About the Blister Website & Reviews
- "First, like everyone else, please allow me to thank you for your website. It is a revelation." – Nick
- “Your website is like crack and I can’t get enough of it. I’ll be getting the paid subscription.” — Thomas
- “This site is so good, I’ve neglected my children.” – D. Smith
- "Your reviews are mana from heaven for us gear junkies." – M. Kantor
- “Most magazine reviews suck. At this point, I just put my faith in Blister. It’s the best resource for ski / board / bike info out there. I tell all my friends about the site, and I wouldn’t buy a ski that you guys haven’t reviewed.” – I.C.
- “Your site is in a class of its own and the ski community appreciates it. I buy all my skis based on your recommendations and you have never pointed me in the wrong direction.” — E. Goldman
- "Your bike reviews & Deep Dive Comparisons are the best in the industry. Don’t stop. — L. Kubica
- “These Mountain Biking 101 and 201 articles are brilliant – Thanks! So much good info.” — P. Esra
- “Your 101 articles are off the charts good and break through the gas bag marketing that fogs product selection.” — Mr. P
- “You guys are like my ski bible, so thanks again for cutting through the bullshit within the ski industry.” — B. Gephart
- “After 50+ years of skiing, and almost as many years of reading reviews, I can say hand on heart, that this is the most comprehensive, honest, and reliable review publication I’ve ever come across. Thank you for the work you all do here.” — Hart
- First of all, thank you. Blister is a blessing and a curse. On one hand, I’m so happy to find a website that provides such thoughtful, in-depth reviews that don’t seem like corporate quid-quo-pro puff pieces. On the other, I’ve never studied something so intensely and obsessively in my life. It’s literally keeping me up at night. Thanks again!” — A. DeLeo
- “You guys are f---ing incredible!” — S. Latshaw
- “Not that you need to hear it for the millionth time, but you are the only source of reliable information regarding ski reviews. Which is frankly bizarre given the time the other magazines have had to get their shit together. Also, the blister podcast has been a real pleasure to listen to. I’ve turned every skier I know on to blister if they are not wise to it already.” — B. Chadsey
- “Blister is basically the standard by which all gear review sites should be judged.” – J. Pantone
- “Your reviews have forever changed how I shop for skis. Huge thanks for that.” – JS3
- “I have owned the Atomic Automatic, Volkl Mantra, and Blizzard Bodacious, and all of them have skied exactly as you described in your review. Thanks for giving us honest, accurate reviews.” – L. Hampton
- "It bears repeating just how excellent this site is along with all of the buyer’s guides and advice. The amount of effort and detail that goes into all this is simply astonishing, and I personally can’t thank you enough.” — D. Kunovac
- "I love Blister. It's the number one review sight in the world, as far as I’m concerned." – L. Dakota
About the BLISTER+ Membership
- “Keep up the fantastic work! This is the best money I have spent on a subscription….by far!” – J. Wilkerson
- "I just signed up myself — and my 16 year old son — for BLISTER+. What you're doing with the membership is super interesting, and I applaud you for thinking differently and manifesting your vision for the mountain sports community. I work in the healthcare finance industry and recognize that uninsurance and underinsurance is a real problem — especially for those whose recreation choices come with risk. Thank you." – Justin D.
- “Many thanks for the work you guys do, for the email exchange you had with me, and for making my days out on the slopes a lot more fun!” — E. Åsell
- “I just subscribed and want to say that you guys have got it spot on. No one offers the quality of gear advice you do. It’s a great service.” – W. Gebhardt
- “Thank you. I really enjoy the blister gear reviews and plan on maintaining membership for years to come.” – J. Fagel
- “I recently became a member and have been busy digesting all the info in the guide and all reviews online, and like everyone else commenting on your site, I have to say it’s bloody brilliant — honest and very informative. Congrats on the site. You have done an unbelievable job putting it together.” – P. Dunn
- “I couldn’t sign up fast enough. Your work over the years has been much appreciated and I am very excited about the new products. Keep it up. I would love to buy y’all a beer.” — R. Belanger
- “I really appreciate the enormous effort put into Blister’s reviews, and their unbiased nature. I am most happy to support this effort. Thanks also for your past detailed reviews of goggle lenses which have really increased my enjoyment (and safety!) when I ski.” – S. Mandelbaum
About the Blister Winter Buyer's Guide
- “This catalog — and all you do for all of us addicted to skiing — is amazing! This is the Holy Bible folks, the Holy Bible!” – I. Myashkov
- “Your Buyer’s Guide was the best such publication I’ve ever purchased in 20+ years following the industry.” – C. Kingsbury
- “Huge props on the Blister Winter Buyers Guide – it’s a freaking work of art. I especially love the rankings for conditions and application, in each category.” — K. Cunningham
- “Just wanted to let you know that I received the new guide no problem and was pleasantly surprised. You guys are to be commended. Better content and presentation than the publications that have been at it for say...45 years.” – J. Purdy
- “I thought the Buyer’s Guide was outstanding. Things I loved: (1) The category scales for specific ski characteristics. This is incredibly innovative and extremely useful (I imagine even more so for people who don’t religiously read your reviews like I do). (2) The categories were well thought out and I felt all the skis were great representations. (3) The photos were beautiful and the aesthetics of the guide on point and still on my coffee table. Thanks for the work. Well done!” – R. Belanger
- “All in all, I love the guide. I’ve told every ski person about your site and I scoff at most of the magazine reviews. I’m such a blister-head that I bought last year’s Fischer Motives online; am negotiating with a ski shop down the road for Enforcers; and I’m waiting for my Blister Pros to arrive this week (insta-quiver!). Thank you, thank you, thank you Blister.” – B. Olsson
Hi All
I really enjoyed the “predictions” podcasts (both gear and general ski industry outlook).
2 points:
1. I grew up skiing on a tiny local hill in Pennsylvania, but that was enough to encourage a lifelong love of the sport. I lived in the UK for 20 years and witnessed the indoor skiing phenomenon which I believe has great potential to introduce people to skiing in a very accessible way and bring new people to the sport. I think there must be loads of ways to improve that formative experience and get more people on skis. I feel like the industry doesn’t work on this “new customer experience” enough … I see this firsthand with colleagues who are keen to learn and the obstacles they encounter.
2. Speaking of more people on skis, I’m surprised no one mentioned potential growth of the sport in China and the potential impact this could have longer term both good (overall growth of the sport, scale and better economics in equipment development and manufacture, money into resort and infrastructure development, maybe even helping to solve some of the equipment size challenges, ie poor availability of smaller sizes, that were raised) and potentially bad (overcrowding of popular resorts due to waves of Asian tourists). I imagine the impact of tens of potentially tens of millions of new skiers into the sport would be massive.
Love everything you do. Come to Munich!
Jim
[PS: please don’t interpret my comments about “overcrowding” as at all discriminatory. It is just a comment on the supply /demand balance of the sport and the implications of a large uptick in demand, given the supply/capacity of infrastructure today. ]
PPS: Thanks to Kristin … I’ve not been perfect, but have been pretty consistent with my 15 burpee/day challenge! And this has proven a good catalyst to gradually increase my activity levels (small things do matter!)