GEAR:30

Latest Episodes:

Reviewer Reports: Testing at Palisades, Ski Touring Gear, Favorite Ski Socks & Midlayers May 09, 2025

Show notes

Luke Koppa, Kristin Sinnott, and Jonathan Ellsworth discuss what they’ve been getting up to lately, and the gear they’ve been using to do so. Luke recaps his first trip to Palisades Tahoe, being there during Level 1’s mind-blowing SuperUnknown event, finally experiencing the iconic Wildflour Bakery, and some of the skis that stood out throughout the week. Kristin covers her recent trip down to the tropics, and Jonathan goes over some of the touring skis, boots, and bindings he’s been liking. We also dive into ski socks, the particular socks each of us used most this season, some new midlayers we’ve all been testing, and more.

RELATED LINKS:

Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+

TOPICS & TIMES:

Luke’s Trip Report (3:57)

Kristin’s Trip Report (11:22)

Jonathan’s Trip Report (12:58)

Volkl Revolt 101 vs. Fischer Ranger 102 FR (14:52)

Salomon QST Echo 106 (18:11)

Salomon MTN 96 & MTN Pure Binding (23:01)

ON3P Jeffrey & Mango Skis (28:49)

Atomic Hawx Ultra XTD 130 BOA (33:09)

Our Favorite Ski Socks This Year (36:19)

Patagonia Nano-Air Ultralight & Freeride (47:28)

Kristin’s Promise to Jonathan (1:04:36)

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What's New in Ski & Snowboard Bindings (Burton, Spark R&D, ATK Bindings, AlpenFlow Design) May 02, 2025

Show notes

What new thoughts and ideas emerge when you bring together in conversation makers of hybrid ski bindings and AT bindings and snowboard bindings and splitboard bindings? Well you’re about to find out, because at Blister Summit 2025, Jonathan Ellsworth led a conversation along these lines with Will Ritter of Spark R&D; Royal White, from Burton; Andy Merriman, from ATK Bindings; and Steven Waal, from the very new company, AlpenFlow Design. Enjoy, this is a great one.

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Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+

TOPICS & TIMES:

Exploring the Evolution of Bindings (3:11)

Customer Feedback in Product Development (5:47)

Design Principles of New Companies (08:50)

The Importance of User Experience (12:13)

Evolution of ATK Bindings (15:00)

The Future of Snowboard Bindings (18:02)

Challenges in Binding Production (21:02)

User Errors / Misuse of Bindings (23:58)

Understanding Binding Mechanics & Maintenance (34:03)

The Importance of Familiarity with Gear (37:10)

The Shift towards Lightweight Ski Gear (41:18)

Ethical Considerations in Product Development (46:54)

Bindings Compatibility (50:00)

The Cost of Backcountry Bindings Explained (54:03)

The Future of Binding Standards in Skiing (57:15)

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See Better, Ski Better: the State of Goggle Lens Tech Apr 25, 2025

Show notes

If you think all goggles are the same, well, think again. At our Blister Summit 2025, Jonathan Ellsworth spoke with Steven Kennedy (Giro), Ted Ligety (Shred Optics), Stefan Stahl (Glade Optics), and Gabriel Lobbi (Provuu) about some different approaches — and solutions — to the problem of seeing well on snow.

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Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+

TOPICS & TIMES:

Introductions (4:15)

Different Approaches to the Problem (7:00)

Photochromic & VLT (11:34)

High-Contrast Lenses (17:08)

Lens Shapes (19:53)

Goggles & Helmet Fit (24:11)

Flat-Light Optimization (28:48)

What's the Best Question I Haven’t Asked? (32:05)

Audience Questions (33:45)

Goggle Care (40:58)

Materials (42:11)

Shield Helmets & Corrective Lenses (50:27)

Fogging (53:23)

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Reviewer Reports: Closing-Day Setups, Trip Reports, Cody’s Surprise Visit, & More Apr 18, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, Luke Koppa sits down with Kara Williard, Jonathan Ellsworth, and the strikingly handsome Justin Bobb to talk about the many skis Jonathan and I opted to take out during closing weekend at CBMR; Kara’s powder-filled winter trips, and the two skis and single boot she used throughout; and Justin’s latest, crazy biking / skinning / snowboarding adventure + some of the boards and boots he’s been testing. Finally, we dive into some ski-touring boots discussions, and Jonathan tells us about his surprise visit from Cody Townsend.

RELATED LINKS:

Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+ Membership

TOPICS & TIMES:

Jonathan & Cody’s Surprise Coffee Date (2:49)

Colby MunicipalBoundaryLine (6:07)

Kara’s Trip Report (8:45)

Justin’s Trip Report (14:43)

Salomon QST X (16:23)

Luke’s Closing-Day Skis (24:02)

New Snowboards & Boots (26:32)

Jonathan’s Closing-Day Skis (35:46)

Black Crows Anima Birdie (47:06)

Atomic Hawx Ultra 115 XTD (49:25)

La Sportiva Sender (53:26)

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Gear Testing Tips & Tricks w/ Hoji, Ted Ligety, Anne Wangler, & Jess Tennyson Apr 11, 2025

Show notes

Today we are sharing the first of our Blister Summit 2025 panel sessions, and we’ve got a great one to kick things off. We’re asking the pros — Hoji, Ted, Anne, and Jess — how they go about assessing and testing ski and snowboard gear, and what advice they have for the rest of us? Plus you’ll hear Ted share one of his favorite (but questionable??) ways of testing skis.

RELATED LINKS:

Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+

BLISTER YouTube Channel

TOPICS & TIMES:

BLISTER+ Updates (00:00)

Intros (5:34)

Evaluating Prototypes (8:21)

Assessing Gear for Yourself (11:35)

Going in Blind vs Getting Info First (18:05)

Gear You Liked but Didn’t Expect to? (23:29)

Advice on How to Evaluate (28:41)

Trickiest Variables when Testing? (34:10)

Ted’s Favorite Testing Method (38:55)

Audience Q&A:

Evaluating Pow Skis Outside of Pow? (46:26)

Intuitive Products vs. Adapting to Them (49:27)

Personal Preference vs. Objective Performance (54:00)

How to Rule Out a Bad Tune? (55:29)

How Many Runs Should You Take? (56:48)

What Notes Do You Take? (1:00:16)

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25/26 Fischer Boot Lineup, the Importance of Inner Boots, & More w/ Christoph Lentz Apr 04, 2025

Show notes

Kara Williard catches up with Christoph Lentz, Fischer’s Global Product Manager for Alpine Boots, to discuss what they’ve been up to since the launch of their RC4 Lineup two seasons ago; how this lineup has expanded and evolved, including the new models for the 25/26 season; why Fischer has invested so much time and energy into “inner boots,” including using D3O padding in their latest liners; their all-new touring boot; the process for Vacuum molding plastics; Christoph’s favorite part of his job; and a whole lot more.

RELATED LINKS:

Our Blister Recommended Shops

Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+

BOA & the Death of Buckles? 2024 Ski Boot Design | Blister Summit Panel

TOPICS & TIMES:

Christoph’s Role & How it Came to Be (4:05)

Reflecting on the RC4 Pro (10:20)

25/26 RC4 Lineup / New Models (20:11)

RC4 Pro for Women (25:03)

Inner Boots, aka Liners (27:24)

D3O in Liners (29:52)

Vacuum Plastics & Molding Process (37:01)

The New Traverse (43:06)

Current Trends in the Ski Industry (51:17)

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Ted Ligety on Ski Tuning, World Cup Racing, & the Art of Going Fast Mar 28, 2025

Show notes

As part of the 5850 Fest at the World Cup Finals in Sun Valley, Jonathan talked with Ted Ligety about the tricky conditions and the very challenging course here in Sun Valley for the Super G and GS races, and the incredibly demanding business of going fast.

RELATED LINKS:

Our Blister Recommended Shops

Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+

GEAR:30 Ep. 326: DPS Carbon Pisteworks 79

Blister Podcast Ep. 332: Ted Ligety 24/25 World Cup Preview

TOPICS & TIMES:

Unique Course & Unique Challenges (5:32)

Course Sets & Resets (10:54)

Brignone Coming To Win (15:21)

Lara Gut-Behrami (20:17)

Best Super G's Women's Run (23:41)

Lindsey Vonn (25:32)

Men's Super G (29:29)

Ski Tuning (36:22)

GS Races (41:01)

Slalom Races (44:24)

What's Next for Ted? (45:48)

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Reviewer Reports: Big-Mountain Ski Showdowns, Powder-Touring Setups, & Much More Mar 21, 2025

Show notes

Luke Koppa talks with several of our reviewers about some of the latest gear they’ve been testing. Paul Forward discusses a bunch of the lightweight powder touring skis he’s been on, as well as some new models from Heritage Lab. Then, Kristin Sinnott and Sascha Anastas cover some new all-mountain skis and apparel that they’ve been using, and we round things out with a conversation with Dylan Wood about some very interesting new big-mountain skis, including the Dynastar M-Free 112, how it compares to the Rossignol Sender Free 110, the Head Kore 112 Ti, and more.

RELATED LINKS:

Our Blister Recommended Shops

Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+

Ep. 226 w/ Heritage Lab Skis

TOPICS & TIMES:

Paul Forward’s Recent Touring (1:42)

Black Diamond Helio 115 (5:37)

La Sportiva Capo (13:27)

ON3P Billy Goat 118 Tour (16:29)

Faction La Machines (18:46)

Heritage Lab Models (22:37)

Kristin Sinnott & New Head Kores (41:44)

RMU Valhalla 97 (43:49)

New Apparel (45:13)

Sascha Anastas & DPS Wailers (48:33)

Buttnski Down Pants (51:51)

Rossignol Apres Slippers (54:04)

Dylan Wood & 190 cm Moment Wildcat (56:27)

Dynastar M-Free 112 vs. Rossignol Sender Free 110 (1:01:00)

Head Kore 112 Ti (1:09:30)

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25/26 Gear, Bootfitting & Boot Trends, Making the Most of Any Season, & More w/ Powder Hound Mar 14, 2025

Show notes

Kara Williard is back with Eric Helmbrecht of Powder Hound, our Blister Recommended Shop in Girdwood, Alaska to discuss a the ups and downs of their season up in Alaska; our tips and tricks on how to make the most of any season, including some of our favorite gear for low-tide skiing; 25/26 gear including the new Salomon QST Lineup, Dual BOA, boot trends, aftermarket liners; and more.

RELATED LINKS:

Blister Rec. Shop: Powder Hound

Become a BLISTER+ Member

TOPICS & TIMES:

Ski Season in Girdwood (3:25)

25/26 Salomon QST Lineup (5:49)

Skiing at Palisades (10:44)

Dual BOA (12:09)

Boot Trends (17:25)

Realistic Expectations for Ski Boots (21:54)

Aftermarket Liners (27:18)

Making the Most of a Low-Tide Season (34:32)

Narrow All-Mountain Skis (43:56)

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New Gear from Blister Summit 2025 Mar 07, 2025

Show notes

Blister reviewers Jonathan Ellsworth, Luke Koppa, Sascha Anastas, Kristin Sinnott, and the strikingly handsome Justin Bobb discuss a bunch of new ski and snowboard gear they spent time on at last week’s Blister Summit. They also talk about several prototypes they got on at the Summit, so if you want to get a little glimpse into the future, you’re in luck.

RELATED LINKS:

Taos Ski Valley

Blister Rec Shop: Willi’s Ski & Board Shop

Get Covered: BLISTER+

TOPICS & TIMES:

Chile Rant / Taos Ski Valley (0:59)

Deals from Willi’s Ski Shop (1:53)

Story from a BLISTER+ Member (3:11)

Prototypes at the Summit (7:54)

Giro Meetups (10:21)

Icelantic Pioneer Prototype (10:55)

J Skis Hotshot Prototype (15:45)