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

BLISTER Gear Reviews, Podcasts, & Articles

Blister Membership, Blister Gear Giveaway

Win a Blister Membership

Now’s your chance to win a year-long Blister Membership, which includes personalized gear recommendations from us; exclusive access to our Flash Reviews and Deep Dive Comparisons; a copy of our 18/19 Buyer’s Guide; and exclusive deals from brands like ON3P, Moment, J Skis, Folsom, Parlor Skis, and more…

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Luke Koppa reviews the Blizzard Rustler 10 for Blister

Deep Dive: Blizzard Rustler 10

We compare the Rustler 10 to the Rossignol Soul 7 HD, Salomon QST 106, Line Sick Day 104, Faction Prodigy 3.0, Fischer Ranger 102 FR, Atomic Bent Chetler 100, and more…

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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Jonathan Ellsworth reviews the Hoka One One Hupana for Blister

Hoka One One Hupana

The Hoka Hupana is billed as a bit of a do-everything shoe, so is it best thought of as a running shoe that can also work as a gym shoe and casual, everyday shoe? Or is it a casual shoe that can work at the gym or for the occasional run?

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Matt Zia reviews the La Sportiva Kataki for Blister

La Sportiva Kataki

The La Sportiva Kataki looks a lot like one of our favorite climbing shoes, the Sportiva Katana Lace. So how similar or different are the two shoes, and where does the Kataki really excel? Check out our review.

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Blister reviews the Liberty VMT 92

18/19 Liberty V92

Check out our initial on-snow impressions of the V92, including comparisons to the Renoun Z-Line 90, Blizzard Brahma, and Folsom Spar 88.

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.

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Blister reviews the Liberty VMT 92

2018-2019 Liberty V92

With full-length carbon, vertically laminated metal struts, and straight-up steel plates underfoot, Liberty’s brand-new “V” line of skis sound serious. Though the story gets a bit more complicated (and more interesting) when you take a closer look. Check out our measured specs, rocker pics, initial impressions, and Flash Review of the V92.

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Best and Worst Product Names, Blister Topic of the Week

Best and Worst Product Names

In honor of Outdoor Retailer kicking off today — where we’ll be checking out a ton of new products with both very good, and very bad names — we figured it’d be a good time to go over some of the best, and worst product names we’ve ever seen. Check out what we’ve put together, then let us know your own nominations for Best or Worst. (And by the way, consider this post at least PG-13. Also, that pictured Kayak is called the Cocaine, FWIW.)

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Blister's Duffel Bag Roundup — 2018

Duffel Bag Roundup — 2018

Used to be that a duffel was a duffel was a duffel. Not anymore. These days, almost every outdoor brand is making one (or several), so we’ve rounded up some of the best duffel bags out there and compared them side-by-side.

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Luke Koppa reviews the Line Sick Day 114 for Blister

Deep Dive: Line Sick Day 114

Update: We compare the Line Sick Day 114 to the Moment Blister Pro, ON3P Wrenegade 114, Faction Dictator 4.0, Liberty Origin 112, Rossignol Super 7 HD & RD, Blizzard Rustler 11, Fischer Ranger 115 XTi, DPS Wailer 112 Alchemist, Line Mordecai, and more…

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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Luke Koppa reviews the Line Sick Day 114 for Blister

2019-2020 Line Sick Day 114

We spent more time this past season on both lengths of the Line Sick Day 114. Check out our updated review and our new Deep Dive comparisons (including the ON3P Wrenegade 114, Liberty Origin 112, and Faction Dictator 4.0).

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BLISTER Reviews, Podcasts, & Articles:

Gordon Gianniny reviews the Nike Air Zoom Terra Kiger 5 for Blister

Nike Air Zoom Terra Kiger 5

The Terra Kiger is Nike’s take on a low-stack-height, fast trail shoe, and we’ve now put over 200 miles in it. Check out our review to see how it compares to the competition.

X Games Real Ski Gold Medalist, Jake Mageau goes on the Blister Podcast to discuss his skiing career, filming for Real Ski, fishing, his thoughts on style, & more

X Games Real Ski 2020 Gold Medalist, Jake Mageau (Ep. 127)

The creativity and talent on display in X Games Real Ski is always so bonkers that it can be easy to overlook all that goes into making these 90-second edits. So we talked with Real Ski 2020 winner, Jake Mageau, about what really goes into filming a successful 90-second edit; scouting and settling on locations; the insane “Mind Flip” he puts down in this edit, and more.

Bill Walton discusses bikes, Bike for Humanity, basketball, and music on the Bikes & Big Ideas podcast

Basketball Legend Bill Walton on His Love of Bikes, Life, & Humanity (Ep. 21)

Bill Walton is not only one of the greatest basketball players of all time, his passion for bikes is all-time, too. So we talked to Bill about his life-long love of bikes, and about his upcoming event, Bike For Humanity, which is a virtual event that Bill created as a way for all of us to show our solidarity in these times. We also discuss the top-5, all-time, NBA ‘bike’ guys; Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, and more.

Jonathan Ellsworth & Luke Koppa discuss on Blister's GEAR:30 podcast the new Marker Duke PT binding, how the Duke PT compares to other touring bindings; J Skis Slacker; Sego Condor 108; Volkl Blaze 106; 4FRNT Raven; & Tiger King

AT Binding Shootout, New Touring Skis, & Tiger King (Ep.96)

Luke Koppa, Jonathan Ellsworth, and Luke’s mustache discuss the pros and cons of a number of current AT bindings, including the new Marker Duke PT, the SHIFT binding, Daymaker Alpine Touring adapters, frame bindings, and tech toe bindings. They then discuss four new touring skis: the J Skis Slacker, Sego Condor, 4FRNT Raven, and Volkl Blaze 106. Then it’s time to talk Tiger King.

Jonathan Ellsworth reviews the 2020-2021 Blizzard Brahma 88

2020-2021 Blizzard Brahma 88

Blizzard has updated one of our favorite skis for 20/21, the Brahma 88. And you can now check out our First Look & updated Flash Review for more on this new 88mm-wide all-mountain ski.

Jonathan Ellsworth reviews the Blizzard Brahma 88 for Blister

Flash Review: 20/21 Blizzard Brahma 88

Update 4.17.20: Jonathan Ellsworth & Luke Koppa have updated their thoughts on the new Brahma 88 and how it compares to the previous Brahma.

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.)

Analisa Price reviews the Elan Ripstick 102 W for Blister

2020-2021 Elan Ripstick 102 W

Elan is updating their whole freeride line for 20/21, and we’ll be spending time on the updated women’s Ripstick 102 W. Check out our First Look & Flash Review to see how it compares to the crowded category of ~105mm-wide freeride skis.

Analisa Price reviews the Elan Ripstick 102 W for Blister

Flash Review: 20/21 Elan Ripstick 102 W

Check out our initial on-snow impressions of the new Ripstick 102 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.

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.)

Gordon Gianniny reviews the Hoka One One Rincon for Blister

Hoka One One Rincon

The Hoka Rincon packs a lot of cushion into an exceptionally lightweight package, making it an appealing option for long days on the road. But is this some specialty shoe, or does it work well even if you’re not focused on low weight & max cushion? Check out our full review.

Outdoor Industry Brands helping to fight the COVID-19 pandemic; Blister

How Outdoor Companies are Helping to Fight COVID-19

There are now a lot of outdoor companies doing a wide range of things to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic. So we’ve put together an article highlighting these efforts, and we invite you to share the companies you know of that are contributing to the cause.

Dominic Di Tommaso talks freerunning on Blister's Off the Couch podcast.

Freerunner, Dom Di Tommaso (@domtomato) (Ep. 46)

Dom di Tommaso (@domtomato) is a freerunner, a certified mind blower, and the guy behind one of our favorite Instagram pages and YouTube channels in the world. So on our latest Off The Couch podcast, we talked to Dom about his uncommon upbringing; his training, his focus, his injury history, and how he avoids dying doing the stuff he does; and more.