Crescent Moon Collapsible All-Season Aluminum Trekking/Hiking Poles for Hiking, Walking, Camping & Backpacking, Choose from Three Colors

I have been snowshoeing fairly consistently since 1992. I have been using Tubbs Sierras and have tried several other brands such as Sherpa and Atlas. I now live in southern BC where the snow is a lot fluffier so thought it was time for a larger platform. I heard a lot of great things about CM and have been told they are supposed to be the Cadillac of Snowshoes. Unlike Tubbs and Atlas, CMs are still made in the US which made the choice even easier.I will start with the positive. They are amazingly light for the size and the binding system is very easy to use even w/ gloves. It's brilliant. All of the adjustments for tightening and loosening are made so you can easily manipulate it with a gloved or mitted hand.Unfortunately, the second time I used them the heel strap broke. CM said it was because "some customers overtighten the bindings resulting in broken straps" so I guess I am not alone. I was on very steep deep snow and it was tough going. I am not one to over tighten something needlessly whether it be a pack, snowshoe, or whatever. The bindings on my old Sierras' are made of thick nylon webbing which is made to be pulled as hard as you are able to, but the CMs are made of a thinner material so I took this into consideration when tightening by trying to put a finger between the binding and my boot etc... The bottom line is I was being careful. Having said that, if I did over tighten, then there must be a fine line between too tight and too loose which shouldn't be that way with back country gear, especailly with something you are adjusting w/ a gloved hand. It made me worry a little if and when they would break again. Hopefully not 5 miles from the car.My main complaint however is the fronts tend to nose down. This helps a little when on steep terrain but on moderate to flat, it's a little frustrating. I felt as if the binding was mounted too far forward. I am about 220 unloaded which is the weight they are made for. I have never felt this with any other snowshoe. Maybe things would even out if I carried more weight but I doubt it.I hope this didn't come across as a rant. The binding strap broke last season so I took a year to write this not wanting to write a knee-jerk review. My wife also has a pair but of a smaller size and she loves them, especially the bindings.For now I will keep using my Tubbs which are starting to tear a little but that's not bad after 16 years.

These poles arrived very quickly and were as advertised. I have used trek poles for years in doing archaeology in the Flint Hills and I wanted poles to use for urban walks on concrete and asphalt. I got these poles because they were advertised as "shock absorbing". Maybe I should have done a little more research. Shock absorbing can barely be felt with the poles, which I have not tried out in the field yet. So the 3 star rating is less the capability of the poles as the description being less than I felt would have told me that when we talk about absorbing shock, we are talking about a "give" of 1.0 to 1.5 cm. These poles are a little heavier than my old ones so I'm not sure what my arms will feel like after a day in the field with them. I am sure they will give me the same service in the Flint Hills of Kansas and Oklahoma that my old ones have done. For anyone who has not used trekking poles before, be sure and do your homework.

My son ans i used these for a 60 Mile backpacking hike on the Appalachian Trail and they were great. My son is about one third my size and we each had a set of these poles. Height adjustment was easy and they stayed locked in. Grips were comfortable and the adjustable wrist straps made going down hill even easier.

I was really disappointed with the performance of these poles. They are supposed to have an adjustable shock system but the "give" is virtually none (maybe a few centimeters). They come without instructions so I had to email the manufacturer for instructions on how to adjust the shock. They did reply quickly but unfortunately, the adjustment was still no help.Second, and most upsetting is that the snow baskets are not securely fastened to the pole. They screw on (are all plastic) and are impossible to tighten (they just strip) enough so that they don't keep falling off in the snow. If you've ever tried to snowshoe with poles that don't have baskets (the pole sinks deeply into the snow) you know how frustrating this is; you are better off not using the pole at all.Overall these are poor quality. Save you're money and buy a really good set.

These are amazing. I am an obese woman and walking just half a block causes me severe pain. I bought these as a present to myself for my 39th birthday. I can honestly say its the best present I could have ever gotten myself. I can walk up to 5 blocks with these without being in pain it is amazing. That may not seem like much but it is only the beginning for me. I recommend these for anyone young old in shape or like me completely out of shape.

I had high hopes for these poles, but have been regularly disappointed-- enough so that I would recommend against buying these for snowshoeing.My first problem is that I almost lost the baskets because they come unscrewed while tromping through the snow. Some electrical tape fixed this, but it should have been unnecessary.My second problem was that one pole would often not tighten, so on a couple trips I ended up snowshoeing for several miles with one pole in the pack after I made the mistake of trying to adjust its lenght. I even stopped by the Crescent Moon headquarters to show the owner my pole (only used 5 times) and he tried to tell me it worked just fine. In the shop he was eventually able to get it to lock in place and acted like I was too impatient to get it to lock in place; believe me I tried very hard to get it to lock while in the field because I wanted to use it. (He tried to sell me another pole, so I just walked out and told him next time I wouldn't buy local. To his credit, he then gave me a pole.)Now on my trip today a basket snapped in two while snowshoeing in nice powder- cheap plastic I guess. I temporarily patched it up with some tape I had, but I think I'm going to just break down and buy some poles from another company.