GEAR:30

This week, DPS introduced a new product that represents quite a departure for the company: the DPS Carbon Pisteworks 79 . And today, you’re going to hear one of the deepest dives we’ve ever done on GEAR:30 about the design and development of a new ski; how Blister Labs was involved; and the lengthy process of developing a ‘metal ski without the metal.’ RELATED LINKS: Blister Rec. Shop: Powder Houn...

Today, Olin Glenne, the owner of Sturtevants bike & ski shop is back on GEAR:30 to talk about the state of the bike industry and ski industry; the World Cup Finals that are being held in Sun Valley in March of 2025; Sun Valley’s impressive ski race programs and some things those programs are doing that might be good ideas for race programs elsewhere to consider. Olin and Jonathan also talk a l...

Luke and Jonathan offer their early-season reviewer reports, then Jonathan talks to Bangtail Bike & Ski’s new owner about why he did something that no other shop in the world has done — but why others might want to. RELATED LINKS 1: Blister Rec Shop: Powder7.com 2: GetCarv.com , use code: BLISTER32 3: Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+ 4: Get Our Winter Buyer’s Guide 5: Blister Summit 2025: Learn...

CARV is a slick and sophisticated system that aims to help skiers improve their skiing and have more fun on snow. And this winter, Blister is partnering with CARV to do 2 things: (1) see how — and how well — CARV accomplishes this for our team of Blister reviewers; and (2) see if the analysis we get from CARV provides insights that will enhance our ski reviews. So if you’re a fan of new tech, high...

Recently, Austin Smith created a stir when he posted a video of a prototype of a snowboard binding … that rotates. So Jonathan talks with Austin about the idea, his prototyping process, the testing process, and his predictions for whether we’ll see a development like this come to market. RELATED LINKS OpenSnow.com/buy (use code Blister50) Blister Rec Shop: Teton Village Sports Get Yourself Covered...

On this week’s episode, Kara Williard sits down with some of the crew from our Blister Recommended Shop, Powder7 , to quiz them on gear; discuss the skis, boots, and outerwear they’re most excited about this season; gear they’re sad to see go; the best and worst topsheets; and get some of their hot takes.  Then we dive into the topic of circular business and how Powder7 has maintained this as...

The snow’s been falling here in Crested Butte, and we’re already fantasizing about those really deep days. So today, Jonathan Ellsworth and Paul Forward are discussing pow skis. They start by making the case for wide pow skis, then, they talk about a bunch of current pow skis, old pow skis, and some design specifics that they think are good ideas when you’re building a wide ski that’s designed to...

Jonathan talks with Moment Skis CEO, Luke Jacobson, about Moment’s latest skis; some former Moment skis; some other companies’ skis; Moment snowboards?; why Hoji is a traitor(!!); and more. RELATED LINKS Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+ Get Our Winter Buyer’s Guide VIDEO: Luke J @ the Blister Summit TOPICS & TIMES: Company Overview & Mt. Rose (5:41) Factory Updates (8:43) Snowboards?? (17:08...

Kara Williard catches up with Drew and Rachel Harding of our Blister Recommended Shop, Spokane Alpine Haus, to hear all about the exciting recent developments at the shop; how this news runs counter to a lot of what you see from local retailers these days; what ski / snowboard gear they’re excited about for the 24/25 season, and more.  RELATED LINKS Spokane Alpine Haus Blister Recommended Sho...

When it comes to gear, we’ve all been there: loads of questions, crippling confusion, severe analysis paralysis. You need some help! So in this edition of GEAR THERAPY, BLISTER+ member, Pete Brantley, talks about getting back into skiing and playing football for the Oregon Ducks (and Chicago Bears!). Then he poses his most-pressing gear questions, and gets Jonathan’s best recommendations. RELATED...

We talk to ON3P Skis founder, Scott Andrus, about the 24/25 ON3P lineup; building skis in Portland, Oregon; and we dive into the weeds about numerous aspects of ski design and ski manufacturing that you really won’t hear about anywhere else. RELATED LINKS OpenSnow.com/buy (code: BLISTER50) Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+ Get Our Winter Buyer’s Guide Crafted Podcast: Scott Andrus on Knives Crafted P...

Today we’re talking about exploding fabrics, microwaving hotdogs, and whether the color of your jacket affects its performance. Dr. Jeni Blacklock is back to discuss all of this, and to provide an update on the Blister Labs ’ testing that’s been happening at the Rady School of Computer Science & Engineering at Western Colorado University, as part of the partnership program between Blister, Wes...

We spend so much time reviewing the news these days on our Blister Podcast, we were officially overdue to have Cody Townsend back on GEAR:30 to talk about his current gear preferences and the specific gear he’s using most these days. So today, we remedy that. RELATED LINKS Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+ Get Our 24/25 Winter Buyer’s Guide CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS: Blister Cinematic Blister Podc...

A Pedorthist is someone who is trained in the assessment of lower limb anatomy, biomechanics, and, of course – feet. Heather Van Glider is not only a Pedorthist, but also an experienced ski bootfitter, making her particularly well suited for the latest installment of our Very Deep Dive on Bootfitting series. We dive into the importance of custom insoles and orthotics; why they are beneficial...

Dan Abrams from Flylow is back to talk about toxic positivity, slide gliding, burrito grease, the Palisades base vs. Alpine base of Palisades Tahoe, what’s going on at Flylow, how they’re handling the transition away from PFAS, a few of Dan’s favorite pieces, and more. Also, we’re proud to announce that Flylow is the first apparel company to commit to covering their international athletes with BLI...

This week Venture Snowboards announced that they will also be making Venture skis. So Jonathan talked with Venture’s Klem Branner about why skis — and why skis now; what’s harder or easier about making skis vs snowboards; and what, exactly, is this new ski of theirs, the Sultan? RELATED LINKS Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+ Get Our 24/25 Winter Buyer’s Guide CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS: Blister Ci...

Since we’re releasing soon the 10th edition of our Really Big Book, Jonathan talks with Luke Koppa and Kara Williard about our latest buyer’s guide (pre-order ends on 9.01.24), what’s in it, how it’s evolved, and of course, we talk about that super sexy cover photo…. RELATED LINKS Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+ Pre-Order: Our 24/25 Winter Buyer’s Guide TOPICS & TIMES: BLISTER+ Members: Check Y...

Nikolai Schirmer has made quite a name for himself by sometimes sailing to — and then, almost always climbing up — very technical lines, then often flashing those lines at ridiculous speeds on relatively lightweight gear. Today, Niko and Jonathan have the great debate about pin bindings; talk about Niko’s approach to selecting gear; discuss the specific gear he’s currently using the most; when &am...

Today we’ve got another episode of our “Reviewing the Reviewer” series, where we ask our reviewers questions about their backgrounds and gear preferences to give you a more complete picture of the people behind our reviews. In the hot seat is bike reviewer, Zack Henderson, but in addition to mountain biking and gravel riding, Zack is also a snowboarder and a skier, so our conversation is almost eq...

Interested in ski design? Curious about where the next advancements in ski design might come from? Dr. Sean Humbert is back to provide an update on our Blister Labs ’ ski flex project and to go over some of the results and takeaways from the on-snow ski testing and dynamic modeling from this past ski season. Blister Labs is a partnership between BLISTER and the Western Colorado University - CU Bou...

Imagine being in freezing temperatures on a glacier and having to remove your harness and several layers of clothing just to pee. What about scrambling around a desolate desert looking for a place to pull down your pants in private? Maybe you don’t have to imagine — maybe you’re part of half the population who have to wear pants that weren’t originally designed for your anatomy. Gnara is an appare...

Wool has seen quite the resurgence in technical apparel over the past couple decades, and for good reason — it’s breathable, odor-resistant, and manages moisture better than most natural fibers. However, the way that most wool is spun into yarns can hamper its natural performance traits — at least, that’s what Nuyarn CEO, Andy Wynne, claims, and it’s why Nuyarn set out to come up with an entirely...

How has the ski / snowboard season in the southern hemisphere been this year? To find out, we caught up with Benji Knight and Darren Grimmett from Outside Sports in New Zealand; we also cover the gear trends they’re noticing in their area, and then they peel back the curtain on how, exactly, a local shop curates the collection of gear they offer — often picked from thousands of options — for their...

Camille Jaccoux, co-founder of Black Crows Skis, is back on GEAR:30 to catch up on what the brand has been up to since last we spoke four years ago; the legacy of the iconic Corvus; how they overhauled it for 24/25; other new products they’re rolling out this winter; and a whole lot more. RELATED LINKS: Bag Balm : use code BLISTER to get 20% off BLISTER+ : Become a Member Camille Jaccoux on Bliste...

Sean Fearon is a ski development engineer at LINE & K2, and he’s been busy — between the two sister brands’ 24/25 collections, Sean helped design over a dozen of the new skis. So Luke Koppa sat down with Sean to get the details on LINE’s new Pandora, Vision, and Optic skis (and how they all relate to each other); the overhauled K2 Reckoner and Omen series; working with Karl Fostvedt to create...