Gear:30

We talk to Lange’s Global Brand Director, Thor Verdonk, about Lange’s use of 'dual core' technology; why “ski boots should be alive”; the brand-new, 3rd generation, Lange XT3; heat-moldable shells; 3d printed boots; the future of Lange; and more.TOPICS & TIMES:What is “dual core” technology? (4:30)Elasticity & ski boot weight (9:27)Which boots are the hardest to develop? (13:53)Heat moldable shells (15:53)Elasticity / “Suspension” (17:30)Lange XT (1st Gen.) (18:45)Lange XT Freetour (2nd Gen.) (19:50)Lange XT3 (New 3rd Gen.) (22:43)What’s next for Lange? (34:13)3D printed boots? (38:50) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Last week we talked about the best ski gear of the past decade, so now it’s time to make our predictions about what gear will look like 10 years from now? What product categories have the most room for improvement? What ski gear will actually change the most? What gear will change the least? And what are our wildest gear predictions for where gear could be in 10 years? We discuss all of this and more in a roundtable discussion.TOPICS & TIMES:Thoughts on our last episode (2:25)Our gear predictions (17:25)Gear w/ the most room for improvement (34:30)What gear will actually change most? (44:16)Gear that will change the least (50:26)“Women-specific” products? (52:26)Wildest predictions (55:10) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Of the entire past decade, what was the most influential ski, ski boot, and ski binding? What was the best ski? What were the biggest trends? And what was our selection for the Best Product of the Decade? We cover all of this and more.TOPICS & TIMES:Most Influential Ski, 2000-2009 (3:00)Most Influential Ski, 2010-2019 (5:30)Best Ski (13:40)Most Influential Ski Boot (32:30)Most Influential AT Binding (40:58)Best Ski Binding (46:02)Biggest Trends (51:30)Best Product (56:24) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Today we’re catching up with Blister reviewer, Paul Forward, about some of the skis, AT boots, and an AT binding that Paul has been spending time on in Girdwood, Alaska. Paul and Jonathan Ellsworth discuss the Volkl Mantra 102; the DPS Koala 119; the new Atomic Backland Carbon AT boot; the Fritschi Xenic lightweight touring binding; and more.TOPICS & TIMES:Volkl Mantra 102 (4:40)Mantra 102 vs. Mantra M5, etc. (8:30)DPS Koala 119, 189 cm (13:20)Koala 119 vs. (OG) Moment Bibby vs. Dynastar Menace Proto (16:19)New Atomic Backland Carbon AT Boot (21:03)Scarpa Maestrale XT Boot (27:00)New Fritschi Xenic AT Binding (30:22)Paul’s Advanced Wilderness Life Support course (35:10) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Earlier this week, Sam Shaheen visited SCARPA’s North American headquarters to talk with SCARPA’s CEO, Kim Miller, and they had a great conversation that we’ll be releasing in two parts. Here in Part 1, Kim and Sam discuss his impressive career in the outdoor industry; SCARPA’s philosophy of ski boot design; their position within the market; the specifics of the new Maestrale XT; Kim’s thoughts on boot/binding compatibility; and more.TOPICS & TIMES:Kim’s storied career & backcountry adventures (4:00)Scarpa’s approach to ski boots (23:35)Kim’s one-boot quiver (32:25)Maestrale XT (42:45)“Frankenboots” (58:30)Boot / binding compatibility (1:02:35) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Last week, Sam Shaheen, Luke Koppa, and I addressed some of the questions you have been asking us about ski quivers, and we also discussed the topic of the one-boot quiver. And now, we are running part 2 of this conversation, this time, with our reviewers Kristin Sinnott, Sascha Anastas, and Kara Williard.TOPICS & TIMES:Ski Quivers (3:35)One Boot Quiver? (22:25) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We recently published the 19/20 edition of our reviewers’ personal selections for their 5-ski, 4-ski, 3-ski, 2-ski, and 1-ski quivers. And now, we’re addressing some of your questions related to how we design our quivers; what our biggest takeaways are; the dreaded 1-boot quiver; and more.   And if you’d like to get our recommendations for assembling your own ski quiver, then just become a Blister Member, send us an email, and we’ll remove the guesswork for you.TOPICS & TIMES:Principles for selecting ski quivers (3:50)Why the single-brand ski quiver question? (17:08)Our selections & their relevance / applicability (21:45)Lower vs Higher snowfall areas? (32:22)How do we choose which ski to ride on a given day? (36:00)Mount points (41:22)Separating resort vs. touring 1-ski quivers (46:39)Where’s the LINE Sick Day 104? (49:52)One *Boot* Quiver? (51:13) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

DWRs — or “Durable Water Repellent” coatings — play a huge role in the performance of your outdoor gear, and are used on nearly every waterproof garment on the market. But most DWRs are made with chemicals called PFCs, which can be harmful to you and the environment.Nikwax, however, makes products intended to extend the lifespan of outdoor gear, and none of their specialized cleaning, conditioning, or waterproofing products have ever used PFCs. So we talked with Heidi Allen from Nikwax about how DWRs work; the dangers of PFCs; how the industry is attempting to shift away from PFCs; garment care; and more. TOPICS & TIMES:Heidi’s background growing up off-the-grid (1:00)Durable Water Repellent (DWR) overview (2:54)DWRs vs. Membranes? (6:50)Hydrophobic vs. Oleophobic? (11:38)Why do clean garments perform better? (17:15)Alternatives to PFCs (19:06)Environmental & transparency initiatives at Nikwax (27:01)The future of DWRs (31:09)Páramo (33:30) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We talk to Moment Skis CEO, Luke Jacobson, about Moment’s entire “Commander” series; why we still need to do a better job educating skiers; how the Deathwish got its name; the history of the Bibby and the Blister Pro; some upcoming changes to the Blister Pro; and more.Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to catch the video of this episode (coming soon).TOPICS & TIMES:Moment Commander 108 (1:28)Moment Commander 98 (5:10)Moment Commander 118 (7:05)Moment Commander 124 (and the Moment Comi) (11:45)Why we need to do a better job educating skiers (15:25)Moment Deathwish (20:35)Moment Deathwish vs. Wildcat 108 (25:49)The history of the Bibby & Blister Pro (28:31)Putting the weight back into the Blister Pro (40:10)Moment Deathwish Tour (49:45)How the Deathwish got its name (53:35) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The North Face is attempting to do something that many have tried, but few have succeeded: compete head-to-head with Gore-Tex in the waterproof / breathable fabric category. So we talked with Scott Mellin, the Global General Manager of Mountain Sports at The North Face, about their new fabric technology, Futurelight; the ideas behind it; what sets it apart in the crowded waterproof / breathable fabric market; sustainability practices related to Futurelight; some stories from athlete testing, and much more. TOPICS & TIMES:Scott’s background in product innovation (5:55)Why was Futurelight designed? (9:20)Futurelight vs. Polartec Neoshell (19:45)“Tuning” Futurelight for different designs (21:22)Durability? (29:55)Athlete testing at The North Face (36:40)Competing with GORE (55:32)Sustainability & Futurelight (59:30)  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In our “Reviewing the Reviewer” series, 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. In the hot seat today is mountain bike reviewer, David Golay, who shares how he went from playing sports in upstate New York, to researching metal alloys in Australia, to reviewing for BLISTER, and he shares a phenomenal story starring Jed Yeiser (of previous Blister podcast episodes fame).Watch the video of our conversation on our YouTube Channel.TOPICS & TIMES:David’s background (1:26)How did you first get connected with Blister? (7:45)Bike preferences (9:35)Who is your favorite reviewer at Blister? (18:35)Who is your favorite biker and skier? (20:11)What’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever done? (22:20)What are you better at than S

Today, Marker unveiled their brand-new Duke PT binding, so Luke Koppa, Sam Shaheen, and Jonathan Ellsworth discuss the new binding and where it fits with respect to the Shift MNC and CAST Touring binding.We also discuss some big new changes at GORE; the new GORE-TEX Pro vs. The North Face Futurelight; the appalling behavior of backcountry.com; several new skis from Moment, Blizzard, and Prior; and Jonathan Ellsworth’s New Favorite Thing.TOPICS & TIMES:Jonathan’s New Favorite Thing (3:55)New Marker Duke PT (5:26)Duke PT vs. Shift vs. CAST Freetour System (10:17)New GORE Pro / Big Changes at GORE (12:18)GORE-TEX Pro vs. The North Face Futurelight (18:25)Picture Organic Harvest Jacket (23:55)Backcountry.com’s despicable behavior (25:30)(Jason Blevins’ article on backcountry.com) Moment Deathwish (30:20)Moment Wildcat 108 (31:15)Blizzard Rustler 10 (32:11)Prior Northwest 100 (33:01) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Gore-Tex has been the leader in waterproof fabrics for decades, and today, they’re announcing a complete overhaul of their flagship fabric, Gore-Tex Pro. So this week we went to Banff, Alberta, and sat down with the category manager of Gore’s “Pro” line, Mark McKinnie, for an in-depth discussion about the new fabrics. We talk about what makes the new Gore Pro unique; the 3 different versions of Gore Pro; Gore’s intensive validation and field-testing processes; how the new ‘Pro’ fits into Gore’s sustainability goals; and much more.TOPICS & TIMES:The 3 new versions of Gore-Tex Pro (4:35)Fabric performance (5:30)New (and old) membrane structures (11:15)Stretch! (15:40)   Lab validation & real-world tests (19:19) Solution-dyed vs jet-dyed fibers, & why they matter (34:08)Sustainability & the new Gore-Tex Pro (36:23) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How do the world’s elite ski racers and their technicians squeeze every drop of performance out of their skis? We sat down with Cameron Smith who runs the race department for Head USA to learn about all the major aspects of ski tuning including base vs edge angles, base prep, and waxing. We also discuss why World Cup racers have 50 skis per discipline; the elusive “speed wagon”; and the delicate balance of science and superstition in ski racing.TOPICS & TIMES:How Cam got started at HEAD (1:00)The art of edge tuning (3:03)Why athletes have 50 skis per discipline (8:09)Superstitions & cinnamon rolls (9:08)The elusive “speedwagon” (10:25)Base angles vs. Edge angles (13:20)What is a second edge?? (20:00)How quickly do skis dull? (22:45)Athlete’s relationships to their tuners (24:50)Polishing stones & the toilet paper test (28:30)De-tuning to avoid hooking (31:57)Base materials & grind patterns (35:07)How to select your wax (45:16)Just how sensitive are pro athletes? (58:12) See acast.com/privacy f

In this episode, we answer a bunch of the questions you submitted, then assess some of the product reviews from several of the other ski review publications — and one gear recommendation website.And fair warning here, we get pretty fired up. Because there are still a lot of fake reviews and extremely misleading product reviews and product recommendation services out there, and this needs to stop.There is a little bit of strong language in this episode, so please don’t listen if that offends you. But we here at BLISTER are far more offended by the fake and / or misleading reviews and product recommendations in the outdoor sports world that are posing as legitimate consumer product information. Anyway, judge for yourself.TOPICS & TIMES:Listener questions (4:21)Why curated.com is the worst (46:30)Product reviews from other buyer’s guides (53:05) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We just released our new 19/20 BLISTER Winter Buyer’s Guide, and given that it’s over 200 pages long, there’s a lot to talk about.So we’re going to have a 2-part conversation about the Guide, and here in part 1, we’re going to discuss some of our Blister “Best Of” selections; and some of the products that just missed the cut; some general trends and takeaways from putting this big book together, and we find out the real reason why Luke prefers mittens to gloves.Then, next week in Part 2, we’re inviting you to submit questions about the guide or related to the guide, and we’ll be answering those and covering a few other topics of our own.Click to Send Us Your Questions about the new Buyer’s GuideTOPICS & TIMES:Our BLISTER “Best Of” Awards (5:17)The Best of “Best Of” (23:05)Luke’s Jazz Hands (33:44) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This episode is the 2nd 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.Today, it’s the founder of Blister’s turn. So you’re going to be hearing about Jonathan Ellsworth’s life, including being charged by a bear; nearly burning his house down; teaching philosophy; his favorite gear in the world; and of course, the things he’s better at than Sam Shaheen.And we are also putting up a video of this conversation here and on our YouTube channel, so if you want to watch Sam Shaheen in full payback mode, or watch Luke Koppa putting up his dukes, go check it out.TOPICS & TIMES:Random Review: Babybel Cheese (3:38)Jonathan’s Background (6:15)Why did you start BLISTER? (18:15)Who’s your favorite reviewer? (25.48)What’s the most interesting thing that’s ever happened to you? (28:03)Who’s your favorite skier? (32:17)What’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever

We’ve been working on a special project with Folsom Custom Skis, and it’s finally time to discuss the details about the new Blister Pro 104 with Folsom’s Mike McCabe.We also talk about Folsom’s (insane?) new plan to build and deliver custom skis in 2-3 days; go over some highlights from the 19/20 Folsom lineup; and we ask Mike how much of a nightmare it was to work with us on this project.TOPICS & TIMES:Folsom’s new pop-up store in Aspen (2:05)2-3 Days: custom skis built & delivered?? (5:20)19/20 Folsom lineup highlights (10:52)Backstory of the BLISTER Pro 104 (13:05)The prototypes: good & bad surprises (18:25)Final product design details (29:00)BLISTER Pro 104 vs other Folsom skis? (35:46)D.E.V. Tech ! ! ! (42:16)Was working with us a nightmare? (43:34) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

For centuries, hemp has been cultivated around the world and used to make just about everything: rope, clothing, paper, currency, sails — even the earliest American flags. But in 1937, the United States effectively banned the cultivation of hemp, and since then, hemp has faced an uphill battle of public perception and viable production in the US.Just last year, however, Congress passed the Farm Bill, which re-legalized the cultivation of industrial hemp. So we spoke to Rob Jungmann, one of the pioneers of hemp apparel in the United States and the owner of Jungmaven apparel, to discuss Rob’s history in the hemp textile industry; the many uses for hemp (including eating it and building houses with it); how hemp differs from cotton in textiles; and shooting hemp T-shirts with a shotgun (seriously).Check out the rest of our “What You’re Wearing” series here.TOPICS & TIMES:Anti-hemp propaganda (5:40)The battle for hemp legalization (9:15)The future of the U.S. hemp industry (13:31)Is there an ongoing hemp

Misconceptions about down are everywhere — fill power, proper care, and animal welfare are all often wildly misunderstood. So today, in part 3 of our “What You’re Wearing” miniseries, we talk to Matthew Betcher of Allied Feather & Down, a company that works with and supplies down for some of the biggest names in the outdoor industry. (There’s a good chance your down jacket is stuffed with Allied down.) Matthew and I discuss down’s fascinating entrance into the outdoor industry; the physical characteristics that make down such a high-performance fiber; the myths about “fill power” caused by marketing strategies; why and how you should DEFINITELY wash your down apparel; animal welfare & the Responsible Down Standard; and much more. Have a garment containing Allied down? Check out trackmydown.com to learn about where it came from.TOPICS & TIMES:Klaus Obermeyer ‘inventing’ the down jacket (2:40)What does a “fill-power” rating actually mean? (8:03)Duck Down vs. Goose Down (24:15)How Down is d