BLISTER Gear Reviews, Podcasts, & Articles
4FRNT — Turnagain Pass, AK
It’s not spectacular, but it’s unusually relatable and definitely worth watching.
Evoc Trail Builder Pack
Trails need maintenance, and that requires a lot of gear. Evoc’s Trail Builder pack makes carrying all that gear a lot more comfortable, and it still rides well when loaded down.
Arc’teryx Atom SL Hoody
As the fast-and-light take on the classic Atom LT, Arc’teryx’s Atom SL Hoody might initially seem like a niche piece for specific objectives. However, we’ve been impressed not only by the Atom SL’s light weight and packability, but also its versatility.
Backcountry Travel & Wilderness Medicine (Ep.62)
What items should you be carrying with you, and what do you need to know before venturing out into the backcountry in the first place? We discuss backcountry travel and wilderness medicine with Blister reviewer, AWLS instructor, and physician Paul Forward.
Blister’s Holiday Gift Guide 2017 — In the Garage
Time for the final roundup: these are our big-ticket (or just plain big) gift ideas.
2017-2018 Line Honey Badger
Line calls the Honey Badger “the best option for lapping the park, bashing urban features, and charging the whole mountain.” So we weighed in on where we think this Honey Badger feels most at home.
2018-2019 Scott Superguide 105
The Scott Superguide 105 has all the ingredients of a powerful backcountry & mountaineering ski, and it shares a lot in common with one of our favorite skis in that category. Check out our measured specs, rocker pics, and initial impressions.
The New Salomon S/LAB SHIFT MNC (Ep.3)
Salomon’s new S/Lab Shift represents a significant leap forward in binding design. Check out our conversation with Salomon’s Cody Townsend Chris Rubens, and Benoit Sublet, and our initial on-snow review.
Alpenglow Sports Winter Mountain Festival
Today, one of Blister’s Recommended Shops, Alpenglow Sports in Tahoe City, announced the schedule for their upcoming Mountain Festival — a nine-day free event aimed at beginner and intermediate backcountry users to celebrate human-powered mountain travel.
Win a Pair of Wagner Custom Skis
This week we’re giving away a pair of fully-custom skis from Wagner. Enter now for your chance to win.
2nd Look: J Skis The Metal
We’ve weighed in on The Metal as a more playful directional ski, but coming from the opposite end of the spectrum, how well does The Metal fare when compared to lighter, jibbier skis?
Win a Pair of Mountain Collective Passes
Best Christmas present ever? Give yourself and your favorite ski partner the gift of a pair of Mountain Collective passes. You’ll get access to a bunch of world-class mountains without any blackout dates. Enter Now.
Blister’s Holiday Gift Guide 2017 — Under the Tree
Here are some more of our favorite gift ideas…
What does it mean to talk about the “top end” of a ski?
What do we mean when we talk about the “top end” of a ski? Let’s clarify…
Full Movie: The Faction Collective — This is Home
With huge descents in Switzerland, pillows in Montana, gnarly urban in Finland, technical lines in the Wasatch, and a Verbier segment to end all Verbier segments — the Faction Collective movie, This is Home, highlights the mind-boggling talent on the Faction team. Check out the full film for yourself here.
BLISTER Reviews, Podcasts, & Articles:
Gore’s 3 New Gore-Tex Pro Fabrics (Ep.71)
Gore-Tex has been the leader in waterproof fabrics for decades, and today, they’re announcing a complete overhaul of their flagship fabric, Gore-Tex Pro. So this week we went to Banff, Alberta, and sat down with the category manager of Gore’s “Pro” line, Mark McKinnie, for an in-depth discussion about the new fabrics. We talk about what makes the new Gore Pro unique; the 3 different versions of Gore Pro; Gore’s intensive validation and field-testing processes; how the new ‘Pro’ fits into Gore’s sustainability goals; and much more.
Fall Baby Clothes Roundup — 2019
Looking for ways to keep your little one comfortable this fall? Our youngest reviewer is back again with some of the clothes he’s been rigorously testing this year — check them out here.
Interviews from Mile 201 of the Moab 240 (Ep.22)
What’s it like to run two hundred and one miles … and know that you still have another 40 miles to go? And why would you sign up and subject yourself to this? To find out, we went to Moab, Utah, to the Moab 240 Endurance Run to capture the very raw and unfiltered reactions from runners, pacers, friends, medics, and concerned mothers from the Geyser Aid Station at mile 201 of the Moab 24. And we also learned what this race — and this community — is really about.
2020-2021 Dynafit TLT Speedfit Boot
More people are skinning uphill at ski areas and touring “on-piste,” So Dynafit developed the TLT Speedfit specifically for “on-piste tours.” Check out our full review of the boot (including whether we think you can also get away using it for backcountry touring).
19/20 Moment Deathwish
We just spent a day on the new Moment Deathwish — check out our initial impressions.
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‘Blink of an Eye’ writer & director, Paul Taublieb (Ep.106)
If the story told in the new film Blink of an Eye weren’t true, nobody would believe it. Friendship, brotherhood, heroes, triumph, tragedy, and redemption are the topics, and we discuss all of them on our latest Blister Podcast with the film’s writer & director, Paul Taublieb. If you are interested in or intrigued by auto racing, you will love this one. And if you have zero interest in NASCAR, then you especially need to listen, for reasons we’ll explain.
Travel Backpack Roundup — 2019
Need a new carryon bag? Or a travel-friendly backpack? How about both? We’ve been using several options that fit all of those criteria — check them out here.
The Science & Witchcraft of World Cup Ski Tuning (Ep.70)
How do the world’s elite ski racers and their technicians squeeze every drop of performance out of their skis? We sat down with Cameron Smith who runs the race department for Head USA to learn about all the major aspects of ski tuning including base vs edge angles, base prep, and waxing. We also discuss why World Cup racers have 50 skis per discipline; the elusive “speed wagon”; and the delicate balance of science and superstition in ski racing.
Win a Men’s or Women’s Outerwear Kit from Flylow
Win a jacket + bib combo from Flylow!
2020-2021 Amplid Snommelier
As part of Amplid’s “Future Shapes” collection, their Snommelier is designed to “create a unique personality” on snow. And after spending a lot of time on this big-mountain gun, we’d say that Amplid’s claims are pretty spot-on. Check out our full review for more.
Cam Smith on Moving through Mountains (Ep.21)
When Cam Smith graduated high school in Rockford, Illinois in 2014, he had little or no mountain experience. But fast forward a few years, and Cam is now an accomplished trail runner, mountain biker, a member of the U.S. ski mountaineering team, a repeat winner of the Grand Traverse Mountain Run from Crested Butte to Aspen, and a repeat winner of the Grand Traverse Triple Crown. So we talk to Cam about his journey, his goals, his relation to running and skiing and mountain biking, his work as a coach and as a guide at the Adaptive Center here in Crested Butte, and more.