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A recyclable ski? Jonathan sat down with David Bouvier to talk about Rossignol’s new “Essential” ski ; discuss the origin of the project; the challenges posed by making the circular economy of a ski a priority; who this Essential ski is for; and how this project will influence other Rossignol products. TOPICS & TIMES: David’s role(s) at Rossignol (2:52) Rossignol’s history (4:04) The “Essentia...

In part two of our conversation with ATK CEO (and one of ATK’s chief product testers), Davide Indulti, we discuss ATK’s current binding lineup; the design differences between their four collections: Race, Speed Touring, Touring, & Free Touring; how Davide thinks ATK bindings stack up against the competition; some new products that are in the works; and more. TOPICS & TIMES Overview: ATK’s...

The Italian company, ATK Bindings , has been taking the tech-binding world by storm. And in this first podcast that the brand has ever done, we talk with ATK CEO (and son of ATK’s founder), Davide Indulti, about the surprising origins of this family business; a pivotal moment in ATK’s history; where ATK saw the biggest opportunities to improve tech bindings; and more. TOPICS & TIMES: ATK, Ferr...

In this Blister Labs update, Sean Humbert joins us to talk about the movie Real Genius; flies; ski testing and dynamic modeling; math and slarving; and more. TOPICS & TIMES: Growing up in Tahoe (4:46) Sean’s engineering background (8:27) From flies to robotics (24:55) Blister Labs (29:32)  Ski testing & dynamic modeling (35:38) Edge angles, load cases, & stability (50:02) RELATED...

Today, in another edition of our Reviewer Reports series, we’ve got a wide-ranging conversation with Kristin Sinnott, Dylan Wood, Kara Williard, Drew Kelly, and Luke Koppa, where we cover everything from the setups Drew used while touring for several weeks in Alaska this spring, to a whole bunch of skis that all of us have been using this spring — in both the backcountry and the resort. We also to...

We talk with Spark R&D founder, Will Ritter, about the current happenings at Spark; compare the splitboarding and backcountry skiing communities and gear trends; go over design highlights from their current lineup; and more. TOPICS & TIMES: Bozeman backcountry conditions (3:54) Spark R&D: Background (5:52) Spark’s new building (7:35) Current supply chain & shipping logistics (13:00...

We talk with DPS’s VP of product and operations about the recent history of DPS; discuss some of the specific skis in their lineup; hear a defense of carbon fiber; define a new rule for product design; clarify DPS Phantom; & more. TOPICS & TIMES: Thomas’ engineering & product background (5:06) DPS: state of the union (11:55) Carbon fiber (19:18) 22/23 DPS skis (23:54) Embarrassment &am...

We talk with Rachel and Drew Harding from The Spokane Alpine Haus about the highlights and challenges of this past season; skiing with kids; heated socks; and more. TOPICS & TIMES: Recap of the season (2:59) Family ski dynamics (8:16) “I’m sorry…” (17:04) Layering (27:12) Heated socks? (33:25) What We're Celebrating (47:22) RELATED LINKS: Blister Summit Panel Sessions Subscribe to our Newslett...

Jonathan talks about our most recent Blister Summit panel sessions; our upcoming Blister ‘Brand Lineup’ videos; an event this weekend; what we’re celebrating; & more. RELATED LINKS: Blister Summit Panel Sessions Subscribe to our Newsletter & Gear Giveaways Become a Blister Member / Get our Buyer’s Guide Watch: Spirit of the Peaks CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS: Blister Podcast Bikes & Bi...

Luke and Jonathan discuss new skis, ski boots, liners, and apparel from Faction, Salomon, ZipFit, Dynastar, Renoun, Majesty, Strafe, Lange, and more. Plus gas-station food and owls. TOPICS & TIMES: New Ski / Prototype (5:41) Gas-Station Food (10:31) 192cm & 182cm Dynastar M-Free 108 (20:19) Majesty Skis Dirty Bear XL (24:09) Renoun Endurance 98 vs. 88 (27:36) Faction La Machine Mega, Mana...

We talk with Bode Miller about his new company, Peak Skis and their new “Keyhole Technology”; revolutionizing ski manufacturing; his vision for Scarpa ski boots; his take on the Winter Olympics; and a whole lot more. TOPICS & TIMES: Bode on the Winter Olympics (3:30) Peak Skis (10:07) Peak skis line up: 6 models (14:40) “Keyhole Technology” (18:23) Scarpa ski boots partnership (30:45) Crystal...

We’re talking new gear and gear trends with Lucas Evans and Jeff Perry of Gear West, our Blister Recommended Shop in Long Lake, Minnesota. TOPICS & TIMES: Shop overview & Lucas & Jeff’s backgrounds (2:30) Consumer interest this season? (8:42) Splitboarding performance vs solids (10:46) Uphill skiing (15:12) Nidecker’s new binding (21:58) Skis, ski boots & flex patterns (25:05) Unis...

Jonathan Ellsworth was in the Cascade mountains of Washington this week with K2 skier, McKenna Peterson , and K2 ski designer, Jed Yeiser, and after a great day of skiing, we sat down to talk about ski developing and prototyping; ski testing; our ski-binding shootout; biathlons; flip flips; & books. TOPICS & TIMES: Skiing the Cascades (6:05) Arc — K2's R&D Center (9:42) Testing conditi...

Kristin Sinnott, Kara Williard, and Sascha Anastas talk about some of their highlights from the Blister Summit and discuss a bunch of the gear they spent time on from Fischer, Salomon, Dynastar, Renoun, Rossignol, and more. TOPICS & TIMES: Summit Recap & Highlights (3:33) Panel Sessions (10:49) Advice from pros (13:52) The gear demos + discussion with participants (14:47) Skis: Fischer Ran...

Cody and Jonathan review some news, then talk about 5 gear myths; cookware; coffeemakers; & more. TOPICS & TIMES: Diversity, Fairness, & the Olympics (10:10) Equal Pay: USA Soccer (17:36) Gear Myths  Myth 1: Stiff boots (20:36) Myth 2: Light gear (or heavy gear) is always better (30:51) Myth 3: You need 100% waterproof apparel (41:41) Interlude: Cookware (49:50) Myth 4: High DIN s...

Luke Koppa and Jonathan Ellsworth give a quick recap of the Blister Summit , then discuss a dozen of the skis we spent time on at the event. TOPICS & TIMES: Blister Summit (3:20) New (pink) Flylow gear (9:32) Kastle ZX115 (11:21) Moment Wildcat 116 (14:01) Fischer Ranger 102 & 108 (16:19) Wagner 109 & Will’s custom 105 (20:49) Line Blade Optic 114 (27:31) Icelantic Saba Pro 117 (30:04)...

Today we’re giving you an update on the topics we’ll be discussing at our upcoming Blister Summit , and telling you who the athletes, founders, product designers, and snow safety experts are that we’ll be discussing these things with. Then, in case you missed it, we’re reposting one of our favorite conversations we’ve ever had on product design in innovation, which ran previously on our Off The Co...

Kara Williard spells out the case for custom insoles in your ski boots, and discusses the Blizzard Black Pearl, Volkl Secret 96, & Salomon Stance 88W. Eric Freson talks about his trip to Canada and the WNDR Alpine Reason 120, 4FRNT Renegade, the Lange RX 130 LV, and the Salomon Shift Pro 130. And Luke Koppa talks about the new Line Blade Optic 96, Shaggy’s Ahmeek 95, and Moment Deathwish 104....

How should a ski boot actually fit? What does it feel like to have a “properly fitting” ski boot? And how do you achieve that? We’re discussing these questions and topics with Sebastian Steinbach, who is a boot fitting instructor in Europe for Masterfit University, and the owner of the freeride ski shop, Black Sheep Sports , in Munich, Germany. TOPICS & TIMES: Blister Summit update (2:56) Seba...

Luke Koppa and Jonathan Ellsworth discuss a ton of next season’s new products, and some of the most intriguing product categories.  TOPICS & TIMES: Lightweight Boots (3:30) Supercapacitor airbags (24:56) Volkl (32:25) Dalbello (39:17) Salomon (41:21) Blister Summit (43:58) Line (45:07) Atomic (48:51) K2 (53:09) Scarpa (56:55) Dynafit (59:17) Faction: from Dictator to Dancer (1:01:03) What...

We were recently in Sun Valley, Idaho, hanging out at Sturtevants , one of our Blister Recommended Shops, and talking with Sturtevants owner, Olin Glenne about Rotarun Ski Area (which could serve as a blueprint for local ski hills in other places); Olin’s lifelong love of skiing; the skiing in and around Sun Valley, and some of his favorite gear. TOPICS & TIMES: Intro & powder skiing (4:30...

Today we are excited to introduce you to a very big new initiative at Blister: Blister Labs . Blister Labs is a new partnership between Blister, the University of Colorado Boulder, and the brand-new, state-of-the-art engineering facility at Western Colorado University in Gunnison, Colorado. Joining me to talk about why we believe that Blister Labs represents a significant new development in the ou...

Jonathan Ellsworth and Blister Summit director, Kristin Sinnott, discuss the ins and outs of our upcoming Blister Summit ; why we’re including free professionally guided backcountry tours; which brands will be there; when to arrive & where to stay; and more. TOPICS & TIMES: What is the Blister Summit? (1:15) Logistics & guided backcountry tours (5:15) When to arrive / more logistics (8...

Matt Manser, Atomic’s ski boots product manager, is back to discuss Jonathan’s trip; Matt’s Jura coffee maker; our scotch & rye whiskey tasting sessions; skiing Zauchensee and Kitzsteinhorn on the Atomic Redster G9 RS, X9 S, and X9 WB; ski boot terms (and unconditional love); and some modifications we made to Jonathan’s ski boots — which you might want to consider for your own. TOPICS & TI...

We talk with ON3P Skis founder, Scott Andrus, about what’s been going on at ON3P, and we walk through the brand’s 22/23 lineup of skis. TOPICS & TIMES: Overview of the past year + Scott’s brother (3:45) Supply chain issues & materials (11:21) Custom skis & unisex branding (19:29) Top sheets (26:25) #blameandrus (28:25) Ski Lineup: Park Skis (35:18) Magnus and 1000 Skis (39:27) Jeffrey...