MSR is my favorite. I have the MSR Lightning Ascent, which were not cheap when I bought them 6 or 7 years ago. I don’t typically go on groomed trails, so maybe I’m a little rough on the shoes. However I was surprised how often the normal LL Bean style of snowhoes break. I’m a 160 lb guy who snowshoe hikes maybe a dozen times a year if the snow is good. I ended up breaking 3 pairs of LL Bean snowshoes, one a year until I broke down and bought the more expensive MSRs. This was back when LL Bean did refunds, so I wouldn’t recommend that strategy today. Find some nice snowshoes if you plan on going off trails or in deep snow.
kevinlovesthebees t1_iy40hux wrote
Reply to Beginning snowshoeing (looking for recommendations) by Snooper2323
MSR is my favorite. I have the MSR Lightning Ascent, which were not cheap when I bought them 6 or 7 years ago. I don’t typically go on groomed trails, so maybe I’m a little rough on the shoes. However I was surprised how often the normal LL Bean style of snowhoes break. I’m a 160 lb guy who snowshoe hikes maybe a dozen times a year if the snow is good. I ended up breaking 3 pairs of LL Bean snowshoes, one a year until I broke down and bought the more expensive MSRs. This was back when LL Bean did refunds, so I wouldn’t recommend that strategy today. Find some nice snowshoes if you plan on going off trails or in deep snow.