GEAR:30

Latest Episodes:

12 New Skis from the Blister Summit Mar 04, 2022

Show notes

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)
K2 Dispatch 120 (33:11)
K2 Dispatch 110 (35:11)
Rossignol Sender 104 Ti vs 106 Ti (37:15)
What We’re Celebrating (42:19)

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Blister Summit Panel Session Topics & Speakers + Product Design & Innovation Feb 18, 2022

Show notes

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 Couch podcast. It’s a must-listen for anyone interested in design and innovation.

TOPICS & TIMES:

Summit A, Feb 21st (0:40)
How We Review Gear (2:48)
Ski Bindings (3:15)
Athlete Panel (4:51)
Ski Design (5:28)
Blister Labs (8:10)
AUA: Ask Us Anything (9:37)
Summit B, Feb 25th (10:09)
How We Review Gear (10:10)
Ski Boot Design (10:45)
Backcountry Safety & Safety Eqpt. (12:11)
Athlete Panel (14:31)
Women in the Ski Industry (16:52)

Product Design & Innovation (19:33)
What is Speedland? (24:27)
Nike Basketball (26:32)
Kevin Fallon’s background (29:09)
Dave Dombrow’s background (32:51)
How did you get jobs at Nike, Under Armour? (36:04)
Why do brands fail at moving into other product categories? (48:24)
Starting Speedland (53:56)
Trail shoe design (58:57)
Incorporating dual BOA dials (1:08:45)
Pricing & Value (1:13:59)
Removable carbon plate (1:18:02)
1st shoe: SL:PDX (1:19:56)
Speedland’s ‘Give Back’ program (1:26:07)
Optimizing for specific environments (1:27:37)
Price & Hyper Performance (1:29:28)
runspeedland.com (1:33:26)

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Reviewer Reports: Custom Insoles, Skis Boots, & Skis Feb 11, 2022

Show notes

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.

TOPICS & TIMES:

Update: Blister Summit (0:00)
Custom Insoles (6:34)
WNDR Alpine Reason 120 & 4FRNT Renegade (22:53)
Shampoo update from Luke (30:13)
Line Blade Optic 96 (31:23)
Blizzard Black Pearl 97, Volkl Secret 96, Salomon Stance 88W (36:20)
Lange RX 130 LV (39:39)
Moment Deathwish 104 (46:10)
Shaggy’s Ahmeek 95 (49:40)
Salomon Shift Pro 130 (53:02)
What We’re Celebrating (59:20)

RELATED LINKS:

Episode Sponsor: Backcountry Essentials
Episode Sponsor: mountainFLOW.com
Blister Summit Registration
Subscribe to our Weekly Gear Giveaway / Newsletter
Become a Blister Member / Get our Buyer’s Guide

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Boot Fitting & How to Get a Proper Ski Boot Fit Feb 04, 2022

Show notes

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)
Sebastian’s boot-fitting background (5:37)
Biggest Mistake When Buying Ski Boots (12:56)
Shell fit (16:37)
Alpine ski boots & running shoes (19:17)
Your instep (29:33)
Does "performance fit" always mean "tighter"? (35:29)
Pressure vs Pain (47:05)
Aftermarket liners & custom insoles (1:03:45)
What We’re Celebrating (1:11:49)

RELATED LINKS:

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New 2022/2023 Ski Gear Jan 28, 2022

Show notes

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're Celebrating (1:01:49)

RELATED LINKS:

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Shop Talk: Sturtevants, Sun Valley, & a Blueprint for Community Ski Areas Jan 21, 2022

Show notes

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)
Rotarun Ski Area (10:00)
Sun Valley & coaching McKenna Peterson (14:30)
Skiing & DJ’ing (18:11)
Surtevants’ operation (28:55)
Mountain biking around Sun Valley (33:00)
Ski gear (36:20)
Ski boots (50:40)
What We’re Celebrating (1:06:05)

RELATED LINKS:

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Introducing: Blister Labs Jan 18, 2022

Show notes

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 outdoor industry is Dr. Jeni Blacklock, who is the director of the Rady Partnership Program between CU Boulder and Western Colorado University.

TOPICS & TIMES:

What is Blister Labs? (2:17)
The Rady Engineering Facility at Western (6:21)
CU Boulder’s involvement (8:04)
New standards? (11:29)
Key faculty: Greg Vanderbeek & Sean Humbert (14:16)
Jeni’s current position & background (22:38)
Working at a bike shop and the NIST (31:37)
Some of Jeni’s recent work (41:05)
Blister Labs & the new “Outdoor Industry Engineering” program (43:23)

RELATED LINKS:

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On our Upcoming Blister Summit Jan 14, 2022

Show notes

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 (8:51)
Mt Crested Butte (11:45)
Where to stay (12:41)
Brands that will be there (14:57)
Protocols for Covid (18:12)
What we’re most excited about (21:22)
Come meet pro athletes & Blister reviewers (26:56)

RELATED LINKS:

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Skiing Austria, Ski-Boot Mods, & the Atomic Redster G9 RS, X9 S, & X9 WB Jan 08, 2022

Show notes

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 & TIMES: