snowshoes+snowboard? or did you start straight with splitboarding?

[lorcar]

considering entering into snowshoeing + snowboard world. Pondering to pull the trigger on MSR Lightning Ascent and maybe a better powder board. I think this would allow more versatility and money saving before assessing how much into it I am.
Some other suggest to start directly with splitboarding, but the entry ticket is not the cheapest really, i understand a full set (boots, bindings, board, skins, etc) is above €1,200

what's your experience? how difficult is snowshoeing with a board onto your backpack? any hint is appreciated

[zartagen]

Pro tip: never snowshoe

[lorcar]

thanks for the quick reply, a bit concise to be honest.

Forgot to add: dont plan to do any overnight/too dangerous trip.

[nortonwhis]

It depends on your terrain and the terrain you want to access. I split and find snowshoes on my pack annoying on descents.

Splits are great for covering long distances
Snowshoes are good for steep burst up semi hard ridgelines (very popular in Japan because of this)
Shoes suck in deep deep snow regardless of its steep or flat
Traversing a steep slope in ski mode is impossible on snowshoes

I found that anything here i could get to comfortably on snowshoes, i could pretty comfortably just boot pack.
And its important to think about what your friends and majority of people around you are doing. If your the only snowshoer your gonna be breaking trail everywhere

lastly you most definitely do not need new boots to split. Nor do you need to purchase everything brand new. Lots of good deals on second hand splits all over the world. Also if you must buy new check out Nitro. They have some very cheap entry level splits.

[tmokes]

What’s wrong with having a pair of snowshoes? Everyone should have a pair. You don’t have to use it for snowboarding if you find it inefficient for what you want to do with it but it comes in handy if you want to go for a hike with a girl or you can loan it to a friend from out of town if they don’t ski or snowboard.

Mine don’t see much use but I won’t sell it for that reason.


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[Swine]

Went out once with someone on shoes - they couldn't make it more than 1/3 up our route. Looks like it's teh suck in my opinion, but if all you're doing is accessing mellow terrain it might not be too bad.

[Greenstateofmind]

A little context about your conditions and terrain would be helpful. I know around here, in the early season I just boot pack everywhere with a rock board on my pack. I see people on touring gear and snowshoes when they aren't really necessary. If you're post holing, snowshoes might help but the deeper it gets, the tougher the going gets. A split ultimately gives you the most capability to go further and faster. If you decide to invest in a split setup, there are steep discounts if you do the homework. You can use your regular boots (I do), get a second hand split on the cheap, but make sure you get a set of split specific bindings. Good split bindings save a lot of time and hassle.

[TEXASS]

Get a splitboard. Look on craigslist or here and buy a used one if you don't want to spring for the whole set up at once.
Do buy a set of good skins though .
If you stay out of steep terrain at first you wont need crampons , or if its soft just bootpack if it gets steep.
You can get a set of Verts if you want
A splitboard will allow you to move at least twice as fast as snowshoes
Nothing wrong with a good pair of snowshoes but they are for snowshoeing