BEST BINDING, Backpacker Magazine, Fall/Winter 2009

Crescent Moon Gold Series "When conditions are less than ideal--cold fingers, blowing wind, sticky snow--you don't want problems getting snowshoes on and keeping them on. You won't with the Gold Series bindings, which have unmatched comfort, stability, and ease of use. A single pull on the U-spaped cinch strap tightens the binding over both the forefoot and arch, while the heel strap secures rock-solid via a ratcheting buckle. A rigid stabilizer plate underfoot kept our feet aligned on the snowshoe deck; we had zero heel slip except on the steepest traverses. The teardrop tail shape(even more tapered then the Redfeathers) allows for a comfortable, natural gait. A pronounced tail taper often means less flotation, but not here. Crescent Moon makes up for the reduced surface area by adding two extra inches of length. Even with moderate loads(up to 30 pounds), we stayed afloat in deep powder. Green Bonus: Crescent Moon's manufacturing facility in Boulder, Colorado, is 100-percent wind-powered, and the company recycles all scrap material and uses no PVC."

Product Recognitions

Early Summer/09 Outdoor Sports Green Gear Guide
3/30/2009 Lyra Magazine
1/09/2009 Sporting Goods Business
1/26/2009 Scout About.com
1/6/2009 Rocky Mountain Gear Guide.com 
12/8/2008 SRC Magazine
12/8/2008 Fitness
12/8/2008 Salt Lake Magazine
12/8/2008 Popular Mechanics
12/25/2008 New York Times
12/9/2008 Express Fit
12/2/2008 Examiner.com
12/1/2008 Camping life Magazine
11/12/2008 Colorado Adventure.com
10/2/2008 Metro News.ca
February/March 2008 Plenty Magazine – Green Gear
December 2008 Popular Mechanics
Dec07/January 2008 Rocky Mountain Sports
December 2007 Alternative Medicine – Healthy Solutions
November 2006 Canadian Geographic Travel
2005 Official Snowshoe Supplier to the Telluride Ski Resort, Telluride, CO
June, 2005 Innovation, Crescent Moon, BUSINESS WEEK
2005 Official Snowshoe Supplier to the Eldora Ski Resort, Eldora, CO
May, 2005 Fit for Female Athlete, L.A.Times (Health)
March, 2005 BackpackGearTest.org Review - reviews/SnowGear/Snowshoes/Crescent
Moon Gold Series Snowshoes
January, 2005 Crescent Moon Snowshoes, Rochester Democrat
December, 24, 2004 Are you Snowshoes Making Life Easier, Alaska Daily News
2004 – Official Snowshoe Supplier to the Telluride Ski Resort, Telluride, CO
March, 2004, On line review of Crescent Moon, www.outdoorgearreview.com
January, 2004, Gear Review, Men’s Journal
January 2004, Winter Workout, New York Resident
January 2004, Snowshoeing How To’s…..featuring Crescent Moon, Idaho Statesman
February 2004, Gear Review, Michigan Outdoors
November, 2003, Gear Review, Rocky Mountain Sports
March 2003, Smart Money….”design that makes sense” Crescent Moon 9
Feb 17, 2003 Issue, Newsweek, Tipsheet, Crescent Moon 13
January/February, 2003, Women Hit Winter Trails, Crescent Moon 13, AMC Outdoors
January/February 2003 Running Snowshoes, Crescent Moon12, Running Times
December 2002, Gadgets and Gear, Crescent Moon 17, Outdoors
, Gift Guide Buys, Crescent Moon 17, Outdoor News
December 2002, Tested in the Field, Crescent Moon Silver 9, SKIING
December 2002, Buy These Snowshoes, Bicycling
December 2002, Editors Pick, Crescent Moon 12, Running Times
December 2002, Nominated for Entrepreneurial Company of the Year – Rocky Mtn Region
February 2002, Crescent Moon Line. . . Reviewed on Outdoor Life Network’s Snowshoeing Gear Guide, best of those tested
February 2002, Winter Feature in Pennsylvania Health and Fitness
January 2002, Crescent Moon 10. . . Reviewed in Outside
January, 2002, Crescent Moon 13. . . Reviewed in Hooked on the Outdoors
December 2001, Crescent Moon 12. . . . Reviewed in Trail Runner
December 2001, Crescent Moon 12. . . .Reviewed in Competitor Magazine and CitySports
December 2001, Crescent Moon 10. . . Reviewed in Backpacker
December 2001, Nominated as Entrepreneurial Company of the Year- Rocky Mtn Region
February 2001, Lifesaving Snowshoes, Skiing Magazine
August, 2000, Finalist, Boulder’s IQ Awards for Most Innovative Company
January 2000, The Great White Way – To Get Fit, Playboy Magazine
February, 2000, WB Hot Products, Wintersport Business
November/December 2000, Tried and True, The Best. . . Outdoor Explorer
August 1999, Consumer’s Most Valuable Product, OutsideReview.com
September 1999, Editor’s Choice, esnowshoes.com
November 1998, Tester’s Choice, Blue Lifestyle Magazine
October 1998, Editor’s Choice, Sports Afield

Trail Runner Magazine Winter Gear of the Year Award!

Snowshoes Good for Walking
By Emilie Le Beau - 09/24/2008
Montana Standard

MCT Photo The Gold Series 12 snowshoe from Crescent Moon Snow Shoes is a lightweight snowshoe made for walking or running. It has a teardrop shape that is meant to allow a natural stride.The ideal: You strap on your new snowshoes and head outdoors to a gorgeous trail, conveniently located in your backyard. You have an exhilarating workout on fresh snow.The reality: You live in a neighborhood with incompetent snow plows. The sidewalks haven't been cleared and street curbs are blocked by walls of snow. You can either give up running for the season or pick up a pair of snowshoes.The Gold Series 12 snowshoe from Crescent Moon Snow Shoes is a lightweight snowshoe made for walking or running. It has a teardrop shape that is meant to allow a natural stride.Weighing just two pounds, the snowshoe can easily be lifted over a curb or a snow bank. Made with lightweight aluminum, the shoe has a three-claw traction system. It also tightens with a single loop pull which is meant to equally distribute the tension. The single loop pull adjusts tightness for most shoe sizes.

The Gold Series 12 is 22 inches long and eight inches wide. It is available from size 5 (women's) to size 13 (men's.) Suggested retail price is $229.95. Available at online retailers such as BackCountryEdge.com and Altrec.com. A dealer locator is listed at CrescentMoonSnowShoes.com.

"Crescent Makes 'Green' Snowshoes"
August 2008 Boulder County Business Report; http://www.bcbr.com/article.asp?id=95693
By Business Report Staff

August 27, 2008 --BOULDER - Crescent Moon, a Boulder-based manufacturer of snowshoes, poles and accessories, has created a line of snowshoes made with materials that contain no polyvinyl chloride.Crescent Moon founders Jake Thamm and wife, Tamara Laug, wanted to create a snowshoe that is more environmentally friendly. Polyvinyl chloride is one of the most widely used plastics and is found in a wide range of consumer products such as bottles, credit cards, audio records and construction materials. Production of PVC releases the toxic chemical dioxin and leaks harmful additives during disposal. "Tamara was really committed to putting us in an environmentally considerate position and researched new materials for over a year," Jake Thamm said. "We felt very strongly that we're in the outdoor industry and wanted to do the right thing for the environment."The couple has implemented a green program throughout its entire company. In both its factory and office, employees recycle everything possible, including aluminum, stainless steel, cardboard and office materials and use 100 percent wind-powered energy.

The company now has 10 employees, and its snowshoes are distributed throughout the U.S., Canada, Austria, Sweden and Norway and even in Australia, which has a short ski and snowshoe season.

Reviews Crescent Moon Products

Product reviews in .pdf format

Crescent Moon Booties SPOTLITE REVIEW.pdf
Crescent Moon Gold Series 9 Snowshoe REVIEW.pdf
Crescent Moon Gold Series 12 Snowshoe REVIEW.pdf

OUTSIDE

With its aluminum frame and rubberized nylon deck, the Crescent Moon 9 (9 by 27.5 in.; 3 lb., 4 oz.; $240) has far greater eye appeal than the Denali-despite its modern materials, it's a shoe you might hang over the cabin's fireplace. In addition to its aesthetic advantages, the Crescent Moon 9 has a teardrop shape that facilitates a smooth, more natural gait-no duck waddling to avoid clunking or stepping on your own feet. Another worthy feature: The binding relies on a snowboard style ratcheting strap and goes on fast, centering the foot securely. Stainless steel cleats underfoot give this elegant shoe adequate grip.

WWW.BACKPACKER.COM

"Five testers hit trails from New England to Oregon. experiencing snow conditions ranging from deep powder to ice to rotten crust... we picked the five best shoes for all-around winter packing."

Crescent Moon 10

9" x 32"

Pluses This shoe's light weight and tapered tail enhance maneuverability and allow for fast, natural striding on packed trails. The mitten-friendly binding is easy to operate This extremely maneuverable shoe shines when you want to go fast and light on packed trails.

Minuses The crampon teeth are adequate for trails, but too short and stubby for use on steep uphills or ice. The square tooth configuration also collected packed snow in wet conditions. Bigger testers thought the streamlined shape of the shoe gave them a bit less flotation in loose powder.

New for 2002

• Longer, sharper stainless steel claws improve bite and durability.
• Sidehill traction benefits from the small lateral claws on either side of the main crampon

  Bottom Line
  
  This extremely maneuverable shoe shines when you want to go fast and light on packed trails.

  DECEMBER 2001, MICHELE J. MORRIS, NORTHEAST EDITOR

OUTDOOR EXPLORER REVIEW

"Every snowshoe maker boasts about its shoes' ergonomic shapes, no-slip bindings and ballistic materials. But it's often hard to tell a good shoe by its appearance-to know quality you have to feel it. Of the 12 snowshoe models I tested last winter, Crescent Moons felt the best. The Crescent Moon 13, a women's model, has a narrow teardrop shape so you don't have to widen your gait to avoid stepping on the shoes as you walk, and I found the Crescent Moon 9, a unisex model for people under 200 pounds, equally easy to use. Their ratchet bindings, which have left-foot and right-foot specific foot plates to make your snowshoes feel more like shoes, are a cinch to use with gloved hands." Fall, 2000

HIGH ALTITUDE MOUNTAINEERING REVIEW

"I needed snowshoes that I could train in and use on Denali. My pair of Tubbs had flat-out fallen apart, so I tried the Crescent Moon Gold Series 10. Immediately you will notice the ratcheting binding system. This allows you to make a one-time adjustment and from then on getting in and out is amazingly easy. The rigid tab on the new binding allows you to shove your boots in and tighten it up, all while wearing mittens. For this reason, they are ideal for use with plastic boots.

I regularly trained with a heavy pack and found that the Crescent Moon Gold Series 10. offered great flotation; but more important, it allows a perfectly natural stride. I can’t emphasize enough what a savings of energy and general relief it is to walk normally. Carrying a pack and a sled in tow, I never once tripped or stumbled, which was not the case when I wore my big Tubbs shoes or the MSR Denali.

The grip on these shoes is amplified through the use of the three-claw traction system. There is also a deeper bite, so while my teammates needed to stomp down to get up some of the steeper inclines, I easily walked up as if I were wearing a crampon.

Seemingly indestructible, I used the “10’s” on ice, slush, deep snow and occasionally dirt and rock. They took my careless abuse and still performed great even after months of long hikes. The MSR Denali is advertised as a top mountaineering snowshoe, but the Crescent Moon 10 is stronger, easier to work with in extreme cold and for my money, the best snowshoe available." Spring, 2004

SKIING MAGAZINE

Crescent Moon 13. Could a snowshoe save your hide? Maybe. While shoeing last winter, a friend and I regrettably found ourselves descending a rock-hard 30-degree slope. She went for a high-speed slide into a tree. I did not. I chalk up my catlike grip to the three-claw traction system on Crescent Moon's 13 snowshoes. The binding helped, too; it's rubbery hypalon harness and rear ratchet buckle kept my foot snug and in control. And the 13's exaggerated teardrop shape, designed to accommodate a woman's shourter stride, helped me stay agile. Helen Olsson