Calzaturificio Zamberlan’s 230 SH Crosser Plus GTX RR has been honored as a recipient of a 2013 Backpacker magazine Editors’ Choice Award, the most prestigious award in the outdoor industry, given annually to products in recognition of their outstanding innovation in design, materials and/or performance.

Backpacker Editor-In-Chief Dennis Lewon and his staff of editors and testers presented Zamberlan USA with his staff have formally resented the awards this morning, the first morning of the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market in Salt Lake City. The Backpacker Editors’ Choice Awards, bestowed annually since 1993, honor the products that Backpacker editors have chosen as the best of the year based on months of trail testing by teams of highly experienced hikers and climbers. With no set categories for the awards and no set number of recipients, the products and the testing process drive the award categories.

The Zamberlan 230 SH Crosser Plus GTX RR was one of only 15 innovative products that have been honored with a 2013 Backpacker Editors’ Choice Award. Part of Zamberlan’s newly launched Speed Hiking collection, the 230 SH Crosser Plus GTX RR is a 100% technical, light and responsive boot, which offers stability, protection, exceptional comfort and durability. The Crosser Plus features Zamberlan’s exclusive fivepiece, dual-density EVA midsole and Vibram® outsole, which is enhanced with TPU stabilizers and heel
counters. Up top, a Kevlar rand wraps a synthetic upper enhanced with TPU insets and Gore-Tex membranes creating a comfortable and lightweight foot haven, perfect for conquering both the quick route and the long trail.

“Backpacker gear reviews set the benchmark by which all others are measured,” said Editor-in-Chief  Dennis Lewon. “That’s because no other magazine or website conducts field-testing as rigorously or impartially as the crew led by Gear Editor Kristin Hostetter. Our core testers each have years of backcountry experience and expertise in multiple pursuits, from climbing to paddling to skiing. Under Kristin’s leadership, they put new products through punishing real-world abuse in the toughest terrain and worst weather. She also oversees a transparent process that has earned an unrivaled level of trust from readers, retailers, and manufacturers. The result? Best-in-class reviews that lead consumers to best-in-class gear.”

“We are honored to have even been considered for this award from Backpacker Magazine. The Zamberlan family considers this award a confirmation of the strategy and tremendous effort taken to produce the highest quality product possible”, said Fabio Miotto, Vice President of Sales for Calzaturificio Zamberlan.

The Backpacker Editors’ Choice Awards are the gold standard against which all outdoor products are measured, and are a seal of approval that can help put an outdoor company or product on the proverbial map. Each year at the Outdoor Retailer show, retail buyers use the awards announcements as a must-buy shopping list, knowing that their customers will be asking for these products in the spring.
Since their inception, the Backpacker Editors’ Choice Awards have come to be regarded as the most soughtafter award for outdoor equipment and apparel found in the industry. The impeccable outdoor credentials and rigorous field-testing standards of the Backpacker staff guarantee that these awards are an undisputed mark of quality for the companies and products selected.
All winners must excel under extensive field-testing conducted by Backpacker’s team of editors, who take hundreds of new products every year into the backcountry to put them to the test. This rigorous process ensures that the performance of the winners is truly worthy of distinction and meets the guiding principle behind the program: gear that is of real value to the readers of Backpacker magazine, who are very active, long-term outdoor enthusiasts.

The complete list of Backpacker 2013 Editors’ Choice Award winners will be officially announced to the general public in the magazine’s April Gear Guide issue, on newsstands March 5, 2013.

More info: www.zamberlan.com