I've been wearing my husband's MSR Lightning Ascents for years while winter hiking in the Adirondacks. But I've always found them wide and hard to put on. So I started looking for my own. The Retrospec Drifter All Mountain snowshoes did a fantastic job in the mountains and they are a fantastic price. I was a little skeptical about the quality due to the low price. But I gave them a shot because Ottawa Valley Air Paddle has a great return policy. You don't usually get heel lifts on less expensive snowshoes. Heel lifts are essential for steep terrain and these are a must when hiking in the Adirondacks. I found I could easily pull the lifts up and push them down with one hand. The lifts are also a zigzag design which gives a bit more support to your heel, unlike others that are just one straight bar. The snowshoes are slightly more narrow than the MSR's that I've been using, which is not only a more natural gait for me but also easier to fit into the trench of a broken trail. The crampons on these snowshoes are pretty beefy. Instead of being a few teeth straight across under the ball of the foot, there are five significant teeth that are curved into a circle and I found these more secure on uneven terrain. The crampons were enough for me to climb up the areas of frozen icy run-off that create some very difficult areas to climb, instead of my having to change into my ice crampons. Walking up steep snowy terrain I felt like I was wearing Velcro on my feet; the trail became so much easier. I could walk a steep grade downhill as well with confidence. The bindings are super easy to tighten and loosen - even with big mitts on - and easy to adjust if you find that they are too loose or too tight after you start hiking again. They felt secure and comfortable. Another bonus of the binding is that when completely unfastened they can fold down to the side saving space when attached to a backpack. The only thing I noticed that could be a critique, was that there is no strap or cage in front of the toe box so on lengthy downhill stretches, my boot did slide forward and I needed to readjust the snowshoes a few times. Also, they are slightly heavier than the MSR's. I can't speak to how they do breaking trail as I didn't have to. Overall, I'm very happy with this purchase and happy to have found this wonderful small local business.