GEAR:30

GPS communication devices can be the difference between life and death in remote places. So we talk with Bivy ’s Pitt Grewe about the different types of technology and devices on the market; how these devices can affect decision making; satellite networks; complicated payment plans; and … Pitt’s impressive skills as a DJ. TOPICS & TIMES: Pitt’s background in the outdoor industry (1:21) Bar Mit...

Last Saturday, Sam Shaheen skied three different lines in one day on the Colorado 14er, Torrey’s Peak. Jonathan Ellsworth sits down with Sam to discuss the details of this “Torrey’s Peak Triple Crown”; the ‘D-Scale’ of rating ski descents; the gear, apparel, and food he used on the mountain; and the safety and decision-making process throughout the day. We’ve also included a complete list of the g...

Jonathan Ellsworth talks about testing the ON3P Woodsman 108 and Black Crows Navis while heli skiing with Eleven Experience in Iceland, and Sam Shaheen and Luke Koppa talk about their time on the Volkl Mantra 102 & Revolt 121, Faction Candide 5.0, and more. TOPICS & TIMES: Heli Skiing at Deplar Farm, Iceland (1:15) ON3P Woodsman 108 (5:00) Volkl Mantra 102 (13:25) Volkl Revolt 121 (17:05)...

Supercapacitors, Venturi valves, and scary-high currents — this week we discuss airbag design and technology with Black Diamond’s Director of Design Engineering. TOPICS & TIMES: Pete’s Background at BD (1:10) Why is BD using 3 different airbag technologies in 19/20? (2:55) Supercapacitors, pt. 1 (7:30) Jetforce technology and design (11:03) Airbag standards testing (16:04) Alpride E1 — Superca...

This week we talk to Patagonia’s senior material developer, Pasha Whitmire, about how Patagonia designs, develops, and tests their technical fabrics; myths surrounding waterproof / breathable materials; why the future of fabric development lies in sustainability; the advantages and disadvantages of working with big names like Gore-Tex; and a whole lot more outerwear geekery. TOPICS & TIMES: Th...

We talk to ON3P founder, Scott Andrus, about the 19/20 ON3P lineup, building skis for Michael Jordan & Tinker Hatfield, and we break quite a bit of news along the way. TOPICS & TIMES: ON3P’s 10-yr anniversary & the ON3P name (2:41) Building custom ON3Ps for Michael Jordan & Tinker Hatfield (5:22) Wrenegade Lineup (12:00) Metal Wrenegades (13:18) Metal Jeffrey & Woodsman?? (18:3...

Near-death experiences, avalanche airbags, and changing risk tolerance — this week we talk to mountain guide and Mammut’s safety expert, Doug Workman, about life and survival in the mountains. TOPICS & TIMES: Doug’s background in the mountains (2:18) Does safety gear affect risk assessment? (3:55) How an airbag saved Doug’s life (12:15) Are airbags becoming “required” backcountry gear? (22:34)...

Sam Shaheen, Luke Koppa, and Jonathan Ellsworth talk about new goggles; new skis; which ski companies made the biggest impressions on us this season; funniest answers so far to our BLISTER Survey ; and more. TOPICS & TIMES: New Goggles: high-end, price-point, and awful ones (5:50) Armada ARV 106Ti & 96Ti (16:00) Which ski companies stood out the most to us this season? (14:25) Some favorit...

Avalanche beacons might not be as sexy as other ski & snowboard gear, but their proper use and design can be the difference between life and death. So we sat down with the co-founder of Backcountry Access, Bruce Edgerly, to talk about avalanche transceiver design, backcountry safety research, and the most important — yet often overlooked — aspects of a rescue. TOPICS & TIMES: BCA’s transce...

Sam Shaheen, Kristin Sinnott, and Jonathan Ellsworth talk about some of their favorite new skis, then — in what might be our most anticipated review ever — Sam Shaheen gives us his honest, in-depth, pretty hilarious, and surprisingly insightful take on the dating app, Tinder. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alaska is a place where your gear really needs to hold up. So we talk to Eric Helmbrecht, owner of Powder Hound Ski Shop in Girdwood Alaska, about the trends he’s seeing in skiing and snowboarding; the gear with the most and the least durability issues; some of his favorite gear; the most Alaskan thing ever; and more. TOPICS & TIMES How Powder Hound has evolved (2:30) Trending: Resort skiing v...

Blister editors Sam Shaheen, and Luke Koppa, talk about the enormous amount of new apparel that has arrived at our HQ over the past few weeks. Sam and Luke are both serious nerds when it comes to this stuff, and their conversation highlights a ton of new apparel, from crazy new tech all the way to head-turning casual pieces. Let the geek-out begin. TOPICS & TIMES: The most sustainable shoe eve...

We talk to Prior’s head snowboard and ski shaper, Dominic Morin, about the origins of Prior, their philosophy of ski and snowboard shaping, their craziest designs, their new shapes for 19/20, and the legacy of Chris Prior. TOPICS & TIMES: The origins of Prior (2:15) Why Prior shapes cores by hand (3:43) What’s the craziest custom design you’ve done? (8:08) How do your snowboard designs influen...

We talk to Moment Skis CEO, Luke Jacobson, about next year’s lineup of skis; space movies; Ryan Gosling; Tyler Curle’s ski preferences; the “Google Bump”; and … more Ryan Gosling. TOPICS & TIMES: “Freestyle” collection: PB&J, Meridian, Wildcat 108, Deathwish, & Wildcat (5:00) The inspiration behind Moment’s space-themed 19/20 graphics (17:00) “Freeride” collection: Commander 98, 108, 1...

Today we’re talking about a whole bunch of skis, including the new Line Outline and new Sir Francis Bacon; the new Nordica Enforcer 104 Free; the 4FRNT InThayne; and the J Skis Friend. We also talk a bit about Luke and Sam’s article on caring for outerwear; and Jonathan Ellsworth makes a quasi-apology / mini confession about his previous stance on lightweight, inbound skis. Finally, there is a MAS...

The Outdoor Retailer / SIA show ended yesterday, so we sat down right after to debrief and discuss some of the most notable trends we saw, talk about the products we’re dying to try (and were most tempted to just steal), and some of the other odd and / or noteworthy people and things we saw at the show. TOPICS & TIMES: New trends in apparel and skis (1:10) What we’re most curious to try (8:29)...

Are you one of the many people who have ever wished that your ski touring boots were a bit stiffer or more comfortable? Well then listen up, because the bootfitters at Pulse Boot Lab in Revelstoke have come up with a number of innovative ways to achieve both. TOPICS & TIMES: Pulse’s “mathematical” approach to bootfitting (2:12) The Pulse Fit Assistant App (5:26) New tools for shell modificatio...

We talk to K2 ski designer, Jed Yeiser, about the 13 new skis that make up K2’s brand new “Mindbender” series. TOPICS & TIMES: Background: the Mindbender series (2:55) The individual skis: Mindbender 85 (9:20) Mindbender 90C (10:50) Torsional stiffness and design controls (12:21) Mindbender 90Ti (16:50) Mindbender 99Ti (18:55) Mindbender 108Ti (22:40) Mindbender 116C (29:10) Mindbender vs the...

We discuss the latest skis and outerwear we’re reviewing, including the Black Crows Corvus, Rossi Black Ops, Parlor Cardinal 90, Argent Skis Badger, Flylow Baker Bibs, and Patagonia Micro Puff Storm. TOPICS & TIMES: Rossignol Black Ops (1:40) Black Crows Corvus (6:35) Parlor Cardinal 90 (13:41) Argent Badger (18:51) Flylow Baker Bib (plus bibs vs. non-bibs) (21:33) Patagonia Micro Puff Storm (...

Caleb and Morgan Weinberg are brothers who founded Romp Skis in Crested Butte, Colorado, so we sat down with them at our headquarters in CB to discuss their backgrounds, what it specifically means to them to be a “ custom ” ski building manufacturer, how they ended up building skis for the 10th Special Forces Group, and more. Follow Romp Skis on Instagram TOPICS & TIMES: Finding their way to G...

Today we are making good on some past promises, so I sat down with Luke Koppa and Sam Shaheen at our Blister headquarters at Elevation in Mt Crested Butte . We start by talking about 3 skis that just missed the cut from earning a Best Of award from us this year. Then we turn to talk about a number of new skis we’ve been getting on or are about to get on, including the Folsom Trophy Carbon , Rossig...

Not all gear is great — or even good. So today we’re discussing a number of intriguing products that turned out to disappoint. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we’re talking with the one and only Eric Hjorleifson about his brand-new boot, the Dynafit Hoji Free, what’s new with this boot, and how it differs from the current Hoji Pro Tour . Then you’re going hear Eric talk about trying to improve and refine the latest iteration of his favorite ski, the 4FRNT Renegade, and finally, we wrap up our gear geekery by talking a bit about outerwear and Eric’...

Last week we talked to Will Ritter, the founder of the biggest splitboard binding company in the world, Spark R&D , about the origin story of Spark R&D, and some of the milestones and setbacks that the company has achieved — and survived — along the way. This week we’re running Part 2 of our conversation, and Will and I discuss some of Spark R&D’s current products, discuss the old...

Will Ritter is the founder of Spark R&D , the largest splitboard binding company in the world, and Spark R&D designs and manufactures all of their products in Bozeman, Montana. This turned into such an interesting conversation with Will that we are presenting it in two parts. Here in part 1, we talk about the history of Spark R&D, and whether or not you’ve ever ridden a snowboard, if y...