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

BLISTER Gear Reviews, Podcasts, & Articles

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

Salomon MTN Carbon S3 Pole

The Salomon MTN Carbon S3 poles have a few notable features that make them stand out, and are worth a look if you’re in the market for a lightweight, adjustable ski pole.

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Jonathan Ellsworth reviews the Praxis Protest for Blister Gear Review.

Jonathan Ellsworth: Founder / Editor in Chief

Age: 50 | Vitals: 5’10,” ~180 lbs. | Years skiing: 30+ | Crested Butte, Colorado (see my runner profile) Background: I grew up in the Chicago area, and my first loves were soccer, basketball, and football. In high school, I was a varsity athlete in

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Eric Freson ski reviewer bio, Blister

Eric Freson

Eric Freson, Crested Butte, CO. (photo by Andrew Buergin) Age: 36 | Vitals: 5’’10”, 165 lbs | Years skiing: 31 | Residence: Gunnison Valley, Colorado Background: I grew up in small-town Vermont, and was encouraged to get outside from a very young age. I learned

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

Dylan Wood

Age: 24 | Vitals: 5’10”, ~155 lbs | Years Skiing: 21 | Current Residence: Gunnison, Colorado (see my MTB profile) Skiing Background I grew up in Evergreen, Colorado. My dad took me skiing as soon as he could convince my mom it was a good

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Luke Koppa reviews the Fischer Ranger 94 FR for Blister

Drew Kelly

Drew Kelly skiing in the backcountry near Crested Butte, CO. Age: 29 | Vitals: 5’11, 160 lbs | Years Skiing: 26 | Current Residence: Gunnison, Colorado Though I learned to ski on a school break when I was three, living in Alabama, I didn’t really

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Ben Firth contributor bio on Blister

Ben Firth

Age: 25 | Vitals: 6’1”, 155 lbs. | Years Climbing: 8; Years Snowboarding: 13 | Current Residence: Golden, CO I grew up in the rainy world of the Pacific Northwest. Living in Olympia, WA throughout my grade school years, I didn’t actually start climbing until

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Barbara Zangerl on the All Things Climbing Podcast

Barbara Zangerl (Ep.2)

We talk to Barbara Zangerl about her recent send of Magic Mushroom on El Cap with Jacopo Larcher, which is the first repeat of the route since it was first freed by Tommy Caldwell and Justen Sjong. We also discuss how climbing culture is different in Europe, and how she found herself free climbing grade VI big walls after initially being focused exclusively on bouldering.

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Blister's 17/18 Holiday Gift Guide

Win a pair of the DryGuy Travel Dry DX

Seriously, we think everyone should have a pair of DryGuy portable boot dryers. They’re simple, convenient, compact, and work great. So, for this week’s giveaway, we’re teaming up with DryGuy to give away 3 sets of their portable boot dryers. Enter Now for your chance to win.

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Blister at Outdoor Retailer / SIA 2018

Blister at Outdoor Retailer / SIA 2018

Hey, everybody — greetings from downtown Denver. We just wrapped up 4 long days at the Outdoor Retailer / SIA Snow Show, where we had a chance to check out all the new gear for the 2018-2019 season. We put a bunch of coverage on our

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Karen Crouse discusses her book, Norwich, on the Blister Podcast

New York Times sportswriter, Karen Crouse (Ep.65)

We talk to Karen Crouse about her new book on the history and principles of the Olympian incubator town of Norwich, Vermont; the current state of the Olympics; and how all-time achievers like Michael Phelps and Tiger Woods have informed her thoughts on the price of greatness.

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Cy Whitling and Jonathan Ellsworth review the K2 Recon 130 ski boot for Blister

2021-2022 K2 Recon 130

K2’s new Recon and Luv series of alpine ski boots are really light — the lightest we’ve ever reviewed, actually. Check out the specs plus our initial thoughts and fit notes.

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Matt Zia reviews the Black Diamond VaporLock Magnetron for Blister

Black Diamond VaporLock Magnetron Carabiner

Black Diamond’s Magnetron carabiners are certainly unique, but are they better than traditional lockers? We spent the past season using the VaporLock Magnetron on everything from single-pitch climbs in Indian Creek to multi-pitch ice in Montana to see just how effective this innovation really is.

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BLISTER Reviews, Podcasts, & Articles:

Tyler Curle goes on the Blister Podcast to discuss how he started building skis for Moment, his ski career, filming with TGR and Matchstick Productions, and more.

Up & Coming: Tyler Curle (Ep.112)

We’re not sure that anyone loves skiing more than Tyler Curle, and Tyler also happens to be one very hard-charging and versatile skier who has appeared in Matchstick and TGR films. So we had Tyler come out to Crested Butte to talk about growing up skiing at Mt. Rose; starting to help out at Moment Skis at the ripe old age of twelve; his favorite skis, skiers, and ski movies of all time, and a whole lot more.

Luke Koppa reviews the 2020 Moment PB&J for Blister

2019-2020 Moment PB&J

This year Moment tweaked their long-standing all-mountain-freestyle ski, the PB&J, and we’ll be spending more time on the new version this season. For now, check out our First Look video & writeup for our initial impressions.

Blister's 2018 Holiday Gift Guide

Blister’s Holiday Gift Guide 2019 — Stocking Stuffers

‘Tis the season to do some nice things, say some nice things, and maybe give one or two nice things to the people you care about, so this week we’re sharing a few of our own favorite gift ideas, starting with our top picks for stocking stuffers.

Jonathan Ellsworth, Luke Koppa, and Sam Shaheen discuss Blister's 2019-2020 ski-quiver selections on the GEAR:30 podcast

Ski Quiver Questions, Part 1 (Ep.77)

We’ve been thinking and talking a lot recently about ski quivers, and posted our reviewers’ personal selections for their 5-ski, 4-ski, 3-ski, 2-ski, and 1-ski quivers. And now on our latest episodes of GEAR:30 we discuss some of your related questions; what our biggest takeaways are; the dreaded 1-boot quiver; and more.

Blister Brand Guide: Blister breaks down Inov-8's road and trail shoe lineup

Blister Brand Guide: Inov-8 Running Shoe Lineup, 2019

Inov-8 got their start by making ultra-aggressive fell-running shoes, but they now make almost 30 trail and road shoes that cover a huge range. Check out our Brand Guide to see which Inov-8 shoes might be right for you.

Kelly Newlon goes on Blister's Off The Couch Podcast to discuss her business, Real Athlete Diets, her work as a chef, her work with the ultra running community, and more

Runner & Chef: Kelly Newlon of RAD (“Real Athlete Diets”) (Ep.28)

By the time she was 5 years old, Kelly Newlon had already identified two of her biggest passions: running and cooking. Those passions led her to running longer and longer races and becoming a classically trained chef who now is — quite literally — feeding and fueling the ultrarunning community, including a high number of its elite performers.

Eric Pollard goes on the Blister Podcast to discuss his new film and book, Drawn From Here

Eric Pollard on Skiing, Creating, & Evolving (Ep.111)

When it comes to skiing, product design, filmmaking, and art, few people have exhibited a more distinctive style than Eric Pollard. But for someone who has been working at the forefront of these mediums for about 20 years, we know a relatively small amount about the person behind all of it. So in this conversation, we talk to Eric about skiing and art and creating and evolving, and we discuss his soon-to-be-released film and book that share the same title, ‘Drawn From Here.’

Blister's 2019 casual shoe and boot roundup

Casual Shoe & Boot Roundup — 2019

While we love to talk about the newest and most technical footwear, we spend most of our time in much more casual shoes and boots. The good news is that we’re continuing to see casual-looking shoes that are more comfortable, more versatile, and / or more environmentally sustainable, and you can check out our roundup for several of our favorite men’s and women’s options.

Jonathan Ellsworth & Eric Freson review the Salomon S/Max 130 and Salomon S/Max 130 Carbon for Blister

2021-2022 Salomon S/Max 130 and S/Max 130 Carbon

Blister reviewer, Eric Freson, spent most of last season skiing the Salomon S/Max 130 & S/Max 130 Carbon, and he offers his take on the two boots, how they differ, and where he thinks they excel.