review

ALDI (Switzerland) snowshoes

December 3, 2010 Filed in: Aldi Snowshoes | Snowshoeing

From time to time Aldi¹ seem to have some interesting offers, it’s not always easy to spot the real bargains in the cheap products but there’s some good gear from time to time, for example, the base layers I’m using most are from Aldi a couple of winters back and I use them in preference to some way more expensive ones I’ve got.

So I was interested when the Aldi flyer arrived with an offer for snowshoes, in fact they offered a couple of designs in the flyer. The first being a basic tube frame with plastic deck that you see a lot of cheap snowshoes copying and the other being something that is very similar to an MSR Denali Evo Ascent.

Since Aldi retail these at 99 CHF compared to the MSR at around 329 CHF I thought I’d take a look. These are branded as “Adventureridge” and the product is called “Raquettes à neige trekking” (trekking snowshoes in English).

So, the first couple of things you notice are that it’s a three strap fixation compared to the four that MSR use and that there’s a flotation tail. The basic construction looks pretty good, the plastic doesn’t feel quite the same quality as the MSR but it seems comparable to the TSL and Inooks that we use.

The detail of the flotation tails is interesting, I quite like the tube inserts, I think that’s adding a good bit of strength and rigidity which I would hope would take some stress out of the actual locking mechanism. The MSR mechanism is a little bit of a fiddle to attach the tails without removing the snowshoe, you need to thread and locate three screws and it’s awkward in heavy snow with gloves.

By comparison, this is simple but I’m extremely dubious that it will stand the test of time. The tube inserts may take the stress of the locking catch as you move but I think general wear and tear might destroy this catch and I can’t see an easy way to make either a field repair or something longer term back in my workshop.

Looking at the heel riser it seems a fairly standard affair, pretty much identical to the MSR. It’s anchored securely on the base and I can’t see any issue with it long term.

You’re also seeing here a protective cover that’s shipping with the snowshoes, it just straps over the base to keep the sharp teeth from damaging things around them if you threw them in the car boot for example.

And this is just a quick look at the base. The teeth and rails look just fine to me, they’re well attached to the deck and use a pattern that looks effective.

We can always use some extra pairs of snowshoes to avoid rental fees and for 99 CHF we’ve grabbed a couple of pairs to test, we’ll be using them over the next week or so and I’ll report back how they work out. Obviously the problem with Aldi for this sort of gear is that they have limited stock, I’d guess if you went next week they’d have none left. But, it’s generally the case that they stock the item the next season so we may see these next winter and if our test pairs work out we’ll certainly look at grabbing some more.

Just to get an idea of the similarity, here’s a couple of shots of the MSR Denali Evo Ascent, there’s some more shots of them in this web album

Notes.

1. Aldi is a chain of discount supermarkets originally based in Germany but operating in other countries. They specialise in budget purchases typically non-branded and advocate a “no frills” retail policy.

Tags: MSR Denali Evo Ascent | review | snowshoeing

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camp via ferrata rewind set

May 26, 2009 Filed in: Camp via ferrate rewind set

We recently got Camp rewinds for local VF’s after looking at a bunch of other sets on the market.

The main choice comes to whether you want a stitched shock absorber like the Petzl or Black Diamond sets or ones with a friction device like this or the Salewa one for example. I’m not entirely happy with stitched ones, once you fall and tear through the stitching it’s good only for the bin and if you’re halfway up a VF at the time, assuming you’re able to continue, you’ve now got a non-functioning set. I think a lot of people argue that no one falls off a VF so it’s moot but I’m not much convinced by that argument, once I’ve left the ground on anything I try not to fall off

There’s a couple of Eastern European manufacturers knocking out VF sets and some of the local stores have them, they look reasonable, mostly friction devices and UIAA approved but some inferior quality around non-safety components. For example, I looked at one with the squeeze action locking carabiners and the squeeze mechanism felt flimsy, this matters I think as you end up bashing the gear around the crag.

I also felt I liked the squeeze action idea as opposed to the older twist lock and variants, a squeeze action is quicker and easier and there’s no failure case (I can detect) where the gate can be left partly open.

The other feature I liked in the Camp set is the elasticised lanyards, this really helps keep them out of way moving around and lets Camp get a half decent run of dynamic cord into the system without leaving the lanyard a metre over your head. This feature is available on other sets of course.

The only feature I saw on another set, the Petzl, was a extra loop from the harness attachment for resting that allows you to clip to a bit of gear. That looked like a good idea but I’m not sure in practice if it would be much use, it’s easier to keep a belay sling on and use that, it’s longer and I can clip to a couple of bits of gear as a rule so it’s more flexible.

Here’s Julie using the Camp rewind in France :