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

BLISTER Gear Reviews, Podcasts, & Articles

Boot Mechanics is a BLISTER Recommended Shop.

Boot Mechanics

Boot Mechanics is an impressive operation with a team of professional bootfitters, all of whom are MasterFit Certified, with two locations in Golden and Avon, Colorado.

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Kara Williard reviews the Five Ten Freerider Pro Canvas Mountain Bike Shoes for BLISTER.

Stuff We Like: July 2023

What gear have our reviewers been liking lately? In the July edition of our Stuff We Like series, we’ve got everything from car-camping setups to outdoor-bathroom solutions, bike components, and lots of summer apparel.

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David Golay reviews the 2024 RockShox SID Family for Blister

2024 RockShox SID, SID SL, and SIDLuxe

With the RockShox BoXXer DH fork getting an update last week, the SID and SID SL were seemingly due for one of their own, and now those new versions are here, along with an updated SIDLuxe rear shock. Check out RockShox’s latest XC suspension offerings.

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Dylan Wood reviews the Yakima StageTwo for Blister

Yakima StageTwo

Yakima is no stranger to the vehicle rack business, and their StageTwo is a well-executed, easy-to-use premium tray hitch bike rack. We’ve been using it for a few months and have been really happy with how it functions — check out our Full Review for the whole story.

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David Golay reviews the Canyon K.i.S. System for Blister

Flash Review — Canyon K.I.S. System

Canyon’s “Keep It Stable” (K.I.S.) system is a deceptively simple mechanism meant to calm down a bike’s steering in certain situations, and we just got a first ride on it.

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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At Blister Summit 2023, we sat down with Thomas Laakso, DPS’s VP of product and operations, to learn about their 2023-2024 ski lineup, including the brand-new Kaizen collection; how they’ve continued to evolve their use of carbon fiber, different woods, and other materials; the updated Koala series and Koala 111; making skis in the U.S., and more.

23/24 DPS Skis | Blister Summit 2023 Brand Lineup Video

We sat down with Thomas Laakso, DPS’s VP of product and operations, to learn about their 2023-2024 ski lineup, including the brand-new Kaizen collection; how they’ve continued to evolve their use of carbon fiber, different woods, and other materials; the updated Koala series and Koala 111; making skis in the U.S., and more.

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David Golay reviews the Starling Mega Murmur for Blister

Starling Mega Murmur

Starling has just launched a longer-travel version of their Murmur, now with a fully-UK-made frame, appropriately dubbed the “Mega Murmur.”

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Dylan Wood reviews the Norco Fluid FS Carbon for Blister

2024 Norco Fluid FS Carbon

Norco released their updated all-rounder Trail bike, the Fluid FS Aluminum, last season, which was an immediate success due to its combination of performance and value for riders of all kinds. They’ve now introduced a carbon version with a few new build kits, too — check out all the details.

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David Golay reviews the Race Face Era cranks for Blister

Race Face Era Cranks

Race Face calls the Era the “strongest, stiffest, and most durable” carbon crank they’ve ever made, and we’ve spent nearly a full year on a pair to find out how those claims hold up on the trail.

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Lal Bikes on Making the Supre Drive a Reality (Ep.179)

Lal Bikes on Making the Supre Drive a Reality (Ep.179)

The Lal Bikes Supre Drive is an extremely interesting take on reinventing the mountain bike drivetrain, and we sat down with Cedric and Alex from Lal to get the whole story of taking it from a prototype to production, getting bike companies (and the public) on board with a very novel concept, and a whole lot more.

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BLISTER Reviews, Podcasts, & Articles:

David Golay reviews the 2024 RockShox BoXXer for Blister

2024 RockShox BoXXer

The new 38mm-stanchioned RockShox BoXXer was a long-awaited and poorly kept secret. We have now logged a whole lot of laps on one and are ready to weigh in on how it performs, and how it compares to its competition. Check out our full review for all the info.

Paul Forward reviews the Folsom Giver for Blister

Flash Review: 23/24 Folsom Giver

Paul Forward has been spending time on a custom version of Folsom’s Giver shape that’s designed for daily skiing at Alyeska — check out his initial 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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Zack Henderson reviews the 2024 Orbea Rallon for Blister

Flash Review — 2024 Orbea Rallon

We were big fans of the prior-generation Orbea Rallon, but how does the new one stack up? 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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Blizzard announces 2024-2025 Black Pearl ski collection | Blister discusses

Blizzard Announces New 24/25 Black Pearl Skis

Blizzard’s Black Pearl skis are some of the most popular all-mountain skis in the world, and they just announced that they’re overhauling them for the 2024-2025 season. Here are the details.

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

Ski / Snowboard Outerwear Mega Roundup — Men’s (2023-2024)

Over the past couple of seasons, we have been testing *a lot* of ski / snowboard outerwear. So in this huge, “mega roundup,” we’re comparing all of these pieces head-to-head to help you figure out which ones might be worth considering. In Part One, we cover 20 different jackets & pants.

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

Win Skis From Elan

The winner of our Gear Giveaway this week will get Elan’s new Playmaker 101 ski!

On this week’s GEAR:30 podcast, Jonathan Ellsworth, Kara Williard, Justin Bobb, and Luke Koppa attempt to predict what’s “in” and what’s “out” when it comes to gear in 2024, what trends will be revived, what categories will see the most change, and they spin off into several other tangents.

Gear Predictions, 2024 (Ep.279)

Jonathan Ellsworth, Kara Williard, Justin Bobb, and Luke Koppa attempt to predict what’s “in” and what’s “out” when it comes to gear in 2024, what trends will be revived, what categories will see the most change, and they spin off into several other tangents.

Blister reviews the K2 Mindbender 106C

2023-2024 K2 Mindbender 106C

Here are our measured specs, rocker profile pictures, and flex pattern numbers for two lengths of the K2 Mindbender 106C.

Kara Williard reviews the Mindbender 106C W for BLISTER.

Flash Review: 23/24 K2 Mindbender 106C W

K2 updated their lighter “Mindbender C” skis for 23/24, and we’ve been skiing the new Mindbender 106C W. Check out our initial 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.

(If you’re already logged in and a member in good standing and seeing this message in error, please refresh this page in your browser.)

Blister reviews the G3 SEEKr R3 100

2023-2024 G3 SEEKr R3 100

Here are our measured specs, rocker profile pictures, and flex pattern numbers for the G3 SEEKr R3 100.