Use:
- 10-12 days on Nordic Ski Patrol (groomed ski trail and rugged snowshoe trails)
- 2 day hikes (mostly packed snow)
- 1 overnight backpacking trip (temperatures hovering just over to just under freezing, wet but mostly firm old snow)
Field Report:
Most
of my use of these snowshoes have been during my ski patrol
responsibilities along with some casual use for day hikes and a single
overnight with a full pack. So far all of the use has been in
temperatures around or just under freezing and all of it occurred in
the central cascades of Washington state. Snow conditions were a mix of
fresh deep soft snow to packed trails with one trip on slightly crusted
wet snow.
One
of the things I was interested in is a pair of
snowshoes that are quick and easy to put on and take off for when I
need to quickly switch between skis and snowshoes. These do not
disappoint. After configuring them for my boots I simply slip my toes
into the bindings and then step down to seat my heel. Then lock the toe
clamp and tighten the ratchet across the top of my foot. Quick, easy,
and secure. I did discover that it is possible to over tighten the
rachet, which rapidly became uncomfortable, but was easily loosened
so not really a problem. Removing them is a reverse of the process and
even quicker. I am very happy with the bindings. They are everything I
could possibly ask for. During use I have not had a single time when
the bindings gave me trouble, slipped or allowed my boots to shift or
move.
These snowshoes allow the most natural gate I have ever
experienced with a snowshoe. When walking on firm snow I found the
snowshoes would flex during the heel strike and extend back to shape as
I transition from the flat of my foot to my toes, giving a feeling of
propulsion, regardless of if I am on groomed flat snow, rolling
un-tracked virgin snow, or rugged torn up heavily used snowshoe trails,
the shoes performed perfectly. During a day hike I ended up running and
jumping around playing with my dog. And once while stopping to get some
selfies, I kind of forgot I was even wearing snowshoes...until I tried
to walk backward without thinking and tripped. I laid in the snow for a
bit laughing at how it could be possible to forget I was wearing
snowshoes. One of the advantages of solo trips is that no one sees when
I do silly things like that.
When
it comes to traction I am equally pleased with these snowshoes. During
the day hike with my dog I intentionally climbed up a few quite steep
areas. With and without using the heel lifts. The traction was
excellent on both soft fresh snow as well as old crusted snow. What
surprised me was the traction when traversing a steep section and
walking directly down. Regardless of the terrain or angle of attack,
the shoes provide excellent traction. I also used these to climb a
rather treacherous area to reach the top of a popular water fall at the
end of one of our snowshoe trails. Despite deep soft snow I was able
to walk up and down with little difficulty. The traction provided
was excellent.
A
side note on the heal lift. I really like the ability to extend and
retract the heal lift with my ski pole and not having to bend down or
worse remove my gloves. It may not seem like a big deal but trying to
bend all the way over to reach my foot when on uneven snow and wearing
a full pack is not something I, being old and fat, like to do.
Likes: Easy and fast to put on/off. Secure comfortable bindings. Excellent traction. Natural gait. Easy to use heel lift.
Opportunities: None that I have found so far.
The
SYMBIOZ ELITE are the one of 4 designs in the HYPERFLEX line of
snowshoes. This version includes all the bells and whistles for rugged
terrain and climbing.
I
would note here that the snow shoes arrived with 4 sets of plastic
cleat covers (one for each pair of steel cleats). This is a nice detail
but I anticipate I am very likely to loose one or more of these. I
would prefer if they were all attached together.
That
covers the major features and components of these snowshoes. I would
note that the more I look at these the more details I discover,
so I will endeavor to cover more details in the field and long term
reports.