The Atlas Elektra 1123 and 1127 Womens Snowshoes for Mountain Hiking
I hope you enjoyed our previous review of Atlas snowshoes for women. It was our first womens snowshoes review and covered the 8, 9 and 10 Atlas Elektra series of women’s snowshoes. You can read that review by clicking on this link to the Atlas Elektra Snowshoes 8-10 series. Oh, and in case I didn’t make it clear in that write-up, if you’re looking at an Atlas Elektra snowshoe, you’re looking at snowshoes for women. Don’t get confused, Gentlemen.
Now while previous review focused on trail walking snowshoes by Atlas, this review will take you to the next level in the Atlas Elektra series, the 11 and 12 series snowshoes, which are designed for more advanced and technical mountain hiking. If you’re new to the sport, don’t hit the back button because you think this snowshoe is too advanced for you. Let’s clear up that misconception before we get to the review.
Moving from the 8-10 series up to the 11 or 12 series isn’t a measure of your technical skill in snowshoeing. In other words, you don’t have to have spent years developing snowshoeing expertise before you graduate to the Atlas 1223 (or Atlas 1225 if you’re shopping for your husband). The “technical” element of this snowshoe is all about the terrain type, not your personal skill. Mountain terrains mean a lot of ups and downs through all kinds of snow conditions. That means a few things:
- Your snowshoes have to keep you floating over everything including vapor-thin powder while still providing you exceptional traction on rock-hard ice
- Steep inclines and varied terrain mean you need the lightest, most comfortable snowshoe and bindings you can get as your legs and ankles will be under significant strain
- Anything that can reduce calf fatigue during ascent is a tremendous plus
- And, of course, the snowshoe must do all of this with a woman’s specific stride and gait in mind
Both the Atlas Elektra 11 series (1123 and 1127) and the Atlas Elektra 12 series (1223 and 1227) meet all of the criteria above. As womens snowshoes go, they are each great, light snowshoes offering the float you’d expect. But, of course, it wouldn’t be much of a snowshoe if it didn’t keep you on top of the snow. So let’s break down each of these snowshoes so you can see for yourself what makes them so exceptional.
The Atlas Elektra 1123 and 1127 Mountain Hiking Womens Snowshoes
One of the first essentials I mentioned to qualify a snowshoe as sufficient for mountain hiking is the ability to provide traction. While that sounds simple, different circumstances call for different traction requirements. For example, a snowshoe that is well designed to prevent backsliding while ascending a slope but doesn’t provide sufficient traction for the descent is just about useless. Likewise, some slopes are best attacked by side-stepping.
The problem presented by each type of approach (up, down, side) to the terrain you encounter requires a different solution. There is no one-size-fits-all technology that will cover every variable. Recognizing that, Atlas has thrown two pieces of tech at the traction problem starting with their All-Trac™ Toe Crampon.
The All-Trac™ Toe Crampon resides under the toe and ball of your foot. If you watch the video at the end of this post you can see where you slip the front of your foot into the bindings. It’s the bottom side of that floating suspension that houses the toe crampons. As you can see in the image to the upper left, the All-Trac™ Toe Crampon offers aggressive bite from all angles giving you superb traction in all directions. The points (front and back) are sharp, biting points that really fight front and back slippage while the wider side and corner tabs provide unbelievable stability and help fight against side slip.
On its own, the All-Trac™ Toe Crampons would do a lot to provide confident footing, but, like I said, there is no single solution to address all variables. While the toe crampons do a great job for the front of your foot (where the majority of your uphill traction is required), there’s a tremendous amount of surface area behind that area that has the potential to slip on descents (either direct attack or sidestep). To address this problem area, the designers at Atlas Snowshoes company decided to add a wonderfully aggressive heel traction system. You can see in the schematic to the upper left and in the backside picture at the beginning of the 11 series review what the aft traction system looks like. Let’s break it down.
The Atlas Advanced Aft Traction System in the Elektra 11 Series Women’s Snowshoes
The Atlas advanced aft traction system addresses traction in three ways. The first element is the heel cleat. This element provides deep bite for excellent front and backslip traction control. This sharp tips bite well even into ice. But Atlas doesn’t stop there. In addition to the heel cleat, two sets of bracket-shaped side rails slightly overlap and offer outstanding bite to fight side slip. Where a less aggressive snowshoe might offer adequate front, back and side slip control, The bracket shape of the Atlas Advanced Aft Traction system offers superior traction at offset angles. It’s an amazing bit of technology worthy of acclaim.
What really helps this system bite (in a good way) is the way it is positioned and tied in to the heel lift system. We’ll get to that part later in this review but, for now, accept that this ensures rock solid bite when your heel comes down, causing the crampons and cleat to really dig into the snow or ice you’re traversing.
As with the All-Trac™ Toe Crampons, you can get a technical view of the Atlas heel traction system in the schematic view to the left and a live view in the first image at the beginning of the 11 series review portion of this article. The heel traction system sits roughly in the middle of the shoe as pictured.
Atlas Elektra 11 Series Women’s Snowshoes feature the Wrapp™ Plus Binding
In my earlier review of Atlas womens snowshoes you heard me praise the good Strapp™, the better Wrapp™, and the even better Wrapp™ Comfort on the 8, 9 and 10 series snowshoes. You’d think the top of the mountain in excellent binding systems would have been reached, but Atlas has pushed their technology into rarefied air and brought out the big guns with the Wrapp™ Plus binding. So how do you improve on the already great Wrapp™ Comfort?
Well, to hear some tell it, you don’t. My wife actually prefers the 10 series binding over the 11 series because, as she claims, it feels like it hugs more of her foot, giving a greater sense of connection to the snowshoe. It also features the Uni-Loop design that let’s you snug the binding around toe, instep and heel with a single pull. But it really is a matter of preference because, despite the fact that she’s almost always right (hi, honey, if you’re reading this) the Wrapp™ Plus is actually the superior binding in the role for which it is intended. It is a streamlined, lighter wrap and you want that on mountain terrain.
I also prefer the straps. Yes, you have to tug on two straps (one to tighten the binding around the toes and instep and another to tighten the heel) vs the simple one-pull uniloop design in the 10 series, but the toe loops on the 11 are a nylon webbing material which is more durable than the rubber straps on the 10.
Where the 11 series doesn’t bother trying to improve on its binding is the SLS (Spring-Loaded™ Suspension) system. It’s a consistent system seen in all their women’s snowshoes and for good reason. It works incredibly well so there simply is no need to improve it. SLS affords the wearer excellent foot and ankle articulation. It’s a welcome addition in a trail walking snowshoe but a virtual necessity in this mountain hiking snowshoe. Why mess with perfection?
Heels Up for Easier Climbing in your Snowshoes
Those of you who have done any technical snowshoeing know what I’m about to discuss. If you’re new to the sport, I want you to imagine how tiring it might be to walk up a steep hill in a pair of snowshoes. Where do you feel it? In your calves, ladies. How do you address it? With a heel lift. This simple solution is simply a bar that can be raised to keep your heel from sinking all the way to the deck during ascents. Atlas isn’t the only company to offer it, of course, but they’ve done a great job with it anyway by tying it in to those heel crampons. This gives the crampons great stick on up hills.
There isn’t much more to say about this technology other than that, with it being available, you don’t want a mountain hiking snowshoe that doesn’t offer it.
The final feature that distinguishes the 11 series mountain hiking snowshoes from the 8, 9 and 10 trail walking Elektra snowshoes is the decking. The Atlas Elektra 1123 and 1127 feature Duratek rather than Nytex decking. Duratek is lighter and stronger and further differentiated by a pebble texture that, according to Atlas, provides better abrasion resistance.
Looks Count – Are These the Best Looking Womens Snowshoes or What?!
Now, let’s be honest, a great looking snowshoe isn’t going to make your hike any easier. But, with the possible exception of the 12 series, this is one of the best looking snowshoes I’ve seen. It may lack some of the garish and wholly unnecessary pattern and design on the decking of some of the men’s snowshoes, but it offers a combination of elegant understatement and bold color that says, “I’m a pro, but I don’t mind looking good while I’m at it.” I mean, it’s fuchsia, isn’t it? I think it is…or is that metallic pink? Heck, I don’t know…I’m a guy, but what do I know is that it’s uber-feminine while being uber cool too!
Good stuff.
All the Best Atlas Elektra Has to Offer
The remaining features of the Elektra 11 series are common to most or all of their womens snowshoes. You get your super light aluminum V-frame design, a proprietary shape that tracks straight in deep snow,. You also get the tapered tail which turns up for a nice rolling stride and which pulls less snow as you step forward for an efficient, energy-saving motion.
Most importantly, you also get the Atlas Elektra design. I haven’t really touched on this yet, but you should know that Atlas invested two years in biomechanics research for the Elektra. It’s a testement to their willingness to relate to the important differences in male/female physiology and it’s why they’re a proven leader in the design of women’s snowshoes.
Their Elektra frames are specifically designed for a woman’s gait, offering a narrower nose and more streamlined shape. It’s the difference between hiking in snowshoes with the best of them or lumbering along like a half drunk yeti.
Ok, gang, this review ran longer than I intended so we’ll come back and review the last of our atlas snowshoes for women, the 12 series, in a subsequent post. It represents the pinnacle of Elektra snowshoes and deserves its own page anyway.
Check back soon!
The following video review covers the men’s 11 series, but the elements covered are the same as those offered on the Atlas Elektra 11 series womens snowshoes.
Credit for Images and Video: Atlas Snowshoes, ORS Snowshoes Direct
As mentioned in our introduction, this first real article is devoted to Atlas snowshoes for women. Of course, there’s more to that than you might think.