Evo Trail

The Evo Trail is the sensible first pair of snowshoes. A nearly indestructible molded deck ringed by a steel traction frame, with steel bars underfoot, grips packed snow and ice far better than the plastic-toothed budget shoes it sits next to on the rack. It also accepts MSR's add-on tails, so one pair can cover deeper snow later instead of becoming a second purchase. Know its ceiling. At 22 inches and roughly 180 pounds of rated load, which means you plus pack plus winter clothing, it is short on flotation for deep powder or a winter overnight, and those tails cost extra. There is no heel lift bar, so sustained steep climbs keep your calves stretched the whole way up; that is the reason to step up to the Ascent. The two-strap binding is slow to adjust with cold hands, and at 1,810 grams a pair this is a durable snowshoe, not a light one.