BLISTER Gear Reviews, Podcasts, & Articles
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.
Win Tickets to Blister Summit 2025
The winner of our Gear Giveaway this week will get 2 passes to our upcoming Blister Summit 2025! Enter for your chance to win — and either way, you can still save a lot of dough if you take advantage of our early-bird registration pricing, which is available till June 18th.
Deep Dive: Pivot Shuttle AM
We compare the Pivot Shuttle AM to the Pivot Shuttle LT, Orbea Wild, Specialized Turbo Levo, Devinci E-Troy and Rocky Mountain Instinct Powerplay.
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Pivot Shuttle AM
A lot of full-power eMTBs have focused on the longer-travel Enduro segment, but the Pivot Shuttle AM makes a compelling case for putting the Bosch Performance CX motor into a more lively, versatile, “all-mountain” package. Here’s our Full Review.
Reviewer Reports: World Cup DH Recap, Tons of Bikes, Suspension, Tires, & More (Ep.222)
We’ve been testing a huge spectrum of bikes — from Gravel to Enduro — plus a bunch of new tires, suspension, and more. Simon Stewart and David Golay sat down to talk about all of it, recap the World Cup DH season opener, and more.
Stuff We Like: May 2024
This edition of our Stuff We Like series includes everything from apps and tools designed for travel to duffel and ski boot bags, lightweight jackets, and more. Check it out to see all the latest products our reviewers have been digging.
Motion Instruments System 2 Suspension Data Acquisition
Pro racers have long used suspension telemetry to work on their bike setup, but those systems have traditionally been expensive, finicky, and tough to interpret. Motion Instruments’ new System 2 data acquisition package is meant to change that.
‘Better Off Dead’ & ‘Hot Dog’ with Amie Engerbretson & Jonathan Ellsworth (Ep.12)
Pro skier, Amie Engerbretson, joins us to coin new terms; offer scalding-hot takes; debate whether ‘Better Off Dead’ is responsible for rockered skis; and she definitely WANTS HER TWO DOLLARS!
Deep Dive: Yeti SB165
We compare the Yeti SB165 to the Yeti SB160, Santa Cruz Nomad, Rocky Mountain Altitude, Orbea Rallon, Norco Sight, Kavenz VHP 16, Ibis HD6, Contra MC, Trek Slash, Chromag Lowdown, Propain Tyee, SCOR 4060 LT, Cotic RocketMAX, Pivot Firebird, Specialized Enduro, and Banshee Titan.
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 Yeti SB165
The new Yeti SB165 is their first production mullet bike, and the longest travel one in their lineup as well. But is it a more easygoing alternative to their high-strung SB160 Enduro race bike or something else entirely? Check out our full review for our take.
2024-2025 Liberty Scope 104
Here are our measured specs, rocker profile pictures, and flex pattern numbers for Liberty’s new Scope 104.
Flash Review: 24/25 K2 Mindbender 89Ti W
This season we got on the narrowest metal-laminate ski in K2’s Mindbender series — here are our initial thoughts on the Mindbender 89Ti W, how it compares to the excellent Mindbender 99Ti W, 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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Flash Review — 2024 Pivot Switchblade
The Pivot Switchblade has long been a super-popular do-it-all Trail bike, but how does the new one perform? We’ve got some early impressions.
Blister’s Flash Reviews and Deep Dives are accessible to those who purchase one of our paid subscriptions
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BLISTER Reviews, Podcasts, & Articles:
Chef Mark Connell on Skiing & High-End Cuisine, Part 1 (Ep.48)
We talk to Mark Connell, the executive chef at PARC Aspen, about his life in skiing and high-end dining; how Jonathan & Mark first met; celebrity chefs, frozen pizza, white wine, & more.
EXT Storia V4
EXT has been making a lot of very impressive suspension products for a good while now, so is the latest V4 iteration of their Storia coil shock a worthy successor to the already very good V3? Check out our Full Review for our take.
Flash Review — Manitou Mara Pro PB
We’ve started spending time on the recently updated Manitou Mara Pro PB — and our initial impressions are promising. Learn more in our Flash Review.
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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2024-2025 K2 Mindbender 96C
Here are our measured specs, rocker profile pictures, and flex pattern numbers for the K2 Mindbender 96C.
Flash Review — Forbidden Druid V2
High-pivot Trail bikes are a lot more common than they were back when Forbidden launched the original Druid — so how does the Druid V2 stack up in that ever-growing class? 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.
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The 10th Anniversary of the Blister Winter Buyer’s Guide: Why We Started It, How It’s Evolved, & What’s in the Latest One (Ep.310)
Since we’re releasing soon the 10th edition of our Really Big Book, Jonathan talks with Luke and Kara about what’s in this latest one, how it’s evolved, and of course, we talk about that super sexy cover photo….
2024-2025 J Skis Escalator
Here are our measured specs, rocker profile pictures, and flex pattern numbers for the J Skis Escalator.
Win Running Shoes From La Sportiva
The two winners of our Gear Giveaway this week will each get the Prodigio or Prodigio Women’s trail running shoe from La Sportiva!
Time Speciale 10 and Speciale 12 Pedals
It’s always worrisome when a longtime favorite product gets revised, and Time’s new Speciale pedals were the latest to give us “did they screw it up?!” anxiety. So, have these pedals been meddled with under Time’s new SRAM ownership, or is it business as usual with the Speciale 10 and 12? We have thoughts.
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.