Jonathan Ellsworth 
For some time now, Faction has been one of the hottest brands in skiing. But how much do you actually know about the company? This week we are talking about the history of the brand, some key moments in the company, and some big recent changes; what it’s like to go skiing with and design skis for Candide Thovex; and Faction’s lineup for the upcoming season.
We check in with reviewers Dylan Wood (who gets to keep his seat at the bar), David Golay (who is now reconsidering what makes brakes good or bad), and Eric Freson (who still enjoys a sick jazz soundtrack) to get their updates on the Trek Slash, EXT Storia shock, Hayes Dominion A4 brakes, and the Banshee Phantom V3.
Coree Woltering is definitely one of the most interesting ultrarunners out there, so Brendan Leonard and Jonathan Ellsworth talked to Coree about the one time when a catcall actually worked; why the running world needs to stop overlooking midwestern athletes; Quick Trip burgers and how to remove ticks; and the injury and the miracle that happened while he was setting a new FKT on the Ice Age Trail.
We talk to the elite ice climber, Will Gadd, about ice climbing, skiing, paragliding, rock climbing, kayaking, mountain biking — and how they relate to one another. And we talk about his new film, The Last Ascent, which documents Will’s return to Mount Kilimanjaro to climb the Messner route and the Tanzanian ice (at 19,000’ altitude) while there’s still time.
Last week, it was announced that Jason Levinthal had sold 4FRNT Skis. So we talked to Jason about how this deal came about; learn the background of the new leadership group at 4FRNT; ask what the group does and doesn’t intend to change about the brand; and more.
We’ve created the most cutting-edge lineup of skis for the coming season, so here are our best (or worst) designs to meet the current moment.
The Ski Monster is our go-to shop in Boston, MA, for all things ski- and snowboard-related.
What if you could buy a bike without immediately looking to swap out a bunch of the stock parts? And what if this dream build of yours was competitively priced? Sherpa Custom Mountain Bikes is a brand-new company that allows you to customize every part and color of your new bike, with over 1,000,000 combinations to choose from; their “photorealistic 3D dream builder” provides life-like graphics that allow you to scrutinize every detail of your custom build; and they’re also offering a life-time warranty on their frames and rims. Sound too good to be true? We sat down with the founders of Sherpa to question them about this intriguing ambitious new venture.
Ryan Hall is a two-time Olympian and is the only American to run a sub-2:05:00 marathon. But these days, Ryan is far more focused on lifting, yet he just completed his first ultramarathon — and he did it in the most ‘Off The Couch’ way possible. So we sat down with Ryan in Blister HQ to talk about his first ultra; finding proper perspective; weight & performance; and more.
We talk to snowboarder & Protect Our Winters founder, Jeremy Jones, about his new film; the importance of reviving a lost art; and more.
We talk to Northern-Michigan-based Shaggy’s Copper Country Skis co-founder & product engineer, Jeff Thompson, about their 20/21 lineup; their unusual “nanoMag” construction; and more. Then Luke Koppa talks about skiing pow this week (??) in Crested Butte.
Structure Cycleworks arguably makes the coolest bikes out there — or the ugliest bikes out there. So we talked to their founder, Loni Hull, about why he introduced a front-linkage suspension design; why rear-linkage designs are everywhere, while front-linkage designs are utterly uncommon; and the pros and cons of bringing such an unorthodox bike to market. So whether you are a true bike dork or you just appreciate outside-the-box thinking and design, consider this a ‘Must-Listen.’
Jason Levinthal has sold 4FRNT. Here’s the deal, and some thoughts from Hoji.
Today, Trek officially released an update of their enduro-focused Slash, so we offer our initial impressions of the new bike and ask what this big new release might be able to tell us about where we are in terms of the evolution of bike geometry. To this end, we also talk about a couple other examples, including the Pivot Switchblade and the Rocky Mountain Instinct BC.
Ever feel like you aren’t — or couldn’t ever possibly be — a “real” runner? Most of us have, which is why most of us need to meet Kelly Roberts. Kelly is good at making us feel fine about the fact that we sometimes hate running. And she’s equally good at helping us continue to run — or walk, or bike, or just keep moving. So we talk to Kelly about her moving (and hilarious) entrance into running; her Badass Lady Gang; angel ghosts; and more.
Blister reviewer, Paul Forward, is a lifelong hunter. Jonathan Ellsworth has been a vegetarian for over 20 years. So how much common ground do they share? We discuss that plus Paul’s latest solo hunt; why he only hunts with a bow; what the broader hunting community might learn from skiers & mtn bikers in terms of climate advocacy; and what skiers & mtn bikers could stand to learn from the hunting community about conservation.
Not all bikes or skis are equally good at all things — and the same goes for protective face masks. So we talked with Alex Lauver and Kat Schoewe of Outdoor Research about what type of masks are the most & least effective; how Outdoor Research’s work on medical-grade PPE has influenced their commercially available Essential Face Mask; we make some predictions about the upcoming ski season; and more.
Someone recently listened to *every single* episode of our Blister Podcast — plus a bunch of episodes from our other podcasts — then posted his thoughts on them as well as our Buyer’s Guide and Blister Membership. It’s a pretty fun and interesting read, so check it out.
We talk to 3-time Olympian, Simi Hamilton, about XC skiing and running; competition & competitive drive; his recent win of the Audi Power of 4; and Jonathan Ellsworth tries to instigate a battle between Simi and a previous Off The Couch guest.
Moment Skis CEO, Luke Jacobson, is back on the show to talk with Jonathan Ellsworth about the 20/21 lineup. Come to learn what’s new, stay for all their arguments and tangents.