BLISTER Gear Reviews, Podcasts, & Articles
Flash Review: 24/25 Nordica Santa Ana 102
Nordica is updating their longstanding Santa Ana series of skis for the 24/25 season, and we’ve been spending time on the widest model in the series, and the replacement to the Santa Ana 104 Free, the Santa Ana 102. Check out our initial on-snow impressions.
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2024-2025 Nordica Santa Ana 102
Here are our measured specs, rocker profile pictures, and flex pattern numbers for the new Santa Ana 102.
Flash Review: 24/25 K2 Omen Team
The Omen Team replaces the longstanding Poacher in K2’s park lineup, and while we have been lapping the park on it, one of our reviewers was curious to see how it’d work as more of a do-everything all-mountain option. Here are our initial thoughts.
Blister’s Flash Reviews and Deep Dives are accessible to those who purchase one of our paid subscriptions
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Sex & Ski Boots: Hoji, Matt Manser, & Greg Klein on the Present & Future of Ski Boot Design (Ep.295)
At Blister Summit 2024, we talked about sex, ski boots, and more with Hoji, Matt Manser, and Greg Klein.
Flash Review: 24/25 Armada ARW 112
A few weeks ago, Kara Williard brought the 24/25 Armada ARW 112 on a trip to Alaska. Here are her initial on-snow impressions.
Blister’s Flash Reviews and Deep Dives are accessible to those who purchase one of our paid subscriptions
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Win a MTB Kit From Outdoor Research
The winner of our Gear Giveaway this week will get a MTB jersey, shorts, and gloves from Outdoor Research!
Canyon Neuron:ONfly
The Bosch SX motor seems to have lit a fire in the lightweight eMTB category, and Canyon is the latest brand to release a bike featuring this popular new motor. Check out the new Neuron:ONfly.
Norco’s New DH Race Bike (Ep.219)
Norco hasn’t been shy about the fact that they’re working on a new DH race bike, and we sat down with Norco engineers Adrian Ward and Kirk McDowall to hear all about it.
Deep Dive: Rocky Mountain Instinct Powerplay
We compare the Instinct Powerplay to the Pivot Shuttle AM, Specialized Turbo Levo, Orbea Wild, and Norco Fluid VLT 130.
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Rocky Mountain Instinct Powerplay
Lightweight, lower powered eMTBs are having a bit of a moment, but the Rocky Mountain Instinct Powerplay makes a strong case for a full-power motor, even on a mid-travel Trail bike. Check out our full review for our take.
Flash Review: 24/25 Romp Oso 105
We’ve been logging time on one of the newest — and most different — skis in Romp’s stock lineup. Here are our initial thoughts on the Oso 105.
Blister’s Flash Reviews and Deep Dives are accessible to those who purchase one of our paid subscriptions
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2024-2025 Icelantic Maiden 102
Icelantic overhauled their longstanding Maiden and Nomad skis for 24/25, including longer lengths options for the women’s Maiden series, and we spent the season testing the new Maiden 102 against its competition to see where it falls in the all-mountain market. Read all about it in our Full Review & Deep Dive comparisons.
Deep Dive: Icelantic Maiden 102
We compare the Icelantic Maiden 102 to the Nordica Unleashed 98 W, Moment Sierra, Blizzard Sheeva 10, Faction Dancer 3X, Zag Slap 104, Armada ARW 106 UL, Nordica Unleashed 108 W, Atomic Maven 103 CTI, Fischer Ranger 102, Nordica Santa Ana 102, K2 Mindbender 99Ti W, Volkl Secret 102, DPS Kaizen 105, Line Optic 104, K2 Mindbender 106C W, Folsom Cash 106, & Salomon QST Stella 106.
Blister’s Flash Reviews and Deep Dives are accessible to those who purchase one of our paid subscriptions
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Devinci E-Troy Lite
We’ve been seeing a lot of new lightweight eMTBs hitting the market lately, and Devinci has made a very interesting one with their new aluminum, made-in-Canada E-Troy Lite. Dig into our First Look for all the details on the new bike.
Deep Dive: Ibis HD6
We compare the Ibis HD6 to the Yeti SB165, Orbea Rallon, Yeti SB160, Pivot Firebird, Norco Sight, Propane Tyee, Santa Cruz Nomad, Chromag Lowdown, Kavenz VHP 16, Specialized Enduro, and REEB Steezl.
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:
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.
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
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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
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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
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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.