MSR customer service

[hillman1]

This company is great. I snapped my frame on my lightning ascents (and didn't get to bag blake colvin ntop and dial)...I skied Avalanche pass instead--but anyway, I called the company, explained my problem, not just the snowshoes, but the time frame in which I need them back for my W quest. They were very helpful, I am sending them 2 day air, and will receive a pair back by 2 day air. Another great customer service story. I need to just get a sponsership, and end my gear dilemma.

[Highonlife]

They are a great company...I asked for some spare straps and told them I didn't want to get stranded, but I would also be happy to pay for them...they just sent me a couple of spares and no charge.

Also my snowshoes broke recently too, said just send them in....

So Kudos to MSR

[TFR]

Originally Posted by Rik

I've also been pleased with their service.

If anyone needs any MSR spare parts, let me know!

[JoeCedar]

I too am pleased with their service, but I have seen more of it than I would like on my Lightning Ascents. I bought them in Dec. 2005 and both crampons were broken completely off in Feb. 2006. The break occurred across the rivets which attach the crampon to the binding. They sent me a brand new pair, and quickly, so how could I complain? Well, this year I was checking them after every hike and last month I saw cracks in the crampon, again across the rivet holes. So I sent them back and got yet another brand new pair last week!

A couple of weeks ago I was telling my story to Highonlife prior to our hike of Street/Nye. I flipped her snowshoes over to show her where the break occurred, and guess what? Hers were broken too in exactly the same place!!!

I am not a heavy or aggressive hiker and Highonlife could blow away in a strong wind, yet this design weakness caused inconvenience (luckily no harm done) for both of us. But to their credit, MSR made it right with a new pair even though it would be easy for them to just supply a new crampon/binding assembly.

I just wish they would admit they have a problem and change the design to eliminate it, which would not be technically difficult.

If you have Lightnings, be sure to look at the front crampon rivets after every hike.

[daxs]

On both this site and VFTT I have read the many praises of MSR customer service. Makes me wonder how good their equipment really is if so many people need to make use of the customer service for replacement parts or to have their snowshoes replaced because of equipment failure.

[Dick]

Originally Posted by daxs

On both this site and VFTT I have read the many praises of MSR customer service. Makes me wonder how good their equipment really is if so many people need to make use of the customer service for replacement parts or to have their snowshoes replaced because of equipment failure.

Thanks, Carol. This has been in the back of my mind for the last couple of years also, ever since TWO pairs of MSRs failed on the same trip. At the time, I think it was chalked up as a "fluke" by some, or a "bad batch" by others, but the failure reports continue. I'm reconsidering for next winter.

Dick

[randomscooter]

Originally Posted by daxs

On both this site and VFTT I have read the many praises of MSR customer service. Makes me wonder how good their equipment really is if so many people need to make use of the customer service for replacement parts or to have their snowshoes replaced because of equipment failure.

As much as I like my MSRs, and as responsive as MSR service has been, I have to agree. Not to single out MSR... in my experience (limited to MSR, Sherpa, and Tubbs) they ALL break more often than seems justified. However, I'd have to say the frequency of failure is noticeably higher with MSR. One regular contributor to this forum has solved the problem by purchasing a new pair of MSRs each season, I believe during end of season clearances. Each pair is marked with the year. The new ones go on the longer trips, the old ones are used for short trips, lousy conditions, and spare parts. Sounds extreme, but effective.

[daxs]

When I looked for snowshoes, I tried and actually did not like the MSR's. I have a pair of Tubbs. Not used real hard, a few times each winter season, but have not had a problem with them. I could not afford to go out and buy a new pair of snowshoes every year.

[TFR]

Originally Posted by daxs

When I looked for snowshoes, I tried and actually did not like the MSR's. I have a pair of Tubbs. Not used real hard, a few times each winter season, but have not had a problem with them. I could not afford to go out and buy a new pair of snowshoes every year.

I've put about 200 miles on my most recent pair. They are still in good condition. I do check them often, because I have had various failures with MSRs, but I still love the way they perform.

[AlpineSummit]

Originally Posted by randomscooter

As much as I like my MSRs, and as responsive as MSR service has been, I have to agree. Not to single out MSR... in my experience (limited to MSR, Sherpa, and Tubbs) they ALL break more often than seems justified. However, I'd have to say the frequency of failure is noticeably higher with MSR. One regular contributor to this forum has solved the problem by purchasing a new pair of MSRs each season, I believe during end of season clearances. Each pair is marked with the year. The new ones go on the longer trips, the old ones are used for short trips, lousy conditions, and spare parts. Sounds extreme, but effective.

Yea, it does sound extreme - but also dang smart.
Nobody wants to be halfway to Couchee and have a s.shoe break.
Talk about being up the creek.

One more vote here for MSR cust serv. Actually, two. For my water filter and my s.shoes. They're on the ball for sure.

[lumberzac]

Just to play devils advocate here, but there might be more reports of this do to a higher number of people that use MSR’s vs other brands. The percentage of failure between companies might be the same, but if MSR has a higher number of uses the number of failures would also be higher. Please note that this is pure speculation and I have no hard number to back this up.

[Neil]

It's also possible that the conditions in the NE beat the crap out of snowshoes. They sure beat the crap out of me.

[hillman1]

I also attribute it to the fact that the folks reporting these failures are members of this site, and are out using the products on a daily basis. I would guesstimate that most snowshoers are more of a recreational type that aren't marching up thousands of feet of vertical on a weekly basis. I love the performance of the lightning ascents, and will continue to use them. I might try a pair of the atlas 1225's for next season though. I have to admit, I am thouroughly addicted to the heel lift, and will never be without it.

[LionRoar]

In 2000, at the recommendation of my cousin in MA, I bought a pair of MSR Denali Ascents (gray) I used them lightly that year - we had five feet of new March snow in the Cats that week and the following year.

I moved to the Adirondacks in 2001 and found myself on snowshoes two - three days per week (I worked three days). I was using a pair of Vasque Alpine boots when I noticed that the metal soleplate showed partial separation on one shoe and crack on the other. I then bought another pair of snowshoes from a local manufacturer, which lasted me several seasons. Last Fall, I decided to fix the MSR's and sent them to Cascade Designs, parent company of MSR. They were five years out of warranty and I paid $30 + $5 shipping and free return shipping.

I couldn't wait to use them this year...but, I also had a new pair of locally manufactured snowshoes, so I used those, instead. Then, about ten days ago on a hike in the Catskills, the heel strap pulled out of both shoes; it became annoying to stop and adjust it. I spoke with the manufacturer who asked me to bring the shoes in for evaluation. She said that nobody had complained about the strap pulling out. Great, that's what I will do.

For my upcoming Catskill hike, I went through the bins, searching for my MSR shoes....I can't find them!!! I'm thinking that maybe I left them in my other house - boohoo! does that mean I hike tomorrow with a third pair of useless snowshoes?

LR

[Jay H]

I agree with Hillman1, there seems to be a lot of MSR snowshoe users out there so statistically, you'll hear a lot of failures.

Elie, 3 of us did Thomas Cole, Black dome as a car spot hike and I used crampons all day. Didn't really need snowshoes although the descent off of Lockwood Gap I could of switched, I knew it wasn't a long descent and managed to follow the herd... Fortunately, sunday was mostly cloudy so the sun didn't come out and the temps were just above freezing, unlike the 48degs on Saturday.

I have a beat up pair of Sherpa Climbers but I just got a pair of Northern Lite Elite 25s and they are holding up fine, so far. I wish the crampon was a little more agressive, but I'm still getting used to them. I am just used to using my Sherpas which have awesome grip, enough so that I usually just walk with them, especially on the downhill, the NLs I have to remember to plunge the crampon in, les I go skiing with my lightweight body.


(p.s. 5 more CAT102 peaks done... 91 down! )

Jay

[LionRoar]

I own two pairs of Havlick snowshoes - now, why I'm discussing this on the MSR page is beyond me, but there seems to be no Havlick one. Both pairs are 30 inches long, for breaking trail. One has a cam lock binding and the other has a strap binding. Each pair has eighth inch thick aluminum crampons - front and back of sole plate and back of the heel plate and heavy-duty vinyl decking.

What I like about them are that they are made to withstand rough usage. The crampons are strong and aggressive and will dig into most anything. For years all I used were snowshoe crampons to cross ice patches.

What I don't like will be address by shoe. The cam lock binding was on the Whiteface model shoe. It works far better with a rigid boot than a flexible one; with the latter, over tightening the camming action can lead to blood constriction in the foot. The heel strap was made with a thinner gauge nylon and had the tendency to pull out. I once lent said shoes to a friend who was hiking Algonquin and Iroquois. he raved about the agressive crampons, but, like all soft metals, the crampons were worn down, considerably, due to their walking across snow covered rock. (Moral: don't lend treasured snowshoes to just anyone)

The Adirondack model has a different binding. It's all straps and where the cam-lock failed, these work. I have used a variety of hiking boots with these, including Barlow's and Merrill winter boots; unfortunately, I could not use my Vasque Alpine boots as I inadvertently left car door unlocked - in Madhattan - and my car was cleaned out by local vultures. The Adirondack uses a thicker webbing on the back, enabling the heel strap to slip less. Jan of Havlick says that they're not supposed to slip, but, my experience on Wadham's High Point was less than ideal, with the left shoe loosening every fifty steps or so and the right one holding a lot longer. But, the price is right - $139 - and service is local, vs some unknown manufacturerer that has a factory in China and a small facility in TX...

I'm like to support locally made products; Havlick makes several different sizes and weights (and colors) of snowshoes.

I have to get my snowshoes fixed for the weekend, cause I'm dragging a group up Leavitt Pk next Sunday. They're all faster than me; maybe i'll lead from the parking lot - just point to the summit and send them on their way.

Or, maybe like Jay, all I really need are crampons; where are those four-pointers? [Can Yax work?]

The link:

http://www.havlicksnowshoe.com/

LR

[Kerry]

So the first pair of Lightning Ascents snapped on my had-to-be-aborted Street and Nye hike in late January. EMS replaced them the same day. I used them 11 times. Yesterday I noticed that they had snapped in the same place. Now to be fair that was 23 peaks and I did make it through the Winter 46, but I'm not very big and mostly I've been in powder. Another pair is being shipped as I write and should be here later in the week--but I am snowshoeless until then. I guess I feel this is a fairly significant design flaw that should probably be rethought.

[daLunartik]

Originally Posted by Kerry

So the first pair of Lightning Ascents snapped on my had-to-be-aborted Street and Nye hike in late January. EMS replaced them the same day. I used them 11 times. Yesterday I noticed that they had snapped in the same place. Now to be fair that was 23 peaks and I did make it through the Winter 46, but I'm not very big and mostly I've been in powder. Another pair is being shipped as I write and should be here later in the week--but I am snowshoeless until then. I guess I feel this is a fairly significant design flaw that should probably be rethought.

Where about on the frame did the break occur? Just so I know where I should be paying attention to mine.

[hillman1]

They are not replacing my snowshoes for free, they are offering a deep discount. I was told that mine were not broke during normal usage. I told them it was a hike of marcy and grey, and they could look at this site for the trip report. They then told me that they have beat the lightning ascents with a metal pipe and they didn't break. I replied that I broke them hiking, not with a metal pipe. I am going back to Atlas 1225's for next season. My lightning ascents aren't even 2 months old, and have only been on about 10 hikes. Not very good quality if you ask me, and having to pay to replace them downright sucks.

[Neil]

Originally Posted by Dick

Thanks, Carol. This has been in the back of my mind for the last couple of years also, ever since TWO pairs of MSRs failed on the same trip. At the time, I think it was chalked up as a "fluke" by some, or a "bad batch" by others, but the failure reports continue. I'm reconsidering for next winter.

Dick

Dick, THESE are the MSR's you are referring to and I emailed that picture to the company and received a reply to the effect that only a certain percentage of their snowshoes failed like that and that it had to be a low probability coincidence for 2 brand new pairs to break in that manner on the same trip.

Doug, I think something isn't quite right with MSR not refunding you fully. I think that all of our members should take heed of your negative experience.

Perhaps it would be a good public service to share your experience by linking this thread for the 5000 members on VFTT and ADKForum. In addition, how many members does Summitpost.com have? Close to 10,000 if I remember correctly.