![\"Snowshoe\"](\"images\/stories\/GoldBindingWEB.jpg\")
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So you\u2019re thinking about buying some snowshoes and you don\u2019t know what to look for\u2026\u2026..let\u2019s talk!<\/p>\n
Jake Thamm, President and Co-founder of\u00a0Crescent Moon<\/a> Snowshoes talks about what to consider when buying a pair of shoes. He goes on saying, “Crescent Moon’s\u00a0main focus is the binding\u00a0\u2013 we believe this is the most important part of any snowshoe, regardless of all other considerations, but we\u2019ve already made the case, \u00a0so we won\u2019t go there for this discussion<\/a>.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The rest of this article comes straight off of their blog. I hope you enjoy reading the difference between free rotation and natural or fixed rotation snowshoes. We like to thank them for their information.<\/p>\n Instead, we\u2019re going to talk about the difference between a \u201cfree rotation\u201d snowshoe vs. a fixed rotation snowshoe, also referred to as a \u201clive hinge\u201d, or in the case of Crescent Moon, the \u201cnatural hinge\u201d system. \u00a0In order for a snowshoe to work, your heel needs to come up, or \u2018free heel\u2019 with each step\u2026\u2026.if your heel isn\u2019t free to rotate as you push off with your toes, you would have to slide the snowshoe along the snow \u2026\u2026\u2026.in an awkward, uncomfortable sort of way. Skis slide, but snowshoes, not so much!<\/p>\n Let\u2019s start with a quick anatomy(http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Grey\u2019s_Anatomy<\/a>) of a snowshoe, you already know about the binding (most important), and then there is the decking \u2013 that\u2019s the surface or footprint of the snowshoe, and then the traction, that\u2019s what\u2019s on the bottom of the snowshoe which are also called crampons, or claws, or \u201cteeth\u201d. But right beneath your foot, under the binding area, holding those teeth in place is a hinge which either pivots on a rod (free rotation) or is a thick band of super strong inelastic material, like a belt, \u00a0(see that black strap in the photo above?) which flexes with each step but doesn\u2019t pivot (some refer to this as \u201cfixed rotation\u201d). \u00a0Actually, I think the term \u2018fixed rotation\u2019 is an oxymoron, because it implies its both fixed and rotating, which of course, is a contradiction in terms and not very descriptive. \u00a0 But I digress\u2026\u2026\u2026anyway, the difference between the two different hinge systems is \u2026\u2026\u2026.with each step you take using a \u201cfree rotation\u201d snowshoe, the tail, or rear of the snowshoe stays on the snow. \u00a0In other words, it drags along behind you and will never throw any snow on your backside, which if that\u2019s important to you, should be your choice of snowshoe. \u00a0There is, however, a downside to the free rotation design\u2026\u2026.its a drag.<\/p>\n On the other hand (or foot, as the case may be), a live hinge, or in the case of Crescent Moon, a \u2018natural hinge\u2019 system, will allow your heel to come up, but it limits the rotation of the back of the shoe so it too, is picked up off the ground. \u00a0 In fact, as you walk, or even run, the tail of the shoe actually follows your heel very closely and makes your snowshoe feel as if it was a \u201cnatural\u201d extension of your foot. \u00a0It does not drag along the ground. http:\/\/www.crescentmoonsnowshoes.com\/mens\/index.php<\/a><\/p>\n Compare this to a free rotation shoe where with each step, the tail of the shoe drags along the ground and actually limits your mobility and maneuverability because of it. \u00a0Now, the choice is as follows; \u00a0a free rotation shoe will never throw snow on the back of your legs, but you\u2019re sacrificing maneuverability for a little snow throw; \u00a0a natural hinge system can throw snow on the back of your legs, but you won\u2019t \u00a0have any limitations to what you can do on these kinds of snowshoes \u2013 because a natural hinge snowshoe will do whatever your foot normally does \u2013 you can step up and over any obstacle you encounter, like tree-fall, or a fence, or a rock, or an abandoned snowmobile (just kidding) as opposed to a free rotation shoe which will literally hang down beneath your foot as you lift it to try and navigate around any of those obstacles mentioned.<\/p>\n So what\u2019s better for you, a shoe that limits your maneuverability but never casts snow on you (ironically called a \u201cfree\u201d rotation hinge system), OR, a natural hinge system which allows you to be free (see the irony?) to do whatever you want \u2013 including leaping tall buildings (http:\/\/www.supermanhomepage.com\/news.php<\/a>) or speeding past a parked locomotive? \u00a0 I guess you know where we stand \u2013 or snowshoe. \u00a0 Our recommendation? Go natural, its more fun!<\/p>\n So you\u2019re thinking about buying some snowshoes and you don\u2019t know what to look for\u2026\u2026..let\u2019s talk! Jake Thamm,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9024],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-winter-activities-articles"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.openairlife.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.openairlife.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.openairlife.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.openairlife.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.openairlife.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4396"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.openairlife.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4396\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.openairlife.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.openairlife.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.openairlife.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"