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:
Order & Read Now: Our 23/24 Blister Winter Buyer’s Guide
Order your print and/or digital copy of the biggest, most honest, accurate, and genuinely useful buyer’s guide in the ski industry. Includes 300+ skis, 70+ boots, & much more.
Order now to get the instant access to the Digital Edition and/or Print.
Leilani Bruntz: Crepitus — An Accident Report
When things go wrong in the mountains, we need to share these stories and see what we all can learn. In our latest Open Mic, professional guide, Leilani Bruntz, shares her recent experience of a difficult day in the mountains.
Flash Review — EXT Era V2.1 Fork
We’ve started spending time on the latest iteration of the EXT Era fork — check out our initial on-trail impressions of the Era V2.1.
Blister’s Flash Reviews and Deep Dives are accessible to those who purchase one of our paid subscriptions
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Mike McKnight on His Record-Setting Cocodona 250 Comeback & Discovering His Potential (Ep.174)
Salomon athlete Mike McKnight’s comeback at this year’s Cocodona 250 was improbable, to put it mildly. After trailing the leaders by more than 30 miles, he rallied to not only win the race, but to do so in record-setting fashion. So, we sat down with Mike to recap his victory, talk about his approach to 200+ mile events, and more.
Reviewing the News w/ Cody Townsend (May 2023) (Ep.262)
Cody and Jonathan discuss the case for climate optimism; this season’s record number of skier visits; Super El Nino; the Most Canadian News; mountain town advice (including a new pick-up line for mtn towns?); and of course, Succession.
Volkl Revolt 114, Blaze 114, & Secret 102 | Blister Summit 2023 Video
Volkl’s Chris McKenna runs us through the new Blaze 114, a lightweight freeride powder ski; their new big-mountain model, the Revolt 114; how the two compare; how the Revolt 114 differs from the rest of the Revolt series; the updated women’s Secret 102, and more.
Flash Review — 2023 Orbea Wild
We’ve started spending time on Orbea’s longest-travel e-bike, the Wild. Check out our initial thoughts.
Bikes vs. Skis, 4th Edition (2023): Part 3 (Ep.247)
Which ski company is most similar to which bike company? What’s the latest incendiary thing that will come out of Dylan Wood’s mouth? This final installment of our 4th edition is another fun one.
Win MTB Apparel from Flylow
The two winners of our Gear Giveaway this week will get Flylow’s new Trailworks Jacket plus any Flylow MTB shorts and a Flylow jersey!
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.