User Review: Tubbs Discovery Series (Discovery 27)

Features: Non-anodized aircraft grade aluminum frame. Waterproof and durable maintenance free decking. Quickdraw bindings, recreational toe and heel crampons. 9"x27".

The best feature of these snowshoes is the quickdraw bindings. Just place your foot in the binding, pull on the two straps, and your toes are secured. The tricky part is trying to secure the heel strap while wearing gloves. It's not gonna happen. You might as well take your gloves off, and tighten the strap.

Walking around with a pack, I end up on the upper limit of these shoes. Going through powder and packed trails seem to be a breeze. Small hills are easily handled by these shoes, however do not take these shoes to go up steeper slopes. You will slip and fall, as the crampons are not aggressive enough to bite into the snow.

Getting out of the snowshoes is even easier than getting in. Reach down, pull the tips of the two ladder locks together, and pull up, away from your toe. Scoot the entire foot forward, and you're cleared of the heel strap.

Only things I don't like about the binding:

* Ice tends to form in the pocket created by the forward crampon (I suppose all of them do this), but in order to get it cleared you almost need to whack the things against a tree.

* They're not the lightest snowshoes in the world. 3.0 lbs a pair starts getting on my nerves after a while.

* The straps from the quickdraw system tend to "flop around" while I'm walking. It also starts grating on the nerves, particularly when you've been hiking for awhile.

* At 9 inches wide, your stride is severely affected. If you're looking to hike AND run with these... I'd suggest something else.