BLISTER Gear Reviews, Podcasts, & Articles
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.
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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.
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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.
The Most Me
In our latest Open Mic, Hadley Hammer talks about “sameness,” freedom, and the ski industry.
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.
John Kelly on Barkley Marathons Lore, Being Uncomfortable Being Comfortable, & Rebuilding Speed (Ep.157)
We recently sat down with La Sportiva Athlete John Kelly to talk about being only the 15th person to ever finish the infamous Barkley Marathons; the mindset required to run for several days straight; how he rebuilt his speed to run a sub-2:30 marathon; and much more.
Ski Manufacturing, Sustainability, & Atomic’s New Impact Statement (Ep.245)
Today we’re talking about the ski industry, ski manufacturing, and sustainability in general, and Atomic’s own historical and quite recent initiatives, including their new, annual Impact Statement.
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.
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
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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
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Blister Labs: AI, Machine Learning, & Ski Reviewing (Ep.233)
Dr. Sean Humbert is back to provide an update on our ski testing at Blister Labs; discuss the potential of artificial intelligence and machine learning for product reviewing and ski recommendation engines; and more.
Win Any Moment Ski
The winner of our gear giveaway this week can choose any ski they want from Moment’s diverse lineup of USA-made skis!
Flash Review — Pivot Shuttle LT
We’ve started spending time on Pivots big Enduro e-bike, the Shuttle LT, and our early impressions are very positive — but it’s also raised some interesting questions.
Blister’s Flash Reviews and Deep Dives are accessible to those who purchase one of our paid subscriptions
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Roundup: 23/24 BOA Ski Boots from Atomic, Fischer, K2, & Salomon
BOA dials are taking the ski boot world by storm for 2023-2024 — here’s an overview of what to expect from four different brands.
Flash Review: 23/24 Lange Shadow 130 LV
Update 1.26.23: We’ve added some more of our initial impressions of the new Shadow 130, including what we learned when A/B testing it against the Tecnica Mach1 130 on two different pairs of skis.
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:
GEAR THERAPY: A Guitarist’s Ski Gear Questions (Ep.256)
When it comes to gear, we’ve all been there: loads of questions, crippling confusion, severe analysis paralysis. You need some help! Welcome to our inaugural edition of Gear Therapy.
Win a Bike Rack from Yakima
The winner of our Gear Giveaway this week will get Yakima’s StageTwo premium hitch bike rack!
Esker Rowl
Esker might be flying under the radar for some mountain bikers, but their 140mm-travel Rowl makes a very strong case for why more folks should be paying close attention to what they’re up to.
Boot Mechanics
Boot Mechanics is an impressive operation with a team of professional bootfitters, all of whom are MasterFit Certified, with two locations in Golden and Avon, Colorado.
Stuff We Like: July 2023
What gear have our reviewers been liking lately? In the July edition of our Stuff We Like series, we’ve got everything from car-camping setups to outdoor-bathroom solutions, bike components, and lots of summer apparel.
Miranda Miller on DVRGNT Minds, Burnout, & Riding All the Bikes (Ep.180)
Miranda Miller is best known as a gravity MTB racer — and former DH World Champ — but she’s been branching out widely in her career, including riding a lot of gravel, and we sat down to talk about it.
2024 RockShox SID, SID SL, and SIDLuxe
With the RockShox BoXXer DH fork getting an update last week, the SID and SID SL were seemingly due for one of their own, and now those new versions are here, along with an updated SIDLuxe rear shock. Check out RockShox’s latest XC suspension offerings.
Yakima StageTwo
Yakima is no stranger to the vehicle rack business, and their StageTwo is a well-executed, easy-to-use premium tray hitch bike rack. We’ve been using it for a few months and have been really happy with how it functions — check out our Full Review for the whole story.
Flash Review — Canyon K.I.S. System
Canyon’s “Keep It Stable” (K.I.S.) system is a deceptively simple mechanism meant to calm down a bike’s steering in certain situations, and we just got a first ride on 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.
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Topic of the Week: Parenting & How Risky is Too Risky?
Parenting. It can be challenging, rewarding, exhausting, and … controversial. Recently a video went viral showing some risky parenting. What’s your take?
Mountain Towns & Outdoor Recreation: Challenges & Solutions (Ep.270)
For anyone who lives in or visits mountain towns, this conversation contains some of the best ideas and proposals we’ve ever heard for helping both mountain towns and outdoor recreation survive and thrive.
23/24 DPS Skis | Blister Summit 2023 Brand Lineup Video
We sat down with Thomas Laakso, DPS’s VP of product and operations, to learn about their 2023-2024 ski lineup, including the brand-new Kaizen collection; how they’ve continued to evolve their use of carbon fiber, different woods, and other materials; the updated Koala series and Koala 111; making skis in the U.S., and more.