The Best Snowshoes of 2024: Staff Picks

It can be tricky to find a snowshoe that performs well across the board—on fresh powder, melted slush, crunchy ice, steeps and more—but the MSR Lightning Ascent ticks all the boxes. It starts with a burly aluminum frame that's ringed with small teeth. A steel toe crampon bites into terrain when you step down, while two underfoot traction bars stabilize the snowshoe when you weight your heel. It's a whole heap of traction that keeps you upright in all but the toughest conditions.

That grip combines with an easy-to-engage heel lift to make the Lightning Ascent at home on climbs. "I feel like a mountain goat when I wear these," says one staffer who's based in Washington's Cascades. They also boast Paragon^TM bindings that are not only comfortable on longer hauls, but easy to adjust on the fly. If you're planning on using your snowshoes a lot in a variety of conditions, there may be no better option on this list than the Lightning Ascent. Buy here.

New to the world of winter walking? Take the MSR Evo for a stroll. A versatile design means these snowshoes float in most types of terrain and snow (no heel lift, though, so you'll feel it in your calves on big climbs). A bombproof plastic deck, meanwhile, doesn't need to be babied. True story: "I've seen the Evo get accidentally run over by a car and survive," one staffer says. We don't recommend that, of course, but the Evo is durable. Steel crampons and traction rails can handle rocks, bare patches and haphazard packing.

The Evo also has an intuitive binding and user-friendly shape. As a unisex snowshoe, it splits the difference between a men's (which is straighter) and a women's (which tapers more), so it should fit most folks. (Read more about gendered snowshoes below.) The binding should also fit most boots, thanks to three straps with a massive range of adjustability.

And for the newbie, you can't go wrong with the price. Buy here.

If crushing serious distance on sweeping valley floors is your prerogative, the Atlas Helium Trail is the snowshoe for you. At 23, 26 or 30 inches, it's long, and the bigger the dimensions, the better the float; the 30-inch can carry loads up to 270 pounds. But that size belies the Helium Trail's light weight, which is designed to help you go far. Atlas shaves ounces from the snowshoe by carving out holes and slats across the decking, which also help it shed snow. That combo—big size and light weight—lend it to long missions on flat or rolling terrain. (It does have a heel lift but climbing in snowshoes this large can be cumbersome. This shoe also has a really easy-to-use binding that's quick to adjust on the fly, which earned praise from multiple staffers. A webbing crisscrosses the foot and is tightened by simply pulling the glove-friendly loop. By its nature, the webbing secures the foot evenly with no pressure points. To loosen it, you simply pull the same tab the other direction, across the foot. Like the MSR Evo, it has a unisex shape that should fit most snowshoers. Buy here.

Looking to go up, up and away? You'll need something with maximum traction. The MSR Revo Explore boasts two steel crampon rails along its inner and outer edges and a steel underfoot traction bar (for braking), plus a big ol' toe crampon. That all means that you'll stick like glue when climbing, descending or sidehilling. Another bonus for vert-seeking snowshoers: a heel lift that's easy to engage with your pole. The Revo Explore has a burly plastic deck, much like the Evo, so it will stand up to chance encounters with granite, ice or other mountain hazards. ("Including parking lots," one editor says of trailhead pavement.) The binding is also durable (you cinch it via glove-friendly ratchet straps), but it won't provide as snug a fit as some of the other options here. Buy here.

Mountain hikes require more time in your snowshoes, so if longer treks on inclines, over rocks and on thrillingly uneven terrain are in your future, take a flyer on the Montane from Atlas. The snowshoe's aluminum Reactiv™ frames are designed in a cylindrical-to-elliptical shape with sawtooth traction rails to provide a stronger frame with more nimble response. Durable, flexible Nytex decking and 19° heel lifts allow easy flotation on snow over rolling terrain, and weight-activated rear StabiLock traction lets you dig in and hike over technical terrain. All-Trac™ crampons offer multidirectional grip, and sharp front and rear points help finding stable footing with every step.

The easy-on Wrapp™ Swift bindings are the MVP on these ‘shoes: The easy-cinch rubber straps fit securely for more challenging hiking, with EVA padding that offers warmth in addition to long-lasting comfort and a two-buckle closure that make getting in and out of them a breeze. Options in both women’s and unisex sizing available sizes allow you to customize fit, though the smaller versions aren't best for heavier loads: The 23-inch women’s snowshoe maxes out at 160 pounds, and the 25-inch unisex snowshoe can handle loads up to 200 pounds (both figures include hiker and gear). Size up to the 35-inch unisex for treks that require carrying more: It can accommodate up to 300 pounds. Buy women’s. Buy unisex.

Everything we love about the Evo, we love about the Shift, which is basically just a 19-inch version of the MSR favorite (above). It sports the same burly, plastic deck and aluminum and steel components, which make it perfect for youngsters who are getting after it this winter. The Shift uses the same binding as the Evo: two adjustable foot straps and a heel strap. It accommodates most boots and provides a secure fit, but it can be tough to operate for younger snowshoers. MSR lists the weight capacity for these around 125 pounds. Buy here.

Step one: Learn to walk. Step two: Learn to walk on snow. The Tubbs Snowflake is designed for the littlest snowshoers (the brand estimates a 50-pound capacity). It's 14 inches long and made primarily of hollow plastic—enough to keep kiddos afloat—but there's no traction. That's good news, though, because sharp objects aren't awesome when Junior takes a digger. Think of these more as an introduction to snowshoeing, so your kid figures out the technique early before graduating to more technical (expensive) snowshoes. Buy here.