GEAR:30

Latest Episodes:

Ski Touring Gear & Listener Questions May 07, 2021

Show notes

Which tech bindings feel the most like alpine bindings? What “very light” skis offer the best suspension and damping? Luke Koppa and Jonathan Ellsworth talk about a bunch of ski touring gear they’ve been reviewing and answer a number of your touring-related questions.

TOPICS & TIMES:

Blister Membership details (0:37)
Fischer TransAlp Pro (3:46)
DPS Pagoda Tour 100 RP (10:26)
Ronin 108 (13:21)
Weston Summit (16:48)
WNDR Alpine Vital 100 (18:26)
Alpine touring bindings (26:24)
Downsides of the Hoji Hole? (35:54)
“Very light” AT skis (37:25)
AT vs Touring vs SkiMo (40:41)
Pin bindings & the Hoji Pro Tour (42:36)
Heel lift & AT boots (46:12)
Inexpensive AT setups? (50:54)
Backpacks for touring (55:23)
What We’re Celebrating (59:26)

RELATED LINKS:

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AT Boots, Bindings, & Skis w/ Sebastian Steinbach Apr 30, 2021

Show notes

We talk with Sebastian Steinbach, the owner of Blacksheep Sports Freeride Shop in Munich, Germany, about a bunch of ski touring gear, including the new Tecnica Cochise 130, Lange XT3 Tour Pro, Dalbello Quantum Free 130, Plum Summit 12 binding, Moment Wildcat Tour 108, and more.

TOPICS & TIMES

Tecnica Cochise 130 (3:30)
Dalbello Krypton with tech toes (25:50)
Dalbello Quantum Free 130 (36:13)
Lange XT3 Tour Pro (48:19)
Plum Summit 12 binding (58:13)
Moment Wildcat 108 vs Wildcat Tour 108 (1:02:59)
Augment Skis & the Augment AM98 (1:08:43)
What We’re Celebrating (1:12:51)

RELATED LINKS:

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Reviewer Reports: Powder Skis w/ Paul Forward Apr 23, 2021

Show notes

Paul Forward and Jonathan Ellsworth talk about a bunch of the powder skis Paul’s been reviewing this season in Girdwood, Alaska.

TOPICS:

This heli season in AK (3:34)
Moment Chipotle Banana (5:32)
Folsom Rapture (19:48)
Faction La Machine (28:02)
4FRNT Renegade 184 & 191 (35:01)
More on La Machine (39:21)
Blizzard Spur (40:05)
Kye Shapes Numinous (49:16)
Whitedot Ragnarok ASYM (52:59)
What we’re celebrating (56:10)

RELATED LINKS:

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The Mt. Rushmore of Ski Suspension Apr 16, 2021

Show notes

Today we’re talking about one of the most important concepts in ski design: suspension. So what do we mean by “suspension”? Are terms like “plush” or “damp” synonyms, or are there important differences? And what are some of the best skis of all-time when it comes to suspension? Let the debate begin.

TOPICS & TIMES:

Updates & fake IG accounts (0:00)
Suspension: concepts, terms, & questions (6:29)
Our Mt. Rushmore selections (20:26)
What We’re Celebrating (53:18)

RELATED LINKS:

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Reviewer Reports: Fun Carvers & All-Mountain Skis Apr 09, 2021

Show notes

Luke Koppa & Jonathan Ellsworth report on the new skis they’ve been reviewing from Black Crows, Salomon, Dynastar, Wagner, RMU, Moment, & more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

CB's closing day, Luke's diet, & more (0:00)
Black Crows Mirus COR (8:35)
Salomon Stance 96 (13:14)
Dynastar M-Free 108 (19:31)
Wagner Blister Summit 97 (22:40)
RMU Apostle 3.0 106 (25:46)
Moment Commander 98 (26:55)
Pit Viper jeans (32:55)
What We’re Celebrating (35:15)

RELATED LINKS:

Blister Summit Videos

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Hoji on the Dynafit Radical Pro; the Hoji Hole; & More Apr 02, 2021

Show notes

Our patron saint of GEAR:30 is back on the show today, and we talked to Hoji about the new Dynafit Radical Pro; how it compares to the Hoji Free boot; the evolution of the “Hoji Hole” testing prototypes; and more.

TOPICS & TIMES

The new Dynafit Radical Pro (2:06)
Updates to the Hoji Lock walk mode? (6:21)
Radical Pro tongue update (10:12)
Radical Pro vs Hoji Free (13:12)
Hoji Hole & Skiing in the Future (15:55)
Whistler lockdown, testing prototypes (19:06)
More on the Hoji Hole (20:55)
Hoji’s podcast recommendation (25:22)

Blister Summit Videos

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Ski Boot Liners: Zipfit & Atomic Mimic Professional Mar 27, 2021

Show notes

Sascha Anastas and Jonathan Ellsworth discuss a couple of new liners they’re reviewing: the Zipfit World Cup liner, and the Atomic Mimic Professional liner that Matt Manser and Jonathan talked about on episode #132 of GEAR:30.

And be sure to check out the Blister Summit Panel sessions that we’re rolling out on our BLISTER YouTube channel. We just posted a conversation about Rossignol’s 21/22 lineup — and Rossi’s decision to retire their “7 Series” and the Soul 7, and what they are going for with the Black Ops series that replaces it.

TOPICS & TIMES:

Blister Summit Panels & Product Lineup Videos (1:20)
Blister Recommended Shop: Escape Route (3:35 )
Sascha: Zipfit World Cup liner (10:37)
Jonathan: Atomic Mimic Professional liner (19:56)
What We’re Celebrating This Week (28:50)

RELATED LINKS

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MADE: Custom Technical Apparel Mar 19, 2021

Show notes

MADE is a new company that’s setting out to make custom technicalapparel. Their 3 co-founders are all veterans of the technical apparel and outdoor industries, and Luke Koppa and I talked to Cheryl LeBarr, Capri Philip, and Dustin Butcher about whythey started MADE and how they are making this happen. (And, of course, we argue about anoraks, too.)

TOPICS & TIMES:

Co-founder backgrounds (04:63)
How did you all meet? (06:26)
MADE’s mission statement (09:46)
How do companies decide what’s a S,M,L,XL, etc? (10:23)
MADE’s measuring process (13:49)
Modular designs (15:16)
When does MADE launch? (17:18)
Who is the MADE customer? (19:34)
Industry sizing standards — or the lack thereof (21:27)
Materials (22:43)
Feature Sets (26:43)
Anorak Fight! (30:49)
Sustainability (37:03)
Time from placing order to receiving product (39:34)
Circularity (43:22)
Inclusivity & removing the concept of gender (44:50)
The present & future of MADE (47:07)
What We’re Celebrating (50:36)

RELATED LINKS

MADE’s Indiegogo campaign
Blister Recommended Shop: The Ski Monster
Bikes & Big Ideas: Cassie Abel, Wild Rye

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Shop Talk: Escape Route, Whistler & Squamish Mar 12, 2021

Show notes

Today we’ve got another Shop Talk episode for you, where we speak with folks from one of our Blister Recommended Shops to get their perspective on a mix of topics ranging from broadly applicable to all of us, to topics that help us better understand what’s going on in the local community that each shop serves.

James Reddy, the director of Escape Route in Whistler and Squamish, British Columbia, joins us to talk about Escape Route’s backcountry-only focus; the ski culture(s) of the Sea-to-Sky Corridor; elephant snot; the new Dynafit Radical Pro boot; the Fritschi Tecton; avy pack comparisons, and more.

SPECIAL PROMO FOR OUR CANADIAN LISTENERS: Go to escaperoute.ca and enter the promo code “blisterreview” for $50 off your purchase of $200 or more! Good till 6.30.21

TOPICS & TIMES

Escape Route today (3:40)
James’ background & history of Escape Route (5:51)
Alpine Demo Center (12:46)
Squamish vs Whistler: ski culture (21:17)
Elephant Snot (23:07)
Fritschi Tecton A/T binding (27:36)
New Hoji walk-mode boot: Dynafit Radical Pro (36:16)
DPS skis (41:40)
Avy airbag pack comparisons (48:36)
What We’re Celebrating (54:14)

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Blister Summit Recap & New Ski Reviews Mar 05, 2021

Show notes

Luka Koppa, Sascha Anastas, Kara Williard, and Jonathan Ellsworth offer a bit of a recap of our inaugural Blister Summit in Mt. Crested Butte, then discuss a number of skis from 4FRNT, Rossignol, Wagner Custom Skis, Dynastar, Icelantic Skis, WNDR Alpine, and Folsom Custom Skis that we spent time on at the Summit.

TOPICS & TIMES

Blister Summit Recap (00:42)
4FRNT MSP 99, 107, & MSP CC (13:50)
The new 4FRNT Hoji (17:19)
Dynastar MFree 108 - 182 vs 192 cm lengths (23:09)
Rossignol Rallybird TI (27:26)
Rossi Soul 7 vs Rallybird (29:10)
Rossi Sender vs Sender TI (32:34)
Wagner Skis’ custom ‘Blister Summit’ skis (36:49)
WNDR Alpine Vital 100 & Intention 110 (45:50)
Iclenatic Nia Pro (54:45)
Folsom Cash 106 & Folsom Primary 104 (57:16)
What We’re Celebrating (1:09:19)

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