BLISTER Gear Reviews, Podcasts, & Articles
Blister Summit 2023: New Gear Recap
With over 30 brands at Blister Summit 2023, there was a whole lot of new 23/24 gear to test. Check out the new-gear highlights from each brand here.
Flash Review: 23/24 Nordica Unleashed 108 W
We just spent time at the recent Blister Summit on one of the 23/24 additions to the Nordica Unleashed series, the Unleashed 108 W. Check out our initial on-snow impressions.
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Rod Farvard on The North Face’s Athlete Development Program (Ep.160)
The North Face Athlete, Rod Farvard, returns to the show to talk about his sponsor’s unique Athlete Development Program, an initiative that provides 17 young athletes from a multitude of sports, including trail running, with resources to accelerate their careers and serve as activists in the outdoor space.
Flash Review: 23/24 Moment Countach 110
We’ve started spending time on Moment’s newest ski, the Countach 110. 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
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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Quick Thoughts on our Blister Summit + Summit 2024 Dates (Ep.248)
Jonathan shares a few words about our Blister Summit that just wrapped up; announces the dates for our 2024 Blister Summit, and offers a few thoughts about what the strikingly handsome Justin Bobb described as “the time of my life — literally one of the best weeks ever.”
Win ZipFit Liners and a Delaine Ski Sweater
The winner of this week’s gear giveaway will get a ski sweater from Delaine, plus any ZipFit ski boot liner!
Line Announces New 23/24 Chronic 94 & Chronic 101
The Chronic has been in Line’s collection for quite some time now, and for 23/24, they’re expanding it into two revamped models. Check out the details here.
Flash Review — 2023 Transition Smuggler
We’ve got a handful of rides on the new Transition Smuggler — 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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New Balance FuelCell Summit Unknown v3
New Balance continues to make inroads into the trail space in 2023 and the recently updated FuelCell Summit Unknown v3 marks an auspicious start to their year. As one of the most versatile and affordable options in the brand’s catalog, the shoe benefits from a bevy of features that prepare it for just about every type of run and trail condition. Check out our full review for the whole story.
Ministry Cycles on Suspension Design, Machining Frames, & Launching a Bike Company (Ep.157)
Chris Currie has taken a long, winding road to founding Ministry Cycles, and the bike he’s launching with, the Psalm 150, is every bit as interesting. So we sat down with Chris to get the whole story.
2023-2024 Salomon QST Echo 106
Salomon just announced a new QST ski, and the QST Echo 106 might look familiar to keen-eyed viewers of Cody Townsend’s Fifty Project. Check out our First Look of the QST Echo 106 for more info on this new touring ski.
Jeff Pelletier on Adventure Filmmaking, Storytelling Through Trail Running, & ‘Racing Georgia’ (Ep.159)
We recently sat down with adventure filmmaker, Jeff Pelletier, to talk about what makes ultra-distance trail running the perfect subject for visual storytelling; the challenges that filming POV-style videos add to running ultramarathons; his new series, ‘Racing Georgia’; and much more.
Blister Summit 2023 Recap & Photo Story: Day 1
Blister Summit 2023 is off to a great start! Check out the photos, stories, and recaps from the first day.
Drew Petersen on Skiing with College Kids, Mtn Towns & Mental Health, & More (Ep.247)
Jonathan sits down with Drew Petersen in Blister HQ to talk about skiing with Western Colorado University’s freeride team, and to dive deeper into certain topics around mountain towns and mental health that Drew explores in his film (that you can watch on YouTube), Ups & Downs.
Flash Review: 23/24 Rossignol Sender Free 110
We’ve had several reviewers spending time on two different lengths of the new Sender Free 110 — check out their thoughts so far.
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:
Knee Pad Roundup — 2023
We’ve been testing a ton of mountain bike knee pads, and our updated 2023 roundup includes 19 different options — from super lightweight, breathable options to burly, DH-ready ones.
Story Time With Ryan “R-Dog” Howard (Ep.182)
Ryan “R-Dog” Howard is one of the most stylish mountain bikers of all time, and it turns out he’s quite the storyteller, too. We sat down with Ryan to chat about everything from his four appearances at Red Bull Rampage; his absurd new “company vehicle;” and what Ryan describes as “the best trip of his life — even though it ended with a broken leg; and a whole lot more.
Flash Review — Commencal Supreme V5
We’ve started spending time on Commencal’s latest iteration of the Supreme DH race bike. 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.
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Amateur Hour: Atomic’s Matt Manser on Scotch, Part 3 (Ep.33)
How do you define “consistency” — the ability to produce the exact same thing time & time again, or producing a product that is never exactly the same, but is always of high quality? That question underlies our talk of official offerings vs independent bottlings, and we also talk about Scotch and spit buckets, Matt’s current top-3 ‘hottest’ Scotch brands, and more.
Flash Review — Nicolai Nucleon 16 Supre Drive
The Lal Bikes Supre Drive is one of the most intriguing developments in mountain bike drivetrains to come around in a while, and we got a first ride on the Nicolai Nucleon 16 that’s equipped with it.
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.)
Bjarne Salén on The Fifty Project, Adventure Vans, & Tiny Homes (Ep.272)
Today we’re talking with Bjarne Salén about his adventures & exploits with Cody Townsend for The Fifty Project, then we turn to his other big project: getting people to rethink how and where we live, and creating solutions to make that possible (see bjarnebuilds.com).
Revel RW30 Gen 2 Wheels
Revel just released the second version of their RW30 Trail/Enduro wheelset, claiming some improvements to their US-made, recyclable carbon fiber rims.
Blister Labs: Blister Community Reviews Update (Ep.257)
Too often, the consumer reviews you find online are incomplete and unhelpful. But through our Blister Labs partnership with Western Colorado University & the University of Colorado Boulder, we’re working to change that.
Cotic RocketMAX Gen4
Steel full-suspension bikes are popping up with increasing frequency, but Cotic has been on that trend longer than most, and their latest Gen4 RocketMAX is a big Enduro bike with some seriously impressive ride characteristics.
Ski Connexions
Ski Connexions is a unique one-man bootfitting operation by the highly skilled Barry Allison, and is the place to go for bootfitting in Whistler, CA to ensure the best possible experience out on the hill.
Win a Helmet and Glasses from POC
The five winners (!) of our Gear Giveaway this week will get an Axion Race MIPS Helmet and Define Glasses from POC!
Prevelo founder Jacob Rheuban on Designing a Better Kid’s Bike (Ep.181)
Kids’ bikes aren’t (or shouldn’t be) just scaled-down adult ones, and Prevelo founder Jacob Rheuban has a lot of great insights to share on what goes into making a good one.