BLISTER Gear Reviews, Podcasts, & Articles
Mountain Town Economics | Blister Summit 2023 Video
We brought together reporter Jason Blevins (Colorado Sun & resident of Eagle County, CO), Dara McDonald (Crested Butte Town Manager), Jonathan Houck (Gunnison County Commissioner), Pete Wagner (Wagner Custom Skis & resident of Telluride, CO), and Paul Forward (Blister reviewer & resident of Girdwood, AK) for a wide-ranging conversation on the current challenges facing mountain towns and a number of potential solutions.
Flash Review: 23/24 Head Oblivion 94
This season we spent time on Head’s Oblivion 94, which is designed to handle the park and the rest of the mountain. Here are our initial thoughts.
Blister’s Flash Reviews and Deep Dives are accessible to those who purchase one of our paid subscriptions
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2023-2024 Armada Declivity 102 Ti
Here are our measured specs, rocker profile pictures, and flex pattern numbers for the Armada Declivity 102 Ti.
Chris King MTN30 Wheels
Chris King is one of the first and biggest names in high-end hubs, and now they’re offering complete wheelsets under their own brand — and in keeping with King’s ethos, they’re high-end carbon fiber wheels, with US-made, recyclable rims.
Bikes vs. Skis, 4th Edition (2023): Part 2 (Ep.170)
Which ski brand is that sport’s equivalent of Santa Cruz Bikes? Are gravel bikes more analogous to skimo skis or frontside carvers? Which bike company compares most directly to ON3P skis? We’re tackling the most important questions in the outdoor industry in our latest Bikes vs. Skis episode.
Blister Brand Guide: Nike Trail Running Shoe Lineup, 2023
Nike continues to expand their trail-running options, and in our Brand Guide we cover every shoe in their 2023 Trail lineup to help you figure out how each shoe differs and which might make the most sense for you.
Drinking Gold: Coffee Gear, Pt. 3, with ON3P Skis’ founder, Scott Andrus (Ep.25)
Scott Andrus is back on CRAFTED to go deep into the weeds about the various gear options out there to make gold you can drink. We discuss the very inexpensive options; $1000 coffee grinders; Scott’s mind-blowing “Coffee Checklist for Jonathan”; and more.
Flash Review: 23/24 Armada ARV 106
This season we spent time on the latest version of Armada’s mid-fat, freestyle-oriented ski, the ARV 106. Check out our initial thoughts.
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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1000-Day Liners: 23/24 ZipFit Collection | Blister Summit 2023 Video
We sat down with Chris Dominick, Managing Director of ZipFit, to cover the origins and legacy of the brand, as well as all the new models and updates they’ve been rolling out lately.
Fox Union Shoe
Fox has been making MTB apparel for a long time, but the Union shoe is their first foray into that market — and they’re excellent.
Passages
In her latest Open Mic piece, Angel talks about course corrections, freedom and fear, magic and mirrors.
Sarah Ostaszewski on Winning Round 3 at the Cocodona 250 (Ep.172)
Sarah Ostaszewski has run the Cocodona 250 all three years of its existence and each time she’s gotten faster and faster. Her latest attempt on the grueling 250-mile course took her just over three days, good enough for the win and a fourth-place overall finish. We sat down with Sarah to talk about the allure of multi-day events; why she keeps coming back to the Cocodona 250; and more.
Deep Dives with Angel (May 2023) (Ep.260)
Angel Collinson just experienced “the best two weeks of my life,” so we discuss that; the process of self discovery; our series and why writing is often wrestling; and then Angel answers a number of questions that you had for her.
Flash Review — Fox Float
We’ve started spending time on Fox’s new Float rear shock, and it’s a big departure from the Float DPS. Check out our Flash Review for 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.
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Win Strafe Apparel
The two winners of our Gear Giveaway this week will each get apparel packages from Strafe!
BLISTER Reviews, Podcasts, & Articles:
Reviewing the News w/ Cody Townsend, November 2023 (Ep.289)
Cody and Jonathan discuss the *trillion* dollar outdoor industry; e-bike bans?; the business of retro sneakers / retro skis; Cody snowboarding; mtn town relationship advice; & more.
A Message to Our Blister Members
Jonathan Ellsworth discusses some important changes to our Blister Membership that are happening in 2024 — and a special offer for all current Blister Members.
Win a Pack from Hyperlite Mountain Gear
The winner of our Gear Giveaway this week will get the Crux 40 ski mountaineering pack from Hyperlite Mountain Gear!
Flash Review: 23/24 RMU Apostle 96 Pro
We just got our first day on the metal-laminate version of RMU’s narrower all-mountain ski — here are some 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.
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Reviewer Reports: Early-Season Ski Gear Testing, Mtn Biking in Nepal, & More (Ep.274)
Luke, Kara, and Jonathan discuss getting back on snow, ski boots, frontside skis, mountain biking in Nepal, engagement taco parties, and new apparel.
Dynafit Releases New Ridge Ski-Touring Binding
Today, Dynafit announced a limited-edition release of their newest binding, the Ridge, which they’re calling “the most comfortable ski touring binding on the market.” Here are the details.
Albatross Bikes on the Super-Adaptable Apogee Module (Ep.198)
There are lots of custom hardtail builders out there, but the constraints of pivot locations, maintaining frame alignment, and the tooling needed to make it all work means that fully-customizable full-suspension bikes are a lot rarer. Albatross Bikes has taken a very creative approach to offering customizable full-suspension bikes with their Apogee Module, and we brought them on to hear all about it.
The Blister Speaker Series at Western
NEXT GUEST: On Tuesday, December 5th, Courtney Dauwalter, Salomon athlete and one of the greatest ultrarunners of all time, is coming to Western Colorado University for another installment of our Blister Speaker Series.
Blister’s Holiday Gift Guide 2023 – Stocking Stuffers
‘Tis the season for giving, and our reviewers are here to help. We are kicking off our annual Holiday Gift Guides with some top stocking stuffer ideas for the bikers, skiers, snowboarders, campers, hikers, travelers, and just about any other type of person on your list.
‘Apocalypse Snow’ with Mike Rogge, Justin Bobb, & Jonathan Ellsworth (Ep.3)
We discuss the craziest and probably the greatest snowboard / ski / monoski / snowblade film of all time. The film was seen by millions of people when it came out, and nearly 40 years later, it still feels wildly innovative and fresh.
Flash Review — SCOR 2030
With their short-travel 2030, SCOR claims that “shredability meets pedalability.” Testing that claim has been our focus during our time with it so far — check out 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.
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Flash Review: 23/24 K2 Mindbender 90C
Here are some of our initial impressions after skiing the updated K2 Mindbender 90C, both on groomers and off piste.
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.)