Atlas Cabela’s Outfitter Series Pro Snowshoes

These snowshoes are best used by the casual snowshoer who either sticks to packed trails or occasionally tackles easy, ungroomed trails with up to a couple of feet of snow. I recommend these snowshoes for the casual snowshoer who’s looking for a good quality, used, general purpose snowshoe. I also recommend them for someone who’s looking wants to incorporate snowshoes into their ice fishing gear.

I recently bought these older style Atlas snowshoes used for a very reasonable price. They’re in fantastic condition. The decking and bindings are still supple, the crampons are sharp, the frame is straight and true, and there’s not a speck of rust anywhere. All of that speaks volumes about the quality of the snowshoes since I’m pretty certain it’s been a few years since Atlas has made Cabela’s Outfitter Series Pro snowshoes.

Overall, I’m very pleased with them. They’re lightweight, easy to put on, and easy to walk around in average snowshoeing conditions. I could probably walk in them for days on flat or rolling terrain. They’re perfect on snow surfaces ranging from icy or densely packed snow to powder that’s maybe a couple of feet deep. The crampons bite into the terrain aggressively enough that you know you’re not going to slip on the ice, or going up or down an icy or crusty hill. The bindings grip my boots perfectly, and they articulate well enough that I’m able to keep my gait comfortably close to normal for me, but not so much that the tail drags in the snow. 

They’re not a set I’d want to take on a mountaineering adventure, or into unknown/backcountry terrain for a couple of reasons. First, they don’t have quite as much float as I’d expect from such a big snowshoe, so deep, powdery snow wouldn’t be as easily traversed as it should be, Secondly, there’s no heel lifter. Who wants to ascend a steep mountain, or even a steep hill without heel lifters?

These are fantastic snowshoes for the typical snowshoer, as well as someone who’s slightly more adventurous. They’ve already proven that they’re able to withstand several winters and still perform as well as the day they were made. And when the normal wear and tear parts do eventually wear out or tear apart, Atlas has you covered with repairs done by their pros or parts and guidance available if you want to tackle a diy snowshoe repair job for yourself. 

Background

Today was my first time using any snowshoes from Atlas, and my trip was pretty short, about a mile on a small mountain in Maine. Enough for me to get a good feel for the performance of the snowshoe in varied terrain and powder conditions. I have a lot more experience with mountaineering snowshoes from one of Atlas’s competitors.