BLISTER Gear Reviews, Podcasts, & Articles
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.
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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
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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!
Canyon Spectral 125, Trek Fuel EX, Santa Cruz Nomad, & More (Ep.147)
We’re still hard at work testing bikes and have updates on a lot of the new ones we’ve been spending time on, including the new Trek Fuel EX, the mulleted Santa Cruz Nomad, and much more.
Flash Review: 22/23 Scarpa 4-Quattro XT
We’ve been touring in Scarpa’s brand-new crossover boot, the 4-Quattro XT, and our impressions so far have been very interesting. Check out our initial takeaways.
Blister’s Flash Reviews and Deep Dives are accessible to those who purchase one of our paid subscriptions
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Art, Gear, & Beer: Blister Artist Series w/ John Fellows & Brandon Capps (Ep.15)
Artist, John Fellows, and New Image Brewing founder Brandon Capps, discuss our Blister Artist Series collab: the inspiration & production of the artwork; starting with the artwork to create the beer; how Jonathan came up with the name of the beer; the difference between an IPA & Double IPA; wabi sabi & kintsugi; and more.
BLISTER Reviews, Podcasts, & Articles:
Flash Review: 23/24 Scarpa Gea RS
Here are our initial thoughts on Scarpa’s updated Gea RS, including comparisons to the Tecnica Zero G Tour Scout W.
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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HT T2 & X3 Pedals
Our bike editor has been a huge fan of HT’s clipless pedals for a long time now, and the latest iterations of their Trail and DH pedals — the T2 and X3 — bring about some subtle but welcome refinements while retaining everything that made the older T1 and X2 great in the first place.
23/24 HEAD Skis & Boots | Blister Summit 2023 Video
We sat down with HEAD’s Andrew Couperthwait to discuss how they went about expanding their freestyle-oriented Oblivion series, including 2 brand-new models; Cole Richardson and other HEAD athletes’ roles in those skis’ development; the evolution of their Kore skis; their recently overhauled Kore boots, and more.
Stuff We Like: May 2023
For May’s edition of our monthly Stuff We Like series, we have a bunch of items to kick off summer, including water shoes and sandals, sunscreen, hats, towels, shorts, bike tools and accessories, chamois butter, and more. Check it out to see the latest gear our reviewers have been digging.
New Balance Fresh Foam X Hierro v7 GTX
The Gore-Tex version of New Balance’s updated Hierro v7 could be a popular model in North America this spring and summer, considering the Mountain West’s unprecedented snowpack. We’ve just begun testing, but so far the shoe’s off to an auspicious start, drawing comparison to models we’ve reviewed favorably in the past. Check out our initial impressions to learn more.
Jesse Melamed on His 2022 EWS Title, “Near Death” Save, Moving to Canyon, & More (Ep.171)
Reigning EWS Overall Champ Jesse Melamed joins us on Bikes & Big Ideas to talk about his 2022 season, his approach to bike setup, his battles with Richie Rude, moving to Canyon from Rocky Mountain, and a whole lot more.
New Tech / Safety Gear in the Backcountry | Blister Summit 2023 Video
Alexander Cernichiari (Ortovox) and Paul Forward (heli-ski guide, physician, & Blister reviewer) provide a state of the union on technology’s role in the backcountry and the related safety gear, and answer questions regarding avalanche airbags, interference between avalanche beacons and other electronics, apps that aim to identify avalanche terrain, the capabilities — and limits — of smartphones, and more.
Adventures in HomeBrewing, Distilling, & Coffee Roasting + the Launch of Calibration Coffee Lab (Ep.26)
Before Alex LeBlanc started Calibration Coffee Lab in Greenville, South Carolina, he was a mechanical engineer, a home brewer, home distiller, and a home coffee roaster. So what led him to leave the world of engineering to start a coffee company, and how did he go about doing it?
2022-2023 Meier BNK
Here are our measured specs, rocker profile pics, and flex pattern numbers for the Meier BNK.
Andrea Sansone and Andrew Hamilton on Tackling Colorado’s Most Coveted FKTs (Ep.173)
Andrea Sansone and Andrew Hamilton hold some of Colorado’s signature FKTs, including Nolan’s 14 and the Colorado Fourteeners, respectively. So, Matt Mitchell sat down with the couple to talk about the partnership they’ve formed by doing hard stuff in the mountains together; the endurance mindset; Wim Hof; and much more.
Mary McIntyre: How to Have X without X
In our latest Open Mic piece, Mary McIntyre writes about love, loss, and how to get to the bottom of what we really want.
Pivot Mach 4 SL V3
Pivot has dropped the new third-generation Mach 4 SL — their lightest, XC-race-oriented full-suspension bike — and while they’re talking about speed and race results first and foremost, words like “fun” pop up a bunch, too. And with a big range of builds covering both hardcore XC racing and more general-purpose lightweight Trail use, they just might be on to something there.