The most honest, accurate, and useful Buyer’s Guide in the world.
Our 25/26 Winter Buyer’s Guide is — once again — our biggest guide ever, and also the best guide out there.
It includes reviews of 350+ skis & hundreds of other products, including ski boots, snowboards, ski-touring bindings, splitboards, climbing skins, helmets, goggles, apparel, and more.
But what makes our guide the most trusted is what you won’t find in it: any advertisements for any of the gear manufacturers in the guide, because we don’t accept advertising dollars from the gear manufacturers we review. Never have.
Instead — and as always — what you’ll find here are our honest, unvarnished opinions on the strengths and weaknesses of each product. And those insights are formed after many days, weeks, and often even years of testing each product.
How to Get the Guide (New Changes for 2025):
Same as last year, you can pre-order the print edition and get the digital edition at no extra cost, or you can go digital only.
By pre-ordering before September 1st, you’ll get the guide at the best price possible. Shipping rates will go up sharply starting in September (again, this guide is big, so shipping costs are substantial).
Of course, a super smart move is to become a BLISTER+ member, which gets you the guide and a whole lot more, including our outstanding outdoor injury insurance, which covers you for up to $25,000 per injury with $0 deductible. BLISTER+ members also get 1-on-1 gear recommendations from our reviewers, discounts on dozens of ski and snowboard brands, and much more.
Or — in a new benefit we’ve just added at no extra cost — you can get our Digital Access Pass and view all of the digital editions of our buyer’s guides. That includes both our upcoming 25/26 Winter Buyer’s Guide and our new Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide, which we’ll start rolling out next week (much more info to come on that). And, of course, Digital Access Pass holders will still have continued access to all of our exclusive Flash Reviews and Deep Dive comparisons.
The print edition of our Winter Buyer’s Guide will begin shipping in early September, and the digital edition will be made available shortly afterward.
Our 25/26 Cover Photo
This year’s cover photo was taken by Charlie Renfro, and features Blister reviewer, Paul Forward, skiing the J Skis Best Friend in his home mountains of Alaska’s Chugach range.
Order The Guide Or Subscribe For More Benefits
Want the Guide + A Whole Lot More?
Become a BLISTER+ member to get our incredible outdoor injury insurance — up to $25,000 per injury, $0 deductible, and coverage for 20+ of the most popular outdoor activities. You’ll also get 1-on-1 gear recommendations from our reviewers, discounts on dozens of ski and snowboard brands, and access to everything we produce.
Or, get our Digital Access Pass to read all of the digital editions of our winter and mountain bike buyer’s guides, as well as our exclusive Deep Dive comparisons & Flash Reviews.
WHY THE BLISTER GUIDE IS BETTER
We Test Product Year Round
Other publications do their product testing in a few days. We literally test year-round. Nobody puts in as much time on equipment as we do, so no other Buyer’s Guide can match the accuracy of our gear reviews and our product comparisons.
$$ No Conflicts of Interest $$
Unlike many other buyer’s guides, we don’t take any advertising money from the gear companies we review. So, what you get from us is the most honest, accurate, and useful product descriptions and comparisons you will find.
We Won't Insult Your Intelligence
Bad cliches and unhelpful product reviews aren’t our thing. Instead, you’ll get the info you need to make informed buying decisions, including our own verified product specs, and honest, accurate descriptions of how products perform & compare.
- 350+ Skis
- 70+ Ski Boots
- 100+ Bindings, Apparel, & Other Gear
- No BS
Overview
Our Buyer’s Guide covers:
- Men’s & Women’s Skis
- Ski Boots
- Backcountry Touring Bindings
- Backcountry Touring Skins
- Men’s & Women’s Snowboards & Splitboards
- Outerwear & Midlayers
- Helmets
- Goggles
Blister Spectrums
Our Blister Spectrums are arguably the most important thing we put in the Guide. Blister Spectrums order the products we’ve tested along a continuum (e.g., “Most Stable to Least Stable”), letting you see how they stack up against the rest of the category and allowing you to make the most informed decision possible.
Our Ski-Quiver Selections
A favorite among Blister readers, we will once again lay out our recommendations for potential one- and two-ski quivers from the latest crop of skis.
The 25/26 Blister 'Best Of' Awards
Each year, our reviewers nominate the products that have stood out to them the most — regardless of whether the products are new or have proven their worth over many years. And when we give a product a ‘Best Of’ Award, you can be sure that it was earned, not bought.
Blister Categories
Most buyer’s guides are simply too general. So we’ve sorted the skis and boots we’ve reviewed into distinct classes based on common characteristics. In the guide, we describe those classes in detail, and lay out what each particular product brings to the table.
Our Ski Categories Include:
- All-Mountain Skis:
- More Stable
- More Forgiving
- Chargers
- Freestyle
- Women’s Skis
- More Stable
- More Forgiving
- Powder Skis
- 50/50 — Resort / Backcountry Skis
- Backcountry Touring Skis
- Frontside Skis
- Park Skis
- Powder Skis
- More Directional
- More Playful
Our Ski Boot Categories Include:
- Dedicated Alpine Boots
- ‘Walk Mode’ Alpine / Touring Boots
- Touring Boots
what readers are saying:
Frequently asked questions
Pre-Orders placed before September 1st:
- These will ship the first or second week of September. We’ll send you an email once all pre-ordered guides have been shipped by our printer.
Orders placed on or after September 1st:
- These will start shipping the third or fourth week of September, and all other orders after that will be shipped on a rolling basis. If you order a guide on or after September 1st, you will receive an email from us with tracking info when we ship your guide.
All BLISTER+ Members, Digital Access Pass holders, and those who have purchased the 25/26 guide will be able to view the digital guide directly on our site as soon as it’s ready (early September). You will find it under the “Buyer’s Guides” tab on our navigation bar; we’ll send an email as soon as it’s available to view.
To view the 25/26 Digital Guide, you’ll need to be logged into the account that you used to purchase the guide, BLISTER+ Membership, or Digital Access Pass.
If you have an active BLISTER+ membership, the guide is included. You’ll have instant access to the digital edition as soon as it’s finished, and you can also get the print edition at no extra cost.
If you’d like the optional print edition, just fill out the form in the Member Clubhouse before August 31st. Do that, and we’ll ship a copy to you as soon as the guides are printed.
New for 2025: Digital Access Pass holders now also get access to the digital editions of our buyer’s guides — including both our Winter and Mountain Bike digital guides.
If you want a print copy of the Winter Buyer’s Guide, you can either purchase the Print & Digital Edition, or you can upgrade to BLISTER+, which gets you access to the guide + a LOT of other benefits.
Digital Access Pass holders can upgrade to BLISTER+ at a discounted rate by following the instructions in the Members Clubhouse.
Have a different question? Contact Us
Awesome Covershot!!!
Can’t wait to get my print guide even though I bought 2 pairs of skis this year.
Maybe I do need a 110 powder ski…