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Test Report by Jeremy R. Laporte

ATLAS 11 SNOWSHOE
TEST SERIES BY JEREMY R. LAPORTE
LONG-TERM REPORT

INITIAL REPORT - January 20, 2010
FIELD REPORT - April 06, 2010
LONG TERM REPORT - June 01, 2010

TESTER INFORMATION

NAME:	Jeremy R. Laporte
EMAIL:	jeremyrlaporteATjeremyrlaporteDOTcom
AGE:	28
LOCATION:	Idaho Falls, Idaho, U.S.A.
GENDER:	M
HEIGHT:	5' 10" (1.78 m)
WEIGHT:	163 lb (73.90 kg)

I grew up in France by the sea, camping and backpacking for as long as I can remember. Three years ago I moved to Idaho U.S.A. discovering new environments: wilderness, arid lands, forest, mountain, and snow. I also started to learn rock climbing, ice climbing and mountaineering. Because of many contacts I had with the military I thought they had the best gear available but I recently befriended some hikers and became aware of lightweight backpacking. I'm slowly migrating to that style, mostly using hammock during summer and lightweight tents during winter.

INITIAL REPORT

PRODUCT INFORMATION & SPECIFICATIONS

Atlas11

Manufacturer: Atlas
Year of Manufacture: 2009
Manufacturer's Website: http://atlassnowshoe.com/
MSRP: US$229.95
Listed Weight: 4.58 lbs (2.08 kg)
Measured Weight: 4.52 lbs (2.05 kg)
Model: 1130 which are 30 in (76 cm) long and support a load between 150 and 250 lbs (68 to 113 kg)
There is also the 1125 model available for load between 120 and 200 lbs (54 to 91 kg). I choose the 1130 because even if the 1125 was in my weight range, I often carry a winter pack that makes my weight heavier than the 200 lbs (91 kg).
Frame: V frame, black coated aluminum tubing
Decking: Nytex material
Bindings: Wrapp Plus technology with ball plate in metal and rubber, molded frame, nylon webbing straps, urethane heel strap with sure clip buckle.
Heel Lift: bar black coated aluminum bar
Crampons: All-Trac™ toe crampon provides traction in all directions. Wider traction tabs on the sides and corners complement sharp front and rear points. Ice tips on the heel cleat with four angled, ridged side rails.

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS

Upon arrival the snowshoes looked like what I expected after looking at the manufacturer's website. I then inspected the snowshoes for any default in particular with the decking or bidding. I saw no frayed or otherwise damaged material.

There were no instructions nor tag included with the snowshoes.

The decking is fitted on the frame thanks to 7 rivets and 6 additional ones holding the heel crampons.

The binding fits through a hole in the decking material. It is held in position by the spring loaded suspension which is a strap of a material, which feels like very dense vinyl going across the whole width of the snowshoe. The binding is attached to the strap by 4 reinforce rivets. The strap is set-up so that the binding is on a spring and naturally tilts forward. The binding frame is made of semi rigid plastic but has some pad of red and black foam to protect the shoes. The system locking the straps in place is simple but feels very sturdy.

Details of the binding:

Binding

The Atlas 11 does not include a heel plate, but instead the Nytex of the decking is a lot thicker in this area and a rubbery logo protects this part of the decking.

The heel bar is a simple metal bar that can be lifted up and locked to allow the feet to stay flat while the snowshoes are at a climbing angle. See the picture below. I'm very excited to test this feature but putting the metal bar back is not super easy and requires my two hands so I don't know how practical it will be in the field while wearing the snowshoes.

IMAGE 6 Heel Bar

The crampons look very aggressive. It looks like there are teeth popping out from everywhere with this pair of snowshoes. I counted 31 teeth but describing them is difficult so pictures will work better.

Teeth

TRYING IT OUT

I first tested the snowshoes at home by just putting my boots inside the binding and strapping them on. Tightening the binding was very easy, though I can see that the ball of my shoes is not fully in contact with the toe plate. I don't know if it's because the sole of my boots curve up or because of the shape of the toe plate or because I didn't have my feet in the shoes to put pressure.

Binding Front

Unfastening the heel loop was extremely simple but the rest of the strapping, even if I can open the locking
mechanism very easily, doesn't slide off very well so getting my shoes out was not very easy.

Through the initial testing I found out that there is a loop to put the excess strapping from the toe strap.

Strap Loop

This little addition is very welcome because I have small feet and excess strapping was always annoying for me and getting tangled in the snowshoes teeth. The excess heel strap is maintained by a little plastic tab. The tab seems sturdy but in the past I had problems with plastic breaking because of extremely low temperatures. All the material seems of high quality but only testing over time will confirm it.

SUMMARY

The Atlas11 appear to be well made. They are very aggressive in look and construction, and the teeth and heel bar are getting me very excited to take them out and try them in steep terrain. I always struggle with backcountry snowshoes in steep terrain because I would take a step and slide back to almost where I was, making progression difficult.

Idaho is not very flat so it will be great to feel and see a difference in performance.

FIELD REPORT

FIELD LOCATIONS AND CONDITIONS

During field testing, I brought with me the Atlas 11 three different times, but I stayed in the same area:

Kelly Mountain, Idaho. The area offers mountain, forest, dry land and river area but is currently covered with some deep snow. Temperature ranged from -2 F (-19 C) to 20 F (-7 C) and the weather was either sunny or cloudy with snow falls. Altitude stayed between 5000 ft (1530 m) to 6000 ft (1800 m). Most hikes were over 6 miles (10 km) long and I always brought enough gears to be able to spend the night in the snow if something happened. So I would carry in addition to the essential items, water, food, small gas canister stove, extra clothing, warm layers, tarp and lightweight sleeping bag. That would give me a pack weigh of about 25-30 lbs (10-14 kg).

Me Hiking

PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD

My overall experience with the Atlas 11 is positive. I was very pleased with the fit and performance of the snowshoes.

The snowshoes are very comfortable on packed terrain. On hard pack snow such as groomed trails, it was a pleasure to use them. I had enough floatation that despite my load I was not sinking in the trail. A section of the trail I covered was a hard pack road. The snow was so packed that I didn't need any snowshoes to walk on it. On this part the snowshoes were more of a burden than anything because I couldn't walk normally at all so I decided to take them under my arms. But when the trail was not overly packed it was a pleasure to ride with that Atlas 11.

Taking a break

On unpacked snow the Atlas 11 would provide wonderful floatation. Despite my weight and my pack I would just sink barely above my ankles while wearing the snowshoes but if I removed them then I would sink with snow to my hips at every steps.

The binding system is great and I found it easy to put the snowshoes on and my shoes would not move at all. The binding didn't move or stretch, the snowshoes stays in place throughout all the hike without needing to be readjusted. I had a harder time though removing the snowshoes. The fasteners would open very easily and don't seems to be weak but I had a hard time opening the whole binding system to free my boots.

The decking doesn't show any signs of wear so far and like I said earlier provided great floatation.

The tooth provided excellent grip on the snow. My partner had a harder time keeping balance and pace while we were going uphill or downhill. They do not show so far any scratches or any maintenance needs.

The heel system was great on steep up hill. It made it so much easier to climb hills without killing my knees. I found it very easy to close: I just had to lift my leg up, grab the metal tube with one hand and pull it back. I had a harder time closing it at home than in the field but I just have to keep my balance. Though I would appreciate having an intermediary position because sometime the terrain was not as steep and it felt very uncomfortable to walk with the heel system up and it would kill my legs not to have it either. Also sometime the terrain was switching from steep to flat too often that I didn't want to take the time to stop to flip the heel system up and down all the time.

The frame is holding great. I just have a few scratches on it and the metal under the black coating stands out because it's a bright gray. I wonder why Atlas used a black coating on the frame if the metal under it is not black making scratches very visible, but it is purely cosmetic. I did not see any signs of rust or anything.

SUMMARY

So far I'm very pleased with the Atlas 11 snowshoes. They provide awesome traction and great floatation in all kind of snow environment. The only type of snow that didn't work for me was hard pack snow on flat terrain. Though, I believe this is normal for mountaineering snowshoes to not be the most appropriate for flat terrain.

Every components is performing extremely well. The only negative point I could find are the binding which is not easy to fully open to free my boots. I wouls also appreciate an intermediary position on the heel system.

Check back in two months for my final report on the Atlas 11 snowshoes. Thank you to Atlas and BackpackGearTest.org for this opportunity.

LONG-TERM REPORT

LONG-TERM TEST LOCATIONS AND CONDITIONS

I'm sorry to report that I was not able to test the Atlas 11 any further. The snow was gone where I live and was only accessible on summits above 11,000 ft (3300 m). I do not have the technical knowledge to go hiking at this altitude using snowshoes.

CONTINUED USE

I really enjoyed using the Atlas 11 so far. I will be very happy to post an update by next fall, when the snow
will be back, on how those snowshoes are performing so stay tune.

I would like to thank Atlas and BacpackGearTest.org for the ability to test this great pair of snowshoes.

Reviews > Snow Gear > Snowshoes > Atlas 11 Snowshoes > Test Report by Jeremy R. Laporte

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