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:Blister Summit VideosRossignol Black Ops Sender Squad Flash ReviewThe real BLISTER instagram accountThe real BLISTER facebook account See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

GEAR:30

The Mt. Rushmore of Ski Suspension?

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 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Reviewer Reports: Fun Carvers & All-Mountain Skis

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 & TIMESThe 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)RELATED LINKSGEAR:30 ep.138: Escape Route director, James Reddy on the Radical ProBlister Summit Videos See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hoji on the Dynafit Radical Pro; the Hoji Hole; & More

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 LINKSEp. 138: Escape Route director, James ReddyEp. 132: Matt Manser: Atomic Mimic Professional LinerEp. 35: Zipfit founder, Sven CoomerBLISTER YOUTUBE CHANNEL See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ski Boot Liners: Zipfit & Atomic Mimic Professional

MADE is a new company that’s setting out to make custom technical apparel. 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 why they 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 LINKSMADE’s Indiegogo campaignBlister Recommended Shop: The Ski MonsterBikes & Big Ideas: Cassie Abel, Wild Rye See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

MADE: Custom Technical Apparel

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 6.30.21TOPICS & TIMESEscape 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) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Shop Talk: Escape Route, Whistler & Squamish

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 & TIMESBlister 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) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Blister Summit Recap & New Ski Reviews

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.Mark "Osman" Osell and Jeff Perry join us from Gear West in Long Lake, Minnesota. We talk about the Minnesota ski scene; the Gear West campus; dropping cliffs in the Iowa backcountry; the fantastic bike culture of Minnesota, and more.TOPICS & TIMESThe surrounding community & ski culture of Long Lake, MN (4:32)How covid has changed the dynamics at the shop (9:44)The Gear West “campus” (15:42)The progressive bike culture of MN (17:37)Dropping cliffs in the Iowa backcountry (19:56)“Dad boards” & the snowboard side of Gear West (23:48)The bike side of Gear West (26:41)What We’re Celebrating (32:46) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Shop Talk: Gear West, Long Lake, MN

Today we’ve got another installment of our “Reviewing the Reviewer” series, where we ask various BLISTER reviewers questions about their backgrounds and gear preferences to give you a more complete picture of the people behind our reviews. And since we like to rank & review things around here, we also give a score to each of our reviewers’ answers, then come up with a cumulative review grade for each of them. And in the hot seat today is our mountain bike and ski reviewer, Dylan Wood.TOPICS & TIMES:Dylan’s Dry February / Athletic Brewing (3:58)Dylan’s background (8:43)What sports did you play growing up? (9:42))How did you first get connected with Blister? (22:41)Injuries (27:46)Dylan’s bike & ski preferences (35:56)Who is your favorite reviewer at Blister? (40:35)Who is your favorite pro biker & skier? (41:56)What’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever done? (45:14)What are you better at than Sam Shaheen? (54:07)What gear are you most & least picky about? (55:09)Top 3 favorite books, movies, and musicians (58:47)Random review (1:01:32)What’s the best question I haven’t asked you? (1:07:11)What We’re Celebrating This Week (1:13:22) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Reviewing the Reviewer: Dylan Wood

Our inaugural Blister Summit launches in less than two weeks! So Kristin Sinnott, our Blister Summit director, and Jonathan Ellsworth talk about the origins of the idea, why we think it’s important; why we think you should come!; and we cover a ton of the details and logistics of this first-of-its-kind event in the snowsports world.TOPICS & TIMESOrigins of the idea for the Blister Summit (5:09)Collecting feedback from Summit participants (9:35)The Summit as a “Ski Tasting” event (13:15)Don’t be intimidated about providing feedback (16:25)Interlude: Baby Ski Quivers (22:30) Backcountry portion of the Summit (23:39)Which ski brands will be there? (31:50)Why launch the Summit this year? / Health protocols (33:03)Summit Swag! (40:45) What We’re Celebrating This Week (42:03)RELATED LINKSOutdoor Gear Exchange See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Blister Summit: What It Is, Why We Made It, & Why You Should Come

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.Eric Helmbrecht, owner of Powder Hound Ski & Bike Shop in Girdwood, Alaska, is back on the show to talk about this season in Girdwood; Fizz Nation; some of the gear that he and his staff are particularly high on this season; and, of course, we had to talk about Juras.TOPICS & TIMESBlister Summit (1:38)Update on the season in Girdwood (2:50)Fizz Nation (6:42)Jura coffee makers (9:48)Gear they’re liking in Girdwood (14:13)What We’re Celebrating (40:32) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Shop Talk: Powder Hound, Girdwood, AK

Product Manager of Atomic Ski Boots, Matt Manser, is back to talk about heel pockets and tongue volume and Luke Koppa’s feet and how plug boots are not a thing and Atomic’s new Hawx Ultra and their new “Professional” Series of Liners and Dual Straps.TOPICS & TIMES:Whiskey & Jonathan being late (4:63)Atomic’s new 21/22 Hawx Ultra (8:23)Atomic’s new Professional Series (34:08)Mimic Professional Liner (41:31)Tongue Volume (59:56)Professional Dual Strap (1:11:41)Heel Pockets (1:21:35)Plug Boots are Not a Thing (1:29:05)What We’re Celebrating This Week (1:41:05)RELATED LINKS:Blister Recommended Shop: Black Sheep SportsA Very Deep Dive on Ski Boots, Part 1: Plastics (Ep. 54)Part 2: Flex Patterns (Ep. 55)Part 3: Racers & Race Boots (Ep.60)Part 4: Liners, Ramp Angle, & Forward Lean (Ep. 88) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A Very Deep Dive on Ski Boots, Part 5: Heel Pockets, Tongue Volume, & Atomic’s new Hawx Ultra & “Professional” Liners & Dual Strap

We’re talking with Megan Shenton, the head of the ski dept. at Outdoor Gear Exchange, about how this ski season is going so far in New England; the history of Outdoor Gear Exchange; some of her personal favorite gear and some of the OGE staff’s favorite products; and more.TOPICS & TIMESAbout Outdoor Gear Exchange (1:42)Burglington, VT (8:55)Backcountry Skiing & this ski season (9:56)EC skiing (20:53)Some of the OGE staff’s ‘go-to’ products (26:38)Adjustments OGE has made for COVID (41:44) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Shop Talk: Outdoor Gear Exchange, Burlington, VT

Luke Koppa and Jonathan Ellsworth offer their initial thoughts on the new Volkl Mantra M6 & Secret 96; reviewer, Drew Kelly (aka, The Hulk), makes his GEAR:30 debut to compare the Volkl Katana 108 vs the HEAD Monster 108 vs the Blizzard Cochise 106; Luke discusses some of the Movement skis he’s been getting time on; & more.TOPICS & TIMES:Introducing: reviewer, Drew Kelly (3:09)New volkl Mantra M6 & Secret 96 (6:18)Volkl Katana 108 vs Monster 108 vs Blizzard Cochise 106 (12:05)Movement Alp Tracks 106, Go 106 Ti, & Fly Two 115 (22:19)What We’re Celebrating (26:40)RELATED LINKS:The Skier’s Sportshop See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

New Volkl Mantra M6; Burly Chargers; & Movement Skis

Luke Koppa and Jonathan Ellsworth talk about some of the skis they’ve recently been testing; name some of the most surprising products of 2020 and some of the standout products of 2020; offer a few gear predictions for 2021; and end with what they’re celebrating this week.TOPICS & TIMESThe end of the Year of Ellsworth (1:15)Luke’s new diet (2:26)Renoun skis are still mind-blowing (4:36)New 4FRNT Devastator & Sego Big Horn 106 (10:50)New ski we can’t talk about yet (16:18)Elan Wingman 86 CTi (16:47)102 Wars: Ranger 102 vs. Mantra 102 vs. Stance 102 (19:15)Most Surprising Products of 2020 (28:05)Standout Products of 2020 (35:12)Gear Predictions for 2021 (39:18)What We’re Celebrating (50:36) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

2020: Gear in Review

GEAR:30 is the blister podcast where we dive deep into the details of the most interesting and innovative outdoors gear.We talk with some of our own editors and reviewers about the gear they’ve been testing and what they think of it, and we also talk to product designers, engineers, and athletes about the latest stuff they’ve been working on.Finally, we are going to be talking to some of the owners of our blister recommended shops around the world, to have them weigh in on gear trends and the equipment they’ve been most impressed with in terms of durability, value, or performance in places like Alaska, Colorado, Europe, New Zealand, and more. If you love outdoors gear, you're going to love this podcast.

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GEAR:30

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