Introducing the 18/19 Blister Pro:
Become a Blister Member ($59.99), and get 10% off ($78.90) the Blister Pro, plus free shipping worldwide.
Yep, you’ll save money on the Blister Pro and effectively get a Blister Membership for free — which includes access to all Blister content plus access to a bunch of other money-saving deals, too. It’s a no-brainer, folks.
Order the Blister Pro Here
- Get your pre-order in before 11.16.18, and skis will ship the week of 12.4.18
The Short Story of the Graphic:
The Blister Pro is back, and the key word here is: Maroon.
The Medium Version:
By now it is well established that this is one of our favorite skis of all time. Some of us love the 184 cm model, some of us love the 190 cm model. But a bunch of us at Blister — and a lot of our friends — and many of our readers — tend to say things like, “Best. Ski. Ever.”
See Luke Koppa’s History of the Moment Blister Pro.
As for the new graphic, we wanted to pay homage to the great Tom Petty, and give a subtle tip of the hat to one of the greatest videos ever, “Don’t Come Around Here No More.” That maroon is also a nod to a few other things, too…
The Long Version:
Maroon.
After losing the great Tom Petty last year, I kept going back to rewatch what I still think is the greatest music video of all time, Don’t Come Around Here No More, and revisiting a number of Petty’s albums, some of which I hadn’t listened to in years. (In case you didn’t know or had kind of forgotten, Petty’s best songs are as powerful as pretty much anybody else’s best.)
And then earlier this year I found myself listening repeatedly to Scott Hutchison’s cover of Petty’s Room at the Top of the World, one of my favorite songs performed by one of my favorite singers. So, unexpectedly, Petty was more of a presence in my day-to-day life than he had been in years, and I began thinking about paying homage both to him and Scott, and taking a few cues from the “Don’t Come Around Here No More” video. So I thought this year’s Blister Pro should be maroon, like the top hat. Maroon and smoke. (Again, watch the video.)
Another nod: I happened to spend five very intense and formative years in graduate study at a school that has the nickname, Maroons, and whose colors are maroon and white. And the truth is that a number of the principles that were crystallized during those years of studying philosophy at the U of C would later set the foundation for how we would (and wouldn’t) do things at Blister. And though it’s sappy to admit, I’ve always since loved that combination of maroon and white, and I light up whenever I see the combo.
Finally, as you may have read in our Buyer’s Guide, we are moving Blister’s headquarters to Crested Butte. And when I was in CB this past spring checking out specific locations for our new HQ, we checked out a number of places, but the last one I looked at was at Elevation. And guess what the name of the room was?
Maroon A/B.
So that settled that. The new Blister Pro would be maroon, and Luke Koppa and I got to work coming up with a clean design that incorporated nods to both the past and the future. And then Moment’s Luke Jacobson helped us dial in the final graphic.
That’s the story.
But even without all that backstory, we really just like the look of this ski, and we hope you do, too.
Have fun out there.
Jonathan, how do we apply the code if we are blister members?
You can email Luke Koppa at Blister for your code, or you can also reach out to Moment and they can get you your Blister code. (info@momentskis.com)
I thought it was going to be hard to top last year’s graphics but you did it. Best looking Bibby / Blister Pro to date. My compliments to the Blister graphics department.
Thanks! Glad you’re liking them.
“I happened to spend five very intense and formative years in graduate study at a school”
Not to get too personal, but only 5 years????? I hope ou either got your PHD or you lived with Bluto in Animal House. Sorry, I couldn’t resist.
I like the new graphics too.
The unofficial motto of the school is, “Where fun comes to die,” so it definitely (and unfortunately) wasn’t your Animal House option. And glad you like the look too!
I’m really excited to get on these! The graphics are super slick and simple. Just what I hoped they would be. Being a Buckeye I think they look more Scarlet. Already got mine ordered!
Nice, Ky!
So very tempting…
Old boy checking in here. Gotta cool Rossi Strato 102 look to them! Next version…….ROC 550???
Now I am more confused. I thought the Wildcat was the new Blister/Bibby?
I love Moment skis, but the way they’ve chosen to name this guy over the years is kinda ridiculous
The Wildcat is the same exact ski as the Blister Pro and last year’s Bibby, just a different name and graphic. The Blister Pro is essentially a special-edition graphic that we work with Moment to create, and its construction is identical to the Wildcat’s.
Would the Blister crew recommend putting the Shift binding on these skis for resort day, sidecountry tours? I know you guys love this binding, and curious if anyone is using this setup regularly at the resort. I’m about to buy my first pair of BPs/Wildcats (190 cm) and ski probably 40-50% of my day sidecountry at Crystal Mountain, but currently hike for it. Could get to more with touring, but am wondering if it’d be more worthwhile to just use a touring setup for those longer sidecountry days instead of lugging the BPs up, and dropping the additional $250 on Shift bindings vs an alpine setup.
Thanks!
I’m afraid that this might be a case where only you can answer this question, Matti. Shift + Blister Pro would be a sick setup (in theory), and we have no reservations about using this “touring” binding for regular inbounds use. But on the touring side, you’ll have to decide whether you want a lighter setup for “longer sidecountry days” – that is a very personal decision based on your strength, how fast you’re looking to get up, how willing you are to drag more ski up for a great downhill experience, etc. Guaranteed that lots of people in the world are going farther than you will on much lighter setups AND on much heavier setups … so, I’m not sure how to help with the decision. (That said, Sam Shaheen and I did a lot of straight-up touring on a SHIFT + 188 cm Salomon QST 106, which isn’t far off weight-wise from this setup. And we, at least, had no complaints.)
Thanks for the reply, I figured you might say as much and the last part is indeed helpful! Love the reviews and site btw, has certainly been fun to read.
NEW Blister Pro question (after reading every article and comment about it on the site)
I’m 170cm 145 lbs expert 31 and relatively lots of muscle for my weight.
Id be buying a 176-181 no questions asked…. but that doesn’t exist.
the 174 cm Wildcat (Blister pro) hasn’t been talked about (new from moment?)…do I want a 174?
My gut tells me that’s too short but then im concerned about 184 cm being a whole 14cm longer than me and I prioritize tight tree skiing…but then I saw your reviewer Julia who’s an inch shorter and 25 lbs lighter on the 184….
Do I instead just get a 177 cm Bent Chetler 120 because I’m smack between Blister Pro sizes for my favorite type of skiing? Also is the Wildcat DRASTICALLY less surfy and slashy than a Bent Chetler 120 or catamaran?
If it helps I got 170 Ranger 102 FR which I love but wish I went 177, felt mantra M4 177 were too heavy/ long/fatiguing for my tree skiing (loved everywhere else tho), and liked 177 enforcer 100 over the 169cm
Thanks!
I’ll eat my words, looks like I missed the most important comments in Will Brown’s 2012 review. A couple recommendations from Will for people my size to go with 174, then a 50 year old guy my size that’s not expert saying 184 was great and wouldn’t hesitate 190. Kind of leaning 184 now – but will I regret that in the trees? Is the Wildcat 184 DRASTICALLY less surfy and slashy than a Bent Chetler 120 or catamaran and a lot more work in trees?