Atlas Snowshoes Womens Elektra Snowshoe with Wrapp Binding Review
Atlas Snowshoes Womens Elektra Snowshoe with Wrapp Binding Feature
- Free ?Rotating Suspension
- Wrapp binding
- Elektra Women's specific design
- Limited Lifetime Warranty
- Women's snowshoe with Free Rotating Suspension (FRS) system
- Aluminum V-frame encourages efficient, natural stride
- FRS technology keeps tail low to the ground for efficiency and comfort
- Twin Trac toe crampons; available in 23- and 27-inch sizes
- Women's-specific Wrapp bindings are easy to adjust and tighten
A terrific choice for beginners, the Atlas Elektra 9 women's snowshoe makes it easy and fun to explore packed trails, broken trails, gently rolling terrain, and groomed slopes. The Elektra 9 is built using Atlas's new Free Rotating Suspension (FRS) system. FRS technology gives the binding the ideal amount of free rotation, so when you take a step, the tail stays low to the ground. This allows snow to shed off the tail, resulting in a very efficient stride so you can snowshoe longer at peak performance levels. At the same time, a built-in forward limiter prevents the shoe from over-rotating, producing a smooth, free motion without shin bang. The Elektra 9 also includes the company's proprietary aluminum V-frame, the key to an efficient, natural stride. The V shape tracks straight in deep snow, while the tapered tail pulls less snow as you step forward, saving your energy. Made with lightweight, durable 6000 and 7000 series aluminum, V-frames all used on all Atlas snowshoes.
To ensure a superior fit, the Elektra 9 snowshoes are outfitted with Atlas's flexible Wrapp bindings, which are a cinch to adjust and tighten. A noticeable step up from the bindings on the entry-level Elektra 8 series, the Wrapp bindings boast a women's-specific design with a slightly tapered tail, helping it accommodate a woman's natural stride. The shoe's Nytex decking, meanwhile, is forgiving and quiet even in the cold of winter. Finally, the shoes provide sure footing on two planes thanks to the stainless Twin Trac toe crampons and accompanying heel cleats. The toe crampons use a sturdy row of front points and two side teeth to keep your foot from twisting, while the heel cleats add traction and stability while climbing, descending, and traversing varied terrain.
The Elektra Series
The Elektra women's designs grew from a two-year biomechanics research program into a deep line of successful women's snowshoes that continue to lead the industry. The Elektra frames are shaped to accommodate a woman's natural gait, with tapered tails, a narrower nose, and outside rolling bends that nest the snowshoes together comfortably. Because women's needs are more than frame deep, the shoes' binding designs are molded around a woman's boot last. This encourages better arch support, with carefully placed strapping and padding to eliminate pressure points and keep circulation moving in the cold. The Elektra 9 women's snowshoes come in two sizes: 23 inches and 27 inches.
23-Inch Snowshoe Specifications
- Surface area: 145 square inches
- Weight: 3.26 pounds
- Load: 80 pounds to 160 pounds
27-Inch Snowshoe Specifications
- Surface area: 176 square inches
- Weight: 3.38 pounds
- Load: 120 pounds to 250 pounds
About Atlas Snowshoes
Winner of the American Alpine Institute Guides' Choice award since 1996, Atlas snowshoes are the performance choice for professional guides, outdoor enthusiasts, snowshoe racers, and even the Special Operations Forces of the U.S. military. The Atlas story began in 1990, when founder Perry Klebahn--who was looking to snowshoeing to help recover from a motorcycle injury--grew frustrated with contemporary snowshoe designs. Klebahn soon developed his own ideas and created a revolutionary new snowshoe as the theses project for his graduate engineering degree from Stanford University's product design program. Applying for patents on the original Atlas snowshoe, Klebahn was awarded the first patent granted for snowshoes in over 40 years. As development continued, innovations such as the dual crampon design and Spring-Loaded Suspension System became tenets of Atlas snowshoe designs and helped revolutionized the sport. Based in Seattle, Atlas has been awarded 19 patents, from heel cleats to contoured footbeds, SureClick buckles, frame-frame tail joints, and the company's latest--the elliptical cross-section tubing that provides the strength and durability of the company's 7075 ReactiV frames.
Built to explore winter’s rolling terrain, the Elektra 9 Series features patent-pending Free-Rotating Suspension for natural articulation of the foot over uneven and sidehill terrain with minimal resistance.
