BLISTER Gear Reviews, Podcasts, & Articles
BLISTER+: Real-World Testimonials — Jonathan Ellsworth
A random crash on a very mellow section of a mtn bike ride left me in rough shape, and a friend took me to the emergency room. Even though I was paying nearly $600 a month for insurance, I still had to pay $8000 to cover my deductible.
With BLISTER+, I would have paid $0.
Ellie Smith on Racing all the Disciplines, Bike Setup, Welding, & More (Ep.148)
Ellie Smith entered the 2022 race season with few expectations and little more of a plan than to do her best and see where things went from there. Then she won the Australian National DH Championships (on an Enduro bike) — and that was just the start.
Trail Running Glossary of Terms: Trail Lingo
Trail running culture has a language all its own, full of slang terms, expressions, and phrases that add character to the sport. Here’s another update to our Trail Running Lingo glossary, in an attempt to define and explain some of the common, curious, and often-confounding vocabulary of the sport.
CORK: Holiday Edition (Ep.16)
Danielle & Katie Nichols, the sisters behind CORK in Stowe, VT, are back to talk more about “natural wine”; discuss Italy, “priest stranglers,” and Corksicles; offer advice on holiday gift buying; and tell us about the revamped CORK Wine Club.
2022-2023 Nordica Santa Ana Unlimited 93
Nordica’s Santa Ana series has gained a lot of fans over the years, and with the Santa Ana Unlimited 93, Nordica has done a good job maintaining some of the most notable qualities of the Santa Ana series while cutting out a whole lot of weight for a more uphill-friendly ski. Check out our full review for more.
Flash Review: 22/23 Fischer Ranger 96
Update 12.14.22: Luke Koppa adds his thoughts so far on the new Ranger 96.
Blister’s Flash Reviews and Deep Dives are accessible to those who purchase one of our paid subscriptions
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Yeti SB120
Yeti’s been busy, launching three new bikes in just the last few weeks. Next up we’re taking a closer look at the shortest-travel one, the SB120.
Ryan Montgomery on Creating an LGBTQ+ Trail Community Through ‘Out Trails’ (Ep.150)
Ultrarunning is often admired for the strength of its community, a quality that unites runners with a sense of belonging. However, we can always do more to ensure that this feeling of acceptance extends to everyone, regardless of how they identify. So, we sat down with Altra Athlete Ryan Montgomery to talk to him about Out Trails, an initiative he started to help build safe spaces for LGBTQ+ runners.
Chromag Darco and Lowdown
There might not be another brand on earth as well-known for aggressive hardtails as Chromag, but today they’ve launched their first (adult) full suspension bikes — the Darco and Lowdown — and they look to keep a lot of Chromag’s identity intact, just in a squishier package.
An Exchange: Cody Townsend & Jonathan Ellsworth on The Bear
For this edition of our Open Mic series, Jonathan Ellsworth and Cody Townsend exchange their takes on the FX show The Bear, discussing the plot, the cinematography, and the (controversial?) ending.
BLISTER+: Real-World Testimonials — Luke Koppa
Luke Koppa shares his injury experience and why BLISTER+ is not only useful for catastrophic injuries, but also “minor” ones — especially when you might forgo medical attention altogether, purely due to the cost.
Flash Review: 22/23 Zag Harfang 96
Our male and female reviewers have been testing two lengths of Zag’s directional all-mountain ski — here are their 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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Reviewing the News w/ Cody Townsend (November 2022) (Ep.239)
Cody and Jonathan discuss the FWT x FIS merger; the most Canadian news; our least favorite QBs; our big disagreement about the ending of The Bear (with spoilers); and more.
Heritage Lab Skis, with Marshal Olson (Ep.226)
Too often, we have to mourn the discontinuation of our all-time favorite ski designs. So Marshal Olson started Heritage Lab Skis to fix that.
Win Elan Skis
This winner of our Gear Giveaway this week can pick any non-Black Edition Ripstick or Ripstick Tour ski they want from Elan!
BLISTER Reviews, Podcasts, & Articles:
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.
If you’re already an active member, please log in.
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Win Strafe Apparel
The two winners of our Gear Giveaway this week will each get apparel packages from Strafe!
Bikes vs. Skis, 4th Edition (2023): Part 1 (Ep.245)
Which bike brand and which ski company is currently holding the ‘Cool Kids Belt’? Which brand do other companies secretly wish they could trade places with? We debate these questions and more in our latest edition of Bikes vs. Skis.
23/24 K2 Ski Boots | Blister Summit 2023 Video
We talk with K2’s Tom Pietrowski about all the new boots they’ve got coming for 23/24, including tons of BOA models, their 3-piece FL3X collection, & more.