BLISTER Gear Reviews, Podcasts, & Articles
Assessing Greatness: The Art & Craft of Tennis, Great Sports Writing, & Top 5 Lists (Ep.31)
Today’s conversation explores the broader question of how to assess greatness? To get there, Jonathan and Troy Russ discuss the art & craft of tennis (and whether it is the greatest of all sports?); the art & craft of great sports writing (and whether David Foster Wallace’s essay, Roger Federer as Religious Experience is the pinnacle of the form). Then we discuss Troy’s Top 5 all-time tennis players, which serves to help us assess greatness in any sport.
Five Ten Kestrel Boa
Five Ten cut its teeth in the bike world by making gravity-oriented shoes, and they’re still best known for those offerings. But the new Kestrel Boa is a much more XC-oriented shoe than we’ve seen from Five Ten before, and it’s meant to add a little bit of their gravity shoe know-how to an XC shoe form factor.
Flash Review — SRAM GX Eagle Transmission
We’ve been spending time on the new SRAM GX Transmission. Check out our impressions so far.
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SRAM GX Transmission & Bronze Stealth Brakes
SRAM’s new T-Type groupsets launched just a few months ago with high-end XX SL, XX, and X0 tiers, and now there’s a new, more affordable GX version. While the high-level details closely mirror those of the higher-end variants, SRAM has done a lot more than just make a less-expensive, heavier version of the Transmission. Check out our First Look for all the details.
OpenSnow’s Joel Gratz on Smoke Forecasting, Wildfire Tracking, Common Mistakes, & Best Practices for Adventuring Outdoors (Ep.268)
Before you head out to bike, hike, run, camp, or climb, wildfire, lightning, and smoke exposure are factors that need to be well understood. OpenSnow founder and meteorologist, Joel Gratz explains the science of smoke forecasting and wildfire tracking, and shares some of the most common mistakes and best practices for adventuring outdoors.
23/24 WNDR Alpine Skis & Snowboards | Blister Summit 2023 Brand Lineup Video
At Blister Summit 2023, we sat down with WNDR Alpine founder, Matt Sterbenz, to get a state of the union on the brand and discuss their 2023-2024 ski and snowboard lineup. We cover the brand-new Nocturne 88 skis; Shepherd snowboard and splitboard; revised Vital 98; the evolution of their “Algal Tech” and “Spiral Made” construction techniques; and much more.
Blister Labs: Wheelset Testing — Updates & Initial Results (Ep.253)
Today we’re providing some updates and discussing the implications of the initial results of our Blister Labs wheelset testing with Greg Vanderbeek and Travis Hainsworth.
Win a Pack from RMU
The winner of our Gear Giveaway this week will get the Core Pack 15L from RMU!
Deviate Cycles on High-Pivot Bikes, Onshoring Production, & the Lowlander Prototype (Ep.177)
High-pivot Trail bikes are becoming increasingly common, but Deviate Cycles was a pioneer of that trend, and we sat down with Deviate co-founder Ben Jones to talk about why they went that direction when few companies were; gearboxes & mass adoption of new ideas; onshoring production & their wild Lowlander 3D-printed titanium and carbon fiber prototype; & a whole lot more.
2023 Specialized P.Series
Specialized has overhauled its longstanding P.Series line of Dirt-Jump bikes, and the lineup now includes versions for the whole family, with wheel sizes ranging from 20’’ to 27.5’’.
Flash Review – Liv Intrigue LT Advanced Pro 0
The Liv Intrigue LT Advanced Pro 0 is an ultra high-end women-specific Enduro bike that we’ve been spending time on — Blister Members can now read our initial on-trail impressions.
Blister’s Flash Reviews and Deep Dives are accessible to those who purchase one of our paid subscriptions
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Yeti SB160
The Yeti SB150’s geometry was notably radical when it launched back in 2018. Since then, the mountain bike landscape has changed a lot, and the SB150’s successor, the SB160, no longer stands out as much on paper. On trail, though, it’s still an especially game-on Enduro race bike — and a damn good one for folks with the right approach and preferences.
2023-2024 Nordica Dobermann 5 S
Here are our measured specs, photos, and a quick rundown of Nordica’s race-inspired boot, the Dobermann 5 S, as well as details about the entire 5th generation of the Dobermann lineup.
Art & the Outdoors (Ep.267)
Why do we need centers of art in mountain towns and places of great natural beauty? It’s a question that any of us who live in or visit mountain towns ought to consider, and Jonathan discusses it with Courtney Gilbert, the curator of the Sun Valley Museum of Art.
Flash Review — Canfield One.2 Super Enduro
Enduro bikes have gotten longer-travel and burlier in recent years, but the Canfield One.2 Super Enduro still stands out, with 190 mm at both ends. So is it a long-legged Enduro bike, more of a pedalable DH rig, or something else entirely? We’ve started spending time on it to find out, and Blister Members can now read our early findings.
Blister’s Flash Reviews and Deep Dives are accessible to those who purchase one of our paid subscriptions
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BLISTER Reviews, Podcasts, & Articles:
Deep Dive: Contra MC
We compare the Contra MC to the Trek Slash, Norco Range, Kavenz VHP 16, Cannondale Jekyll, Forbidden Dreadnought, Cotic RocketMAX, Yeti SB160, Pivot Firebird, & Nicolai G1.
Blister’s Flash Reviews and Deep Dives are accessible to those who purchase one of our paid subscriptions
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Flash Review: 23/24 Kästle K130P LV
We’ve been testing the stiffest boot in Kästle’s line of “performance” ski boots — here are our initial impressions.
Blister’s Flash Reviews and Deep Dives are accessible to those who purchase one of our paid subscriptions
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Flash Review: 24/25 Nordica Enforcer 99
Nordica is updating all their Enforcer skis for 24/25, and we’ve been skiing the replacement for the Enforcer 100, the new Enforcer 99. Check out our initial on-snow impressions.
Blister’s Flash Reviews and Deep Dives are accessible to those who purchase one of our paid subscriptions
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Flash Review: 24/25 Nordica Santa Ana 92
Nordica is updating all their Santa Ana skis for 24/25, and we’ve been skiing the replacement for the Santa Ana 93, the new Santa Ana 92. Check out our initial on-snow impressions.
Blister’s Flash Reviews and Deep Dives are accessible to those who purchase one of our paid subscriptions
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WNDR Alpine founder, Matt Sterbenz, on the Benefits, Culture, & Craft of Saunas (Ep.40)
WNDR Alpine founder, Matt Sterbenz, aka, the ‘Sauna Shaman’ talks about how Hoji kicked off his obsession with saunas; their numerous benefits; and he lays out what it takes (and costs) to build your own sauna.
2023-2024 DPS Kaizen 105
The recently launched DPS Kaizen skis feature a new construction, new shapes, and are the latest in a long line of the brand’s do-it-all, carbon-construction skis. The Kaizen 105 sits in the middle of the new collection, and we’ve had two reviewers testing two different lengths of it — check out our Full Review & Deep Dive comparisons.
Deep Dive: DPS Kaizen 105
We compare the DPS Kaizen 105 to the DPS Pagoda 106 C2, DPS Koala 103, Peak 104 by Bode, Peak 104 by Dav, Salomon Stance 102, Rossignol Sender 104 Ti, Fischer Ranger 102, Armada Declivity 102 Ti, ZAG Slap 104, Salomon QST 106, RMU Apostle 106, K2 Mindbender 106C, Wagner Summit 106, Volkl Blaze 106, Volkl Mantra 102, WNDR Alpine Intention 108, HEAD Kore 105, Shaggy’s Ahmeek 105, Elan Ripstick 106, J Skis Hotshot, Blizzard Rustler 10, Black Crows Atris, Line Blade Optic 104, & Nordica Santa Ana 104 Free.
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.
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2023-2024 J Skis Allplay
Here are our measured specs, rocker profile pictures, and flex pattern numbers for the J Skis Allplay.
2023-2024 Moment Commander 102
Here are our measured specs, rocker profile pictures, and flex pattern numbers for the Moment Commander 102.
‘The New Radical’ with Connor Ryan & Jonathan Ellsworth (Ep.9)
Jonathan talks with Connor Ryan about his new video series, “The New Radical,” which kicks things off by asking the question, What is Radical?
The Key to Happiness?
In our latest Open Mic, Sander Hadley sets the astronomical and meteorological records straight, and has some thoughts on how to be happy.
How to Choose the Right Ski Length | BLISTER Video
How do you know what ski length is best for you? And why does it matter if your skis are too short or too long? Choosing the right ski length is tricky, but getting it right makes a huge difference. In this video, we’re here to help.