fasten.

I have also yet to feel the need to use the tails as 22" has proven to be a good size for my weight (less than 70KG) and I can move quite quickly and nimbly in them. The grip seems excellent both up and downhill and have given me confidence in my trips.

They were definitely not cheap at 299chf, but when it comes to my health, safety and comfort in challenging and sometimes risky environmental conditions then I think it's sometimes worth investing more in my equipment.

I can update too. Opposite to Richdog's detailed research approach, I saw a pair for sale in Aldi and just bought them. They actually sat unused for a year or two, but actually used them a couple of times this year.

Pretty happy with them. Very easy to put on and take off. Metal construction and seems quite robust. And was easily able to walk in a variety of terrain and inclines.

Now that we sorted the kit part, what about some ideas of where you take it out? Interested in recent tours reflecting the conditions.

We were recently in the Ibergeregg area, which is pretty tame. Pizol last week from Pizolhütte, much more alpine (and a damn expensive lift). I need to explore a bit the terrain close to me here in Waegital / Fluebrig.