BLISTER — Outdoor Gear Reviews, Podcasts, Buyer’s Guides, Giveaways

BLISTER Gear Reviews, Podcasts, & Articles

David Golay reviews the DT Swiss XMC 1501 wheels and Ratchet DEG hubs

DT Swiss XMC 1501 Wheels & Ratchet DEG Hubs

DT’s new Ratchet DEG hubs are the fastest-engaging ones they’ve offered to date, but have they kept the traits that made the original 240s popular in the first place? We’ve been testing the Ratchet DEG hubs on DT’s XMC 1501 wheels and have thoughts.

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BLISTER — Outdoor Gear Reviews, Podcasts, Buyer’s Guides, Giveaways

2024 Ski Movie Tours & Premieres | A Guide

We know we’re not the only ones itching to get back on snow. Thankfully, film tours and movie premiers are not only a great way to relive past seasons, they’re also excellent community events — you get to join friends new and old to share in the pre-season stoke. Here’s a guide to where and when you can attend one near you.

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BLISTER — Outdoor Gear Reviews, Podcasts, Buyer’s Guides, Giveaways

ZAG’s ‘Next-Gen Carver’ + 2025 Ski Lineup | Blister Summit Video

Across its 20-year history in the freeride, touring, and all-mountain worlds, Chamonix-based ZAG has continued to refine their lineup, whether through design or efforts to reduce their environmental footprint. In this video, we get the details on that history — plus the brand’s 2025 ski lineup — from ZAG’s Théo Voinchet and ZAG athlete, Teton Brown.

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David Golay reviews the 2024 Pivot Phoenix for Blister

2024 Pivot Phoenix

The new Pivot Phoenix has dropped the lugged construction from the prototype versions but kept their wild six-bar, dual-idler, high-pivot suspension layout, and the result is awfully interesting. Check out the latest iteration of Pivot’s DH bike.

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Reviewing the News w/ Mike Ferrentino, September 2024 (Ep.242)

Reviewing the News w/ Mike Ferrentino, September 2024 (Ep.242)

On the latest episode of Reviewing the News, Mike and Simon dig into what may have happened to close the doors of one of the biggest retail bike stores in the country; why selling Rad Power bikes in Best Buy stores is a terrible idea; the exciting inaugural Lake Placid XC World Cup; plus a bunch more and the usual banter you don’t want to miss.

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Blister reviews the 2025 Orbea Wild

2025 Orbea Wild

Orbea has refreshed their Wild eMTB. It’s a story of incremental rather than radical change, but also includes the new Bosch Performance Line CX motor — plus there’s now a shorter travel ST model. Read on for our First Look.

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David Golay reviews the Schwalbe Radial Tire Casings + New Albert & Shredda Tires for Blister

Flash Review — Schwalbe Albert Tires

Schwalbe says that their new radial casing tires offer a very different feel from more conventional tire constructions, and we’ve started to put those claims to the test. Here are our early impressions.

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Blister reviews the Kavenz VHP G2

Kavenz VHP G2

The Kavenz VHP G2 takes their latest VHP V7 design and adapts it to a gearbox application, with broad compatibility across Pinion and Effigear systems. We’ve walked through Kavenz’s latest creation in our First Look.

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BLISTER Reviews, Podcasts, & Articles:

BLISTER — Outdoor Gear Reviews, Podcasts, Buyer’s Guides, Giveaways

Reviewing the News w/ Cody Townsend, September 2024 (Ep.327)

Cody and Jonathan discuss the release of Cody’s first FIFTY+ film; some big controversies in the world of FKT’s & running; a great edition of Blevin’s Corner; mountain guides and the often confusing practice of tipping; what they’re reading & watching; … and more.

David Golay reviews the DT Swiss XMC 1501 wheels and Ratchet DEG hubs

DT Swiss XMC 1501 Wheels & Ratchet DEG Hubs

DT’s new Ratchet DEG hubs are the fastest-engaging ones they’ve offered to date, but have they kept the traits that made the original 240s popular in the first place? We’ve been testing the Ratchet DEG hubs on DT’s XMC 1501 wheels and have thoughts.

BLISTER — Outdoor Gear Reviews, Podcasts, Buyer’s Guides, Giveaways

2024 Ski Movie Tours & Premieres | A Guide

We know we’re not the only ones itching to get back on snow. Thankfully, film tours and movie premiers are not only a great way to relive past seasons, they’re also excellent community events — you get to join friends new and old to share in the pre-season stoke. Here’s a guide to where and when you can attend one near you.

ON3P Skis 24/25 Lineup with Scott Andrus (Ep.316)

ON3P Skis 24/25 Lineup with Scott Andrus (Ep.316)

We talk to ON3P Skis founder, Scott Andrus, about their 24/25 lineup, and we dive into the weeds about numerous aspects of ski design and ski manufacturing that you really won’t hear about anywhere else.

BLISTER — Outdoor Gear Reviews, Podcasts, Buyer’s Guides, Giveaways

ZAG’s ‘Next-Gen Carver’ + 2025 Ski Lineup | Blister Summit Video

Across its 20-year history in the freeride, touring, and all-mountain worlds, Chamonix-based ZAG has continued to refine their lineup, whether through design or efforts to reduce their environmental footprint. In this video, we get the details on that history — plus the brand’s 2025 ski lineup — from ZAG’s Théo Voinchet and ZAG athlete, Teton Brown.

BLISTER — Outdoor Gear Reviews, Podcasts, Buyer’s Guides, Giveaways

Win Jackets From Strafe

The two winners of our Gear Giveaway this week will each get the men’s or women’s Highlands Shirt Jacket from Strafe!

David Golay reviews the 2024 Pivot Phoenix for Blister

2024 Pivot Phoenix

The new Pivot Phoenix has dropped the lugged construction from the prototype versions but kept their wild six-bar, dual-idler, high-pivot suspension layout, and the result is awfully interesting. Check out the latest iteration of Pivot’s DH bike.

Reviewing the News w/ Mike Ferrentino, September 2024 (Ep.242)

Reviewing the News w/ Mike Ferrentino, September 2024 (Ep.242)

On the latest episode of Reviewing the News, Mike and Simon dig into what may have happened to close the doors of one of the biggest retail bike stores in the country; why selling Rad Power bikes in Best Buy stores is a terrible idea; the exciting inaugural Lake Placid XC World Cup; plus a bunch more and the usual banter you don’t want to miss.

Blister reviews the 2025 Orbea Wild

2025 Orbea Wild

Orbea has refreshed their Wild eMTB. It’s a story of incremental rather than radical change, but also includes the new Bosch Performance Line CX motor — plus there’s now a shorter travel ST model. Read on for our First Look.

BLISTER — Outdoor Gear Reviews, Podcasts, Buyer’s Guides, Giveaways

Making Skis in a Ski Town | 2025 Romp Ski Lineup | Blister Summit Video

Few ski companies make their skis as close to the slopes as Romp, and at Blister Summit 2024, we sat down with Romp’s Eligh Purvis to discuss the ins and outs of operating a ski factory in Crested Butte, CO; Romp’s fully custom vs. “Romp Ready” ski options; some new models they rolled out for the 24/25 season, and more.

David Golay reviews the Schwalbe Radial Tire Casings + New Albert & Shredda Tires for Blister

Flash Review — Schwalbe Albert Tires

Schwalbe says that their new radial casing tires offer a very different feel from more conventional tire constructions, and we’ve started to put those claims to the test. Here are our early impressions.