I bought my Lightning Ascents a bit over a year ago. At that time, the binding used two straps over the top of your boot; they have upgraded it this year to three straps over the top of the boot.

And that may solve what I found to be the key problem: my boot drifted in the binding.

Overall, I agree with the other reviewers about its traction, light weight, the value of the ascent bar, and its generally strong performance. But the foot drift was an annoying problem.

I think MSR probably changed the binding in response to the problem I and others encountered. I have used the same three-strap binding on other MSRs (the Denali Ascent), and it has been very satisfactory.

So, while I would rate my two-strap Lightning Ascents at three stars, my guess is that the three-strap model would deserve four or five stars.

I've snowshoed for over 30 years and still have my old wood & rawhide Alaskan style. Now that I live in Colorado I've been using the Lightening Ascents mostly on the north and west slopes of Pikes Peak. The crampon design of the bottoms are incredible for gripping at extreme angles. Besides the crampons the weight of these is a great point, very light. The only improvement I could recommend would be better lateral movement of the bindings to allow for traversing easier. The Atlas shoes do this well. I've used mine with my big old Sorels, my Lowa hiking boots and with North Face winter boots and all work well.