BLISTER Gear Reviews, Podcasts, & Articles
2023-2024 Armada Reliance 102 Ti
Here are our measured specs and rocker profile pictures for the Armada Reliance 102 Ti.
Boone Mountain Sports
Boone Mountain Sports is a family-owned and operated ski and snowboard shop in Evergreen, Colorado, and they offer a whole lot more than just amazing gear, including an unforgettable customer experience, word-class bootfitting and ski services, a brewery and coffee shop, and a place to connect with community and appreciate the outdoors.
2024 Fox Float
Fox says their new Float rear shock is meant to bring a lot of the performance of the Float X to a smaller, lighter package, but have they succeeded, and what are the tradeoffs? We’ve been logging a lot of time on the two back-to-back, and we’ve got some answers.
Stuff We Like: August 2023
For August’s edition of Stuff We Like, we’ve got everything from lightweight rain jackets to duffels and daypacks, trail running shoes, coolers, bike pumps, & more. Check it out to see all the latest stuff our reviewers have been digging.
Zack Giffin on Skiing, Tiny Houses, & Big Solutions (Ep.275)
Skier Zack Giffin (host of the TV series, Tiny House Nation & co-host of the podcast, Tiny House Tales) makes a compelling case for how smaller living spaces can be a significant part of the solution to affordable housing; homelessness; climate issues, energy consumption, and creating more real, actual, healthy communities.
A Guide to Skiing in New Zealand with Outside Sports (Ep.260)
Have you ever dreamt about skiing in New Zealand? We talk with local Kiwi experts from our Blister Recommended Shop, Outside Sports, to give us the rundown on what skiing in this Southern Hemisphere destination entails and how to make the most of it.
2023 GT Sensor & Sensor ST
The GT Sensor ST is their latest take on a short-travel bike that’s meant to be efficient and sprightly on the way up, while still being a lot of fun on the way back down. And having spent much of this spring and summer on one, we’re ready to weigh in.
Chromag’s Full Suspension Bike Development (Ep.184)
Chromag is unquestionably *the* first brand that a lot of people think of when it comes to hardcore hardtails, which makes their recent foray into full-suspension bikes especially interesting. And as we uncover in this conversation with Chromag engineer Joe Swann, the path to launching the Darco and Lowdown has been a long and winding — and fascinating — one.
Chef Yia Vang on Hmong Cuisine & Culture; ‘Run & Gun’ Restauranteering; & Spreading Appreciation (Ep.34)
Yia Vang is a multi-nominated James Beard Award chef, the founder & head chef of Union Hmong Kitchen; he competed on the Netflix show, “Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend”; hosts the show, ”Feral” on the Outdoors Channel; hosts another show, “Stoked” on the Food Network; and hosts the excellent podcast, “Hmonglish” which focuses on the Hmong people, their culture, and representation.
Park City Boot Room
When it comes to specialty bootfitting, particularly for those who ask a lot of their boots, spend countless days on skis, or really need to address some complex issues in order to enhance their time out on the hill, there are few places that have the breadth of experience and skills offered by Matt Schiller at Park City Boot Room.
Wolf Tooth Resolve Dropper Post and ReMote Pro Lever
There are a ton of good dropper posts on the market these days, but with their first effort at making a dropper, Wolftooth has managed to make an excellent premium option with some unique features.
Identity, Dreams, & Dislocations
In our latest Open Mic piece, Eric Booton shares a story that many of us probably need to hear.
Jason Hardrath & The Rocky Mountain Grand Slam (Ep.180)
The Rocky Mountain Grand Slam involves summiting 122 peaks and 318,000 feet of elevation gain, and Jason Hardrath recently set a new FKT by completing it in under 40 days. So we caught up with Jason to break down his most recent accomplishment, and to discuss the blurring of the lines between running, scrambling, and soloing.
Flash Review — REEB Steezl
We’ve started spending time on the REEB Steezl — check out our early impressions.
Blister’s Flash Reviews and Deep Dives are accessible to those who purchase one of our paid subscriptions
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Investing in the Planet: Kate Williams, CEO, 1% for the Planet (Ep.274)
What is 1% for the Planet, who started it, and what do they do? Furthermore, when a crisis breaks out (like the current fires in Hawaii), many of us wonder how best to contribute, which organizations to donate to, and how to go about determining that? Kate Wiliams offers some very helpful answers.
BLISTER Reviews, Podcasts, & Articles:
Hope Carbon Cranks, TR Stem, & More
Hope is launching a whole bunch of new stuff today, including a carbon fiber crank, a new stem, and more — and they’ve added bronze to the color options across their lineup.
Win Antti Ollila’s Setup
The winner of this week’s Gear Giveaway will win the Prodigy 3 ski from Faction and the fs 01 120 boot from phaenom Footwear, the go-to setup of Finnish freestyle skier Antti Ollila!
New Gear from Blister Summit 2024 (Ep.285)
Luke Koppa, Kristin Sinnott, Jonathan Ellsworth, Kara Williard, and Justin Bobb go over a few of the MANY highlights of last week’s Blister Summit, and then dive into a bunch of the standout products they were each able to try at the event.
Dynastar, Lange, & Look Announce 24/25 Skis, Ski Boots, & Bindings
For the 24/25 season, we’re getting a lot of new products from Dynastar, Lange, & Look — including several new skis, a whole new RS boot collection, and a new Look Pivot 2.0 binding. Check out the details.
Flash Review: 24/25 Dynastar M-Pro 98 W
Dynastar is overhauling their women-specific E-Pro 99 W for 24/25, and we spent time on the new version, the M-Pro 98 W. Here are our initial impressions.
Blister’s Flash Reviews and Deep Dives are accessible to those who purchase one of our paid subscriptions
To get our comprehensive Deep Dives and our initial, unfiltered reports on new gear, become a member and receive many other services, deals, and discounts.
If you’re already an active member, please log in.
(If you’re already logged in and a member in good standing and seeing this message in error, please refresh this page in your browser.)
Privateer 141 and 161 Gen 2
Privateer has made a name for itself by building burly, no-nonsense bikes for aggressive riders, and while their new second-generation 141 and 161 don’t appear to waver from that goal, a lot of the design details have changed, and in very interesting ways. Check out our First Look for all the info.
Continental on Designing, Developing, & Testing Their Overhauled Tire Lineup (Ep.209)
Designing a new MTB tire from scratch is a lot of work. Doing 5 at once is a massive undertaking — but Continental did just that with their updated gravity tire lineup. We sat down with Continental product manager Alex Haenke and Atherton Racing’s Dan Brown to get the full story on the development and testing of the new tires.
We asked the Pros: What’s the 1st Ski You Loved? | Video
At Blister Summit 2024, we asked Cody Townsend, Elyse Saugstad, Eric “Hoji” Hjorleifson, Drew Petersen, & Sander Hadley to tell us about the first ski they truly loved — and their answers did not disappoint.
Sensus Crue Flat Pedals
Born from the mind of Cam Zink, the Sensus Crue flat pedals are visually striking and made from high-end materials. So, how do they actually feel on trail, and how do they compare to the competition? Check out our full review.
Rossignol Announces New 24/25 Skis, Ski Boots, & Snowboards
Rossignol has announced a ton of new ski & snowboard products for the 2024-2025 season — including multiple skis, ski boots, boards, & more. Here are the details.
Flash Review — Ibis HD6
We’ve started spending time on the HD6, Ibis’s first foray into making a true modern Enduro bike. So how have they done? Check out our early impressions.
Blister’s Flash Reviews and Deep Dives are accessible to those who purchase one of our paid subscriptions
To get our comprehensive Deep Dives and our initial, unfiltered reports on new gear, become a member and receive many other services, deals, and discounts.
If you’re already an active member, please log in.
(If you’re already logged in and a member in good standing and seeing this message in error, please refresh this page in your browser.)
LIVE: Reviewing the News w/ Cody Townsend, Blister Summit Edition (Ep.296)
Last week at our Blister Summit, Cody and Jonathan recorded their first episode of Reviewing the News in front of a live audience, and it was great. Enjoy!