Purchased these because of the binding, crampons & they were on sale. For me, the bindings were great, no problems. In frigid weather mine went on in a snap, while other's frooze their fingers trying to do up their bindings. The crampons got me up hills in a breeze. We hiked all winter in the mountains of NY; deep snow, powder, packed & icy. Up & down steep hills -I loved them. On the down side, they don't pack on your back well at all because of the crampons and non-flexible binding. For early spring & early winter, when I'll only be needing snowshoes intermittently I'm going to look for a light pair that pack better on sale.

Similar Products Used:

Tubbs Altitude & Northern Lites

Having tried a number of Tubbs snowshoes, I found the Pinnacle to be the most comfortable. In fact, I frequently forgot that I was wearing them. Though the Adventure and Altitude have the same form factor, my feet collided more frequently when using them. Perhaps the plastic binding on the Pinnacle restricts lateral motion. Note that the Pinnacle is slightly heavier than most other shoes and, because of the plastic bindings, will require a larger carrying bag.

Similar Products Used:

Tubbs Altitude, Adventure Tubbs running snowshoes (all at dealer demos).

Bought these to replace my Crescent Moon Permagrins that I gave away to a family member. After one trip, I took them back to EMS for a refund. In my opinion, for most snowshoers the decking material and frame is a non-issue. The two most important aspects are the binding (ease of use and how it grips your foot) and the crampons (how well do they bite). Quite simply, the binding system is in dire need of a re-design. The Bear Claw bindning promises a lot, but does not work for my type of snowshoeing, which is mostly off trail. On steep ascents and descents, my foot was constantly sliding backwards and forwards in the binding. In order to keep my foot secure, I had to tighten the binding so much that it was cuting off the circulation! Pick you poison: too much slop in the binding or numb feet. On the plus side, the Viper crampon teeth are unmatched in any other snowshoe. The bite and grip with those long stainless steel teeth is amazing.

Customer Service

EMS has an outstanding return policy: If you're not happy, bring it back for a refund.

Similar Products Used:

Crescent Moon Permagrin, Redfeather, Atlas 1033