User Review: Atlas 8 Series

Atlas 8 Series
Above: The current 8 Series, which may differ slightly from the version reviewed.

Reviewed January 9, 2006 by Kim

Rating: rated 3 of 5 stars
Price Paid: gift

My rating would be a 5 if not for one single complaint that I have had with these shoes. And that is that the deck snaps back at the end of every step and hits my heel, spraying snow not just on the backs of my legs, but all over my upper back and over my head. I used them this past weekend and on a section of icy, clumped snow, my ears got nicked up by all the clumps of ice that were being kicked up over my shoulders. They don't 'drag' as snowshoes should; they snap up.

I actually called Atlas and asked them about this problem and they told me that it had to be the way I walked, but they would connect me with one of their tech guys. Which they did, but they dumped me into his voice mail and he never returned my call.

My husband has the exact same model but two years older, and he does not have this problem. He and other friends have tried my shoes and had the same problem; they snapped up against their heels and flipped snow over their heads.

The only difference we can see between his older model and my newer model is that the metal rivets on the underside of the binding strap (on the bottom of the shoe) are spaced wider on my shoe than on his. His are closer together, under the binding, while mine are further apart, out near the frame.

Anyway, perhaps they have fixed this. Perhaps I got a fluke pair. I don't know. Atlas didn't want to talk to me about it. I like pretty much everything else about these snowshoes, so it's a shame. But between having to wear all-over waterproof gear, the annoying sound of the deck snapping against the heel of my boot on every step, the nicks I get on my ears from icy clumps of snow, and the snow I get down my collar, I'm afraid I have to trade these in for a different brand.

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