These are great snowshoes for my purpose. The front range in Colorado can have great snow or mixed snow, ice and stretches of wind blown areas (snow/rock mix). There are also packed trails and huge powder. I rented multiple brands and styles prior to this purchase and saw the damage that can occur under the latter conditions. I range between 160 and 170lbs with typically a 20lb pack (190lbs tops). The ability to add the tail for powder gives me a lot of flexibility. In 40" of powder at Steamboat I would post hole to my waist (as a test), no tail just above the knees and with the tails just above mid calf. However on a packed trail I save the weight and remove the tails. The full pivot drops the snow off the back (a big deal when breaking trail) although you will pick up a load on the toe. You DO have to get used to backing up though, I picked up the EVO Ascents due to the narrower nose and tail. I tend to cross (feet point slightly out) which can cause some hang ups and the narrower nose and tails minimize this. The Ascent crampons are more aggressive (hold like mad on everything so far)and have the heel bar for steep ascents - both have impressed me. The repair kit makes these shoes field repairable. Nothing like being 5 miles in and having to post hole out. The new bindings that stand up make getting in and out of them easier and I've found zero heel slip. The Downside - they are heavier than other shoes, if you weigh more than my combined weight you really should get the Denali's, the strap retainer clips break (they prevent the strap from flapping around) and there are four straps per shoe although they are easy to operate on a 6deg day with high wind and with gloves on. I highly recommend theses shoes and Whittaker had a great price and service. After about 50 miles of hiking in all conditions they seem indestructible. However with anything of this nature, rent and test first to be sure.

Excellent ! The crampons chomp into ice as well as snow. The rubber strap binding system is simple to use. One small setback I found however is that they're a bit noisy/creaky.

Easy to put on. Elastic straps are fast & secure. Great maneuverability and gripping power. The best snowshoes I have owned yet in almost 50 years!

On a recent backcountry Adirondack Montain climb, climbers descending from the top told us how icy the summit was, and highly recommended changing from snowshoes to crampons. However, we didn't have crampons with us. We continued above tree line so we could decide whether to continue to the icy summit. Our MSR Denali Evo Ascent snowshoes were gripping the ice almost as well as others with crampons, so we continued on to the summit. I was very impressed with the traction, and absolutely love the the heel bar extenstion (heel lifter) when on steep terrain. On previous trips, I encounter mostly hardpack snow, and knew they provide great traction on hardpack. I had no idea they provided such great traction on ice. I have not had the opportunity to try these MSR in deep powder, but expect they will perform well, especially with the optional tails. The only drawback I noticed is the steel traction bar started to rust slightly after a few weeks of non-use, most likely because I put them away without drying off the steel traction bar.