BLISTER Gear Reviews, Podcasts, & Articles
Author Eric Blehm on Craig Kelly & ‘The Darkest White’ (Ep.309)
Our guest is Eric Blehm, author of The Darkest White, which is a book that every snowboarder and skier should read.
Flash Review — Pivot Shuttle SL
How does one of the original lightweight eMTBs stack up in an increasingly crowded market? Check out our early impressions.
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Outdoor Photography: Tips, Tricks, & Gear with Taylor Ahearn (Ep.299)
Taylor Ahearn has been photographing skiing, snowboarding, biking, and day-to-day life in the Gunnison / Crested Butte Valley for many years now, and in this conversation, Luke Koppa chats with him about how he turned that into a career; their favorite camera-related gear; tips to help *you* capture better photos next time you’re outside, and more.
Win MTB Packs from High Above
The TWO winners of our Gear Giveaway this week will each get High Above’s made-in-Washington Venture hip pack + a water bottle to go with it!
Chromag Lowdown
The Chromag Darco was one of the most interesting bikes we reviewed last year (and one of the most compelling, for the right folks). But what about its bigger sibling, the Lowdown? We’ve spent a ton of time on the longest-travel Chromag and are ready to weigh in.
Deep Dive: Chromag Lowdown
We compare the Chromag Lowdown to the Nicolai G1, Yeti SB160, Rocky Mountain Altitude, Chromag Darco, Pivot Firebird, Santa Cruz Megatower, Orbea Rallon, Norco Range, Contra MC, Trek Slash, Ibis HD6, Nicolai Nucleon 16, RAAW Madonna, Reeb Steezl, Starling Murmur Enduro, and Cotic RocketMAX.
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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Our 1st Annual Blister Film Awards (Ep.13)
At Blister Summit 2024, we launched our 1st Annual Blister Awards, and today we’re sharing highlights from the event, revealing the winners, and hearing from them, too.
Cane Creek on their “Air-Charged Coil” Tigon Shock (Ep.223)
Air- and coil-sprung rear shocks have been used on mountain bikes for decades, but Cane Creek’s “air-charged coil” Tigon shock is a novel concept. So we sat down with Will Hart from Cane Creek to hear all about it.
Flash Review: 24/25 Rossignol Arcade 88
This spring we got time on one of Rossignol’s brand-new piste-oriented skis — here are our thoughts on the Arcade 88 and where it falls in the frontside class.
Blister’s Flash Reviews and Deep Dives are accessible to those who purchase one of our paid subscriptions
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Flash Review — Michelin Wild Enduro MH & Wild Enduro MS
Michelin’s new Wild Enduro tires look a lot more aggressive than the prior-generation versions that they replaced, but how do they perform on the trail? We’ve started spending time on the Wild Enduro MH and Wild Enduro MS, and are ready to weigh in with some early thoughts.
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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Housing Solutions & Mountain Town Economics with Troy Russ (Ep.308)
If you love skiing, snowboarding, trail running, or mountain biking, then why the hell do you need to know about things like short-term rentals, zoning codes, and accessory dwelling units? Troy Russ explains.
Flash Review: 24/25 Salomon / Atomic Shift2 Binding
The original Shift binding was a big advancement in the touring binding category when it was first released, but it wasn’t without its flaws. The new Shift2 binding is meant to address those downsides while still letting you skin uphill in pins and get alpine-binding performance on the way down. We’ve been testing multiple pairs of the Shift2 to test those claims — here are our thoughts so far.
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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2024 Marin Alpine Trail E Bosch
Marin has dropped a new Alpine Trail E, featuring an all-new frame and suspension design and a move from a Shimano to a Bosch motor, all while hitting a very impressive price point. Let’s see what Marin brought to the table for the new Alpine Trail E.
Kona’s Back
After a turbulent couple of years, Kona’s founders are buying the brand back from Kent Outdoors.
Reviewer Reports: Travel Gear, Dinosaurs, & Camcorders (Ep.298)
Luke Koppa and Kristin Sinnott discuss some of the products they’ve found useful, surprising, or otherwise noteworthy while on the road or hurtling through the sky. They also get into extremely relevant things like camcorder storage solutions and dinosaur podcasts, the fact that Luke doesn’t actually like traveling, and more.
BLISTER Reviews, Podcasts, & Articles:
Devinci Recalls Chainsaw Frames
Devinci is issuing a voluntary recall of some Chainsaw frames. Here’s what you need to know.
Propain Spindrift 5
The fifth-generation Propain Spindrift 5 is still a 180 mm travel Freeride bike but has more configuration options than ever. With multiple wheel size options, single or dual crown builds, and a host of new features, there’s a lot to cover — join us as we dig in with our First Look.
Commencal T.E.M.P.O.
Commencal’s aluminum-only T.E.M.P.O. leans into its burly nature in many ways while still retaining the practicality that is necessary to be a competitive short-travel Trail bike in today’s market. Check out our Full Review to read on how that plays out on the trail.
Deep Dive: Commencal T.E.M.P.O.
We compare the Commencal T.E.M.P.O to the Cannondale Habit, Pivot Trail 429 Enduro, Revel Ranger, Revel Rascal, Niner JET 9 RDO, Yeti SB120, Scor 2030, & Yeti ASR.
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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Liv Cycling’s Ludi Scholz on Women-Specific Bikes, Suspension Tuning, & More (Ep.236)
Few companies still make truly women-specific mountain bikes, but Liv Cycling is leading the charge there — we sat down with Off-Road Category Manager Ludi Scholz to talk about what Liv does and why.
Flash Review — Cane Creek Tigon
We’ve started testing Cane Creek’s novel Tigon “air-charged coil” shock. Check out our early impressions.
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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‘Rocky’ with Brendan Leonard & Jonathan Ellsworth (Ep.20)
Brendan and Jonathan discuss the 1976 movie, Rocky, because Brendan has made the bold claim that Rocky is the greatest running movie of all-time. Tune in to see if you agree.
Flash Review — Fox Transfer Neo
We’ve already logged quite a bit of time on the new Fox Transfer Neo. Check out how it’s working so far.
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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Kona Remote 160 DL & Remote X
Kona has drawn up two burlier versions of the Remote eMTB with the Remote 160 DL and Remote X. Our First Look has all of the details on the new frame design, refreshed geometry, and bigger batteries of these new additions.
2024-2025 Salomon QST Lux 92
Here are our measured specs, rocker profile pictures, and flex pattern numbers for the Salomon QST Lux 92.
Atomic’s Jossi Wells, Tonje Kvivik, & Noah Wallace on the Realities of Being a Pro Athlete & the Creation of a New Industry Standard (Ep.321)
When outdoor athletes get injured, what happens? Today we talk about that with Atomic athletes Jossi Wells, Tonje Kvivik, and Noah Wallace, and we share news from Atomic that sets a new standard for what it means to take care of outdoor athletes.
Alpenglow Sports
Not only is Alpenglow Sports an excellent shop, it is also at the epicenter of Lake Tahoe outdoor culture.