BLISTER — Outdoor Gear Reviews, Podcasts, Buyer’s Guides, Giveaways

BLISTER Gear Reviews, Podcasts, & Articles

What’s the best way to make coffee? Strong opinions abound, and our editor-in-chief is currently trying to figure it all out. So we are launching this CRAFTED mini series on coffee gear to try to gain some clarity on the topic. See what you think, and let us know what you recommend!

In Search of the ‘Best’ Coffee Gear, Pt 1 (Ep.19)

What’s the best way to make coffee? Strong opinions abound, and our editor-in-chief is currently trying to figure it all out. So we are launching this CRAFTED mini series on coffee gear to try to gain some clarity on the topic. See what you think, and let us know what you recommend!

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BLISTER — Outdoor Gear Reviews, Podcasts, Buyer’s Guides, Giveaways

Trail Running 101: How to Recover from a Trail Run

How well you recover from a run is one of the largest factors dictating your potential for progress. Yet knowing exactly how to handle post-workout recovery can be confusing, with different approaches at times offering conflicting information. So in part ten of our Trail Running 101 series, we provide some basic and easy to follow tips for how to get started.

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Kara Williard reviews the Flylow Domino Jacket and Siren Bib for BLISTER.

Flash Review: New Outerwear Update: Women’s Flylow & Trew

We’ve been testing some updated and interesting kits from Trew and Flylow this season — check out Kara Williard’s 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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Luke Koppa reviews the Faction Mana 3 for Blister

Flash Review: 22/23 Faction Mana 3

Here are our thoughts so far on the 112mm-wide Faction Mana 3, which replaces the Faction Candide 3.0.

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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Blister MTB Brake Shootout

MTB Brake Shootout

What’s the most important component on a mountain bike? A strong argument could be made for brakes, and there are now a greater number of good, powerful brakes than ever before. But how do they actually stack up against each other? We’ve spent the past year-plus directly comparing eight of the top options from Shimano, SRAM, TRP, Hayes, Hope, Magura, & Cascade Components — in this in-depth roundup, we explain how they all compare, what each does best, and which ones might be ideal for you.

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BLISTER — Outdoor Gear Reviews, Podcasts, Buyer’s Guides, Giveaways

The Most Me

In our latest Open Mic, Hadley Hammer talks about “sameness,” freedom, and the ski industry.

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Simon Stewart reviews the Transition Relay for Blister

Transition Relay

Transition’s second e-bike, the Relay, is here — and among other things, it isn’t *always* an e-bike. Check out our First Look for the rundown.

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Jed Doane reviews the Lib Tech Orca Split for Blister

2022-2023 Lib Tech Orca Split

The Lib Tech Orca Split is a versatile, volume-shifted splitboard that has proven its capability across steep Alaskan lines, spring hardpack, and just about everything in between. Check out the full review for more info, including how it compares to other boards from Jones, Venture, & Rossignol.

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Luke Koppa reviews the Meier Leeper for Blister

Flash Review: 22/23 Meier Leeper

As Owen Leeper’s pro model, we were curious to see where the Meier Leeper would fall into the ~115mm-wide category. 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.)

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Drew Kelly reviews the Rossignol Sender 106 Ti Plus for BLISTER.

Flash Review: 22/23 Rossignol Sender 106 Ti Plus

We’ve been spending time on the redesigned Sender 106 Ti Plus — check out Jonathan Ellsworth’s 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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BLISTER Reviews, Podcasts, & Articles:

Dylan Wood reviews the Norco Fluid FS Carbon for Blister

2024 Norco Fluid FS Carbon

Norco released their updated all-rounder Trail bike, the Fluid FS Aluminum, last season, which was an immediate success due to its combination of performance and value for riders of all kinds. They’ve now introduced a carbon version with a few new build kits, too — check out all the details.

David Golay reviews the Race Face Era cranks for Blister

Race Face Era Cranks

Race Face calls the Era the “strongest, stiffest, and most durable” carbon crank they’ve ever made, and we’ve spent nearly a full year on a pair to find out how those claims hold up on the trail.

Lal Bikes on Making the Supre Drive a Reality (Ep.179)

Lal Bikes on Making the Supre Drive a Reality (Ep.179)

The Lal Bikes Supre Drive is an extremely interesting take on reinventing the mountain bike drivetrain, and we sat down with Cedric and Alex from Lal to get the whole story of taking it from a prototype to production, getting bike companies (and the public) on board with a very novel concept, and a whole lot more.

BLISTER — Outdoor Gear Reviews, Podcasts, Buyer’s Guides, Giveaways

Skiboot RX

Skiboot RX in Billings, MT is best known for its high-quality bootfitting, selection of alpine and backcountry gear, and a wide array of accessories, in addition to ski and board services.

Drew Kelly reviews the Zag Harfang 106 for Blister

Flash Review: 23/24 ZAG Harfang 106

The Harfang 106 is ZAG’s widest directional freeride model — check out our initial thoughts on how it’s been comparing to the competition.

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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Kara Williard reviews the Endura MT500 MIPS for BLISTER.

Endura MT500 MIPS Helmet

We have been spending the last several months in Endura’s updated MT500 MIPS helmet and have been impressed by its comfort and versatility. Check out our full review to learn more about this high-end Trail helmet.

On the latest edition of “Deep Dives with Angel” on our Blister Podcast, Angel Collinson talks about her recent reunion with Sage Cattabriga-Alosa & Ian McIntosh, then she and Jonathan dive deep into some crucial relationship dynamics that we all need to better understand; vampire erotica; your ‘Ask Angel’ questions; our Open Mic Series; & more.

Deep Dives w/ Angel, July 2023 (Ep.269)

Angel Collinson is back to talk about her recent reunion with Sage Cattabriga-Alosa & Ian McIntosh, then she & Jonathan dive deep into some crucial relationship dynamics; vampire erotica; your ‘Ask Angel’ questions; our Open Mic Series; & more.

Noah Bodman reviews the Vitus Escarpe for Blister

Flash Review — Vitus Escarpe

The Vitus Escarpe is a great value and looks well sorted on paper, but does it all come together on the trail? We’ve started spending time on one to find out — 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.)

SCARPA CEO, Kim Miller, on Their ‘Green Manifesto’ & B Corp Status (Ep.254)

SCARPA CEO, Kim Miller, on Their ‘Green Manifesto’ & B Corp Status (Ep.254) 

Kim Miller, Scarpa North America’s CEO, is back on GEAR:30 to discuss Scarpa’s Green Manifesto and their pathway to B Corp certification, plus we talk about the life cycle of certain products; some of Scarpa’s gear that exemplifies this commitment to sustainability; what some of the challenges and takeaways have been; and much more.

BLISTER — Outdoor Gear Reviews, Podcasts, Buyer’s Guides, Giveaways

Win MTB Shoes from Ride Concepts

The TWO winners of our Gear Giveaway this week will get the new men’s or women’s Accomplice or Accomplice Clip shoes from Ride Concepts!

Gear of the Year (So Far) (Ep.178)

Gear of the Year (So Far) (Ep.178)

We’ve been testing a huge range of bikes and gear this summer, so we sat down to chat about some of the things that have impressed us most so far, including bikes across the travel spectrum, SRAM’s new GX Transmission, and a whole lot more.

Assessing Greatness: The Art & Craft of Tennis, Great Sports Writing, & Top 5 Lists (Ep.31)

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.