Which bike brand and which ski company would you buy stock in today? Who is currently holding the ‘Cool Kids Belt’? Which bike brand is currently the most overhyped, and which ski company is flying under the radar? Which brand do other companies secretly wish they could trade places with? We offer our current answers to all of these questions and more in our latest edition of Bikes vs. Skis. Check it out, and let us know your answers to these questions in the comments section.
TOPICS & TIMES
- Best Bang for The Buck: Bike (7:22)
- Best Bang for The Buck: Skis (10:39)
- Most Dialed & Complete Lineup? (14:51)
- Who Holds the ‘Cool Kids’ Belt? (22:52)
- Specific Bike the Cool Kids are On? (28:35)
- Most Coveted Bikes & Skis (31:11)
- Flying Under The Radar? (41:32)
- Brand that Other Co’s Would Switch Places With (47:51)
- Most Overhyped? (55:40)
- Who Has the Most Brand Loyalty? (1:01:04)
- Who Would You Buy Stock in Today? (1:05:04)
- Crashes and Close Calls (1:19:15)
- What We’re Celebrating (1:22:31)
RELATED LINKS
- Episode Sponsor: Gear West
- Blister Summit 2024 Registration
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- BLISTER+ Real World Testimonials
- VIDEOS: Blister Summit Panel Sessions & Brand Lineups
- See all of our Blister Recommended Shops
- Bikes vs Skis, 3rd Edition (2021): Part 1
- Bikes vs Skis, 3rd Edition (2021): Part 2
- Bikes vs Skis, 2nd Edition (2020): Part 1
- Bikes vs Skis, 2nd Edition (2020): Part 2
- Bikes vs Skis, 1st Edition (2018): Part 1
- Bikes vs Skis, 1st Edition (2018): Part 2
K2 only has a complete ski line if you exclude racing and race-derived skis, which they really don’t make any more (pour one out for the long-departed GS Race 10.0. I have no idea how or why we ever rode skis like that as daily drivers, but we did).
Salmon and Volkl totally make sense though.
I think that Jonathan’s suggestion of Blizzard is perhaps better than he thought. Again if you consider racing/piste skis they’re a lot stronger than K2, but they also extend all the way over to lightweight touring. Yes, they’re missing super-wide powder offerings, but other than that it’s a very complete lineup.
Agreed 100%. As soon as K2 was mentioned I thought, “Sure, but what about race skis?” Can’t be a complete line if you exclude an entire category of the sport. For downhill skiing, Volkl seems like the best pick – they have a huge range of skis, from race to super lightweight skimo to hybrid (Blaze) to freestyle and park, all-mountain, and powder (including making a 191cm 121mm ski, which Salomon doesn’t have). The only thing they don’t have is nordic – if including nordic, Rossignol is best pick imo, since Salomon doesn’t have any park skis.
On the Vermont bashing. I lived in Park City for 10 years, Vermont for six years (current home), and New England in general for an undisclosed number of years (hint I’m getting old!). Hands down, VT is the best total package and there is no where else I’d want to call home. Yes, your average ski day in CO, UT, etc. is better but when it is good I prefer VT terrain and vibe. And, the whole bro, it’s all about me culture in your average Western U.S. ski town gets old and I’ll take authentic VT any day. My teenage kids ask “why did we leave” on each of our UT ski trips but they’ll get it some day……
For best price and very cool I would like to give out a shout out to: http://www.airdropbikes.com
Got a Filter for my god son.
My cellar full of Moment Skis and Yetis bikes confirms what you said regarding brand loyalty.
What do the cool kids ski? Well, Folsom skis as we’ve seen in Alaska ;-)
Any update on what‘s occuring at Sego? Would hate to see them disappear
Surely ON3P cannot be considered cool if they consistently fail to send their ski to Blister for reviewing, or maybe the no publicity approach is what makes them cool? ;)