MSR

Lightning Explore Snowshoe - Men's

Not your typical MSR quality/reliability

Familiarity:

I've used it once or twice and have initial impressions

Size Bought:

25cm

Height:

5' 10"

Weight:

180

Purchased on Steep and Cheap December 2024. I give 5 stars to their & Backcountry's customer service for addressing my initial concern, but unfortunately my final conclusion is that these snowshoes are inferior and unreliable. My prior experiences with MSR gear is that it typically is durable, reliable, and field serviceable. Will have to reevaluate that stance I guess. Initially, one snowshoe arrived with a defective Televator bar identified on my first trip out with them. When deployed, it had too shallow an angle with the deck of the snowshoe to hold weight or stay locked in the upright position. In the end, customer support sent out a new pair of shoes (much appreciated!). After about 5-6 miles of moderate difficulty snowshoeing in typical wet Cascade snow with the replacement pair of snowshoes, I walked out of the right snowshoe deck with the binding still attached to my boot. On further inspection, the 3 rivets that hold the binding hinge assembly onto the snowshoe had popped off entirely! A malfunction like this, in winter in the Backcountry, could certainly be consequential. I carry a substantial repair kit, and only just was I able to repair the snowshoe durably enough that I could complete my overnight trip without turning back. Making the repairs multiple times really slowed travel in the snow, and fortunately I was out in favorable conditions. My worn MSR Revo snowshoes have been in service for 7+ years, NEVER had these types of problems, apart from a broken strap or two which I consider to be reasonable (not that hard to carry an extra strap or two). It seems like this line of MSR Lightning snowshoes, although they are lightweight and perform well (when working), are not reliable in the field, or have significant issues in the manufacturing or quality control process that need to be addressed. Travelling with bolts and nuts and the tools to install them, or a pop rivet gun, seems impractical and unreasonable given the price of these snowshoes. My advice - stick with the hard decked models of MSR snowshoes until MSR sorts out this significant quality concern with their Lightning line.

Great snowshoes!

weight is featherweight, straps are an amazing design and the grip is awesome! These are very well made snowshoes and i'm happy with my purchase.

Binding crushes forefoot

Just got the latest 2022 design and returned it due to crushing force exerted by the front strap. Would probably be fine with hard toe boots, but mine have a pliable toe box where the strap tightens over the ball of the foot. I tried for an hour moving foot position back and forth but there was always pressure on the outside toes that I’m sure would be painful by the end of a hike. Pretty and lightweight though.

The pin broke 2km on first use

The shoes are nice, the new entry system is a wiz and the Straps are a bit small. Unfortunately, the shoes broke shortly after purchase due to a failed pin.

Great!

I ordered these for the guys in my family as they were hesitant to go snowshoeing with me because of the hassle they always felt with traditional bindings. No more complaints and whining, lol, now that they have the Lightning Explore! These ones are so simple, only 2 straps, click in place, stay firmly closed even when breaking trail in deep new snow. No issues with these at all.

the notched straps

I bought this pair snowshoes. On the third hike, the notched straps have loosened. to be continued....

Bad design, decent company follow up

I purchased these snow shoes a couple of weeks ago and took them for the first time this week. About an hour and change into the day, I noticed one of the bindings had become very floppy . I removed the snowshoe and discovered that the pin holding the binding to the frame had sheared off. I cut the trip short and had to posthole in mid calf snow for about a mile to get to a more firm surface for the return to my car. I contacted MSR immediately, and to their credit, they were very responsive. Apparently the "clevis pin" which holds the binding to the snowshoe came off. Based on the photos i provided, they said "all you needed was a clevis pin, and you'd've been back in business" and that "this is a rare case/doesn't happen often. " I wouldn't expect to need to carry a "clevis pin" as a spare part the next time I snowshoe. Bottom line: I like the ratcheting system which makes shoe/boot adjustment much easier for those with arthritic hands (like myself) I think MSR has a design problem here. I would have rated the product one star, but I appreciate the prompt customer followup, so two stars it is. And I would definitely order some "clevis pins" along with the snowshoes.

Best from two world

the straps are easy to remove. It lacks a strap in the middle. I added it personally. best outfit super satisfied. good flotation on the snow. I can't say anything about sustainability. It's difficult to descend in a straight line on a certain slope.

with a second HyperLink bindings, the best

I added a second binding near the ankle. It share the traction points

Great for varied conditions with ice and snow

I use these for fun and on the SAR team , they hold great in mixed conditions. and I can rotate the shoes for long side slope crossings . the Easy in and out make a big difference when things get "" urgent""