Gear:30

Last week, it was announced that Jason Levinthal had sold 4FRNT Skis. So we talked to Jason about how this deal came about; learn the background of the new leadership group at 4FRNT; ask what the group does and doesn’t intend to change about the brand; and more.BE SURE TO CHECK OUT: blister.getspot.comTOPICS & TIMESSale of 4FRNT (3:33)4FRNT introductions (5:16)What are the opportunities for 4FRNT? (32:22)Pricing of skis (36:14)4FRNT athletes (42:18)Jonathan’s new role at 4FRNT (51:24) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We talk to Northern-Michigan-based Shaggy’s Copper Country Skis co-founder & product engineer, Jeff Thompson, about their 20/21 lineup; their unusual “nanoMag” construction; and more. Then Luke Koppa talks about skiing pow this week (??) in Crested Butte.TOPICS & TIMESMaking Faceshields & Skis (6:21)Background of Shaggy’s (9:04)Does your MI location influence your design? (11:16)General characteristics of Shaggy’s skis (13:07)Fat Tips (14:27)Shaggy’s Graphics & Custom Graphics (17:16)Build Option #1: standard (19:18)Build Option #2: mid-light (20:12)Build Option #3: nanoMAG (21:08)Build Option #4: carbon (28:21)Ahmeek 95, 105, & 115 (33:47)Brockway 80, 90, & 100 (40:37)Belle 80 & 90 (46:01)Medora 95 & 105 (49:16)Sarge 95 (51:48)Tubby 120 (53:25)Phoenix 105 Carbon (55:46)What We’re Celebrating (1:02:24)BE SURE TO CHECK OUT: blister.getspot.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Not all bikes or skis are equally good at all things — and the same goes for protective face masks. So we talked with Alex Lauver and Kat Schoewe of Outdoor Research about what type of masks are the most and least effective; how Outdoor Research’s work on medical-grade PPE has influenced their commercially available Essential Face Mask; we make some predictions about the upcoming ski season; and more.TOPICS & TIMESAlex & Kat’s backgrounds (3:34)History of Outdoor Research (6:41)Current state of PPE? (10:06)Differences in protective coverings (11:50)When to wear masks? (35:36)The future of masks(41:34)Predictions on this coming ski season (50:59)What We’re Celebrating This Week (56:37) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Moment Skis CEO, Luke Jacobson, is back on the show to talk with Jonathan Ellsworth about the 20/21 lineup. Come to learn what’s new, stay for all their arguments and tangents.[Note: Luke accidentally says in the conversation that the previous (19/20) Commander had a -10 cm mount point; it actually had a -8 cm mount point.]TOPICS & TIMESGeneral Update (1:33)Commander Series Updates (7:25)Base material nerdery (24:55)Sidewall nerdy (33:07)Wildcat Series (35:24)Interlude: Ski Length (36:57)Touring Skis (45:56)Women’s Skis (48:34)Comi (51:14)Frankenblade (52:42)What We’re Celebrating (58:05) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Voormi is not interested in being just another outdoor apparel company. They develop their own textiles inhouse; they manufacture in the United States; and they’ve got some big plans. So we sat down in Blister HQ with Timm Smith, their head of materials development, to learn more about the Voormi story and where the brand is heading.TOPICS & TIMES:Voormi’s origin story (2:02)Materials (11:19)Highlighting some specific products (19:43)Manufacturing Processes (25:21)River Run Hoodie (26:17)Voormi Socks (31:46)Manufacturing in the USA (36:45)“Responsible” production (39:04)Where will Voormi be in 10 years? (47:30)WATCH THE VIDEO ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Matt Sterbenz, Pep Fujas, and Xan Marshland came to Crested Butte and sat down with us in Blister HQ to fill us in on WNDR Alpine’s new materials, new updates to the Intention 110, and their brand new ski, the Vital 100. And you’ll also hear some stories about Matt and Pep competing in slopestyle events against each other back in the day, and more.To learn more about the WNDR Alpine backstory, check out these other conversations we’ve had with them:Blister Podcast, Ep. 98: Origins & science behind WNDRGEAR:30, Ep. 63: Ski talk with Sterbenz & XanBlister Podcast, Ep. 100: Pep Fujas on how & why he got involvedTOPICS & TIMESWNDR Alpine’s background (6:55)What’s been easy, what’s been hard? (16:54)Greenwashing (19:47)Updates to the Intention 110 (30:01)New Vital 100 (41:27)Vital 120? (45:57)Fujas vs. Sterbenz in slopestyle comps (50:40)More on the Vital 100 (56:55)The WNDR Roost event (1:01:19) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jonathan Ellsworth talks to David Golay, Dylan Wood, & Luke Koppa about the Guerrilla Gravity Gnarvana; Manitou Mezzer & RockShox ZEB; Rocky Mountain Instinct BC; our 20/21 Winter Buyer’s Guide (become a Blister Member to reserve your copy + get a ton of other benefits); and … ‘The Year of Ellsworth.’TOPICS & TIMESGuerrilla Gravity Gnarvana (5:43)Manitou Mezzer & RockShox ZEB (8:00)Rocky Mountain Instinct BC (17:33)Our 20/21 Winter Buyers Guide (28:10)2020: The Year of Ellsworth (34:33)Buyer’s Guide Cover (38:18) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Normally on GEAR:30 we dive deep into the details of specific ski, apparel, or bike equipment. But this week, we’re taking a close look at a massive emerging category — CBD products in general — and one specific company in particular, Aprch. And to walk us through some of the relevant science, regulations, production processes, and the trajectory of this industry, we’re talking with Aprch co-founder, Adam Hunter.TOPICS & TIMES:Origins of Aprch (4:58)Defining Terms (10:07)Marketing this product? (24:06)Price (29:38)Production Process (36:09)Bubbles! (37:44)Future of Aprch & this industry? (41:37)LINKS TO LEARN MORE:• CBD Researcher, Dr. Raphael Mechoulam • Article on Dr. Mechoulam's research findings regarding CBD and potential benefits 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 Kristin Sinnott, and I recently subjected Kristin to our regular gauntlet of Reviewing-the-Reviewer questions, which led to answers that involved Family Feud, killer bees, ski dance videos, her background in alpine and nordic skiing; and some of her gear preferences. TOPICS & TIMES:Kristin’s background (4:39)What sports did you play growing up? (7:04)Trajectory after college (17:11)How did you first get connected with Blister? (21:48)Why are you so picky about certain foods? (25:54)What gear are you most & least picky about? (28:05)Who is your favorite reviewer at Blister? (30:30)Who is your favorit

Kristin Sinnott and Justin Bobb join Jonathan Ellsworth to talk about some of the kid’s gear they’ve found to be the most game changing. And even if you don’t have kids, you should still definitely listen to this episode if only to learn about a piece of gear that we’ve currently named, “The JBobber.” And there’s another piece of equipment that currently has a unanimous approval rating among our Blister parents, and might be the single greatest piece of kid’s gear of all time? Check it out.TOPICS & TIMES:Patagonia Daily Sun Hoody (5:00)The JBobber (6:47)Baby Carriers (10:24)Mac Ride (12:18)What We’re Celebrating (16:24) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Kingswood Skis is a custom indie ski manufacturer based on the South Island of New Zealand, and we caught up with Kingswood founder, Alex Herbert, as the southern hemisphere ski season is getting underway to talk about ski materials, sidewalls, cosmetics & construction, base material thickness, and Kingswood’s rather unconventional Race Department.TOPICS & TIMES:New Zealand & Covid-19 (2:09)The southern hemisphere ski season (8:41)The quick Kingswood backstory (15:31)Ski materials (17:09)Sidewalls & cap construction (25:13)Cosmetics & Ski Repairs (28:20)Base material thickness (32:57)Ski shapes (39:59)Being 100% made to order (49:26)Kingswood’s Race Department (53.08)What We’re Celebrating (56:53) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Luke Koppa and Jonathan Ellsworth answer your questions and discuss our preferred gear for skiing funky spring / summer snow; what we’re reading; ski knickers?; mountain bike shoes; ski boot liners & durability; and more. TOPICS & TIMES:On our current state of affairs (1:03)Eating Food vs Photosynthesis? (6:33)Ski-Touring Knickers? (10:07)How long should a ski boot liner last? (13:7)What is Jonathan reading? (19:44)The best type of ski for funky, summer snow? (24:36)Mtn Bike Shoes (30:40)Climbing Skins 101 - upcoming article (34:06)What we’re celebrating (34:38) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We’re talking with the founder of ON3P Skis, Scott Andrus, about the new ON3P lineup for the upcoming season. There is a lot of new and interesting stuff going on at ON3P, and we break quite a bit of news in this conversation. Check it out.TOPICS & TIMES:How are things in Portland, OR? (2:19)The movie Dead Alive (4:17)ON3P’s new cores (6:36)Directional: Wren 102 Ti & Wren Pro (9:52)All-Mountain: Woodsman & Mera series (14:47)Freestyle: Jeffrey & Jesse series (18:56)Park: Magnus series (23:15)Touring Skis (26:03)50/50 Skis (Custom) (31:16)What else? (34:26) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Last week on our Bikes & Big Ideas podcast, we got the backstory from 28-year-old Adam Miller about his founding of Borealis Fat Bikes, Why Cycles, and Revel Bikes, and you can hear the whole fascinating backstory on our Bikes & Big Ideas podcast, episode #25.And today we are airing the 2nd half of our conversation, where Adam dive deep into the details about Revel’s new wheels — that he claims are the strongest wheels on the market — and this thing they’re using called “fusion fiber.” We talk about what it is; why Adam believes these wheels are the strongest; their recyclability; the unique production process; other applications of fusion fiber, and more.TOPICS & TIMES:Materials & Adam’s background (2:20)Types of carbon fiber (5:57)Testing prototypes (13:20)What is Fusion Fiber? (15:37)Recyclability of Fusion Fiber (18:54)The claim: strongest wheels on the market (21:53)Development & production process (28:08)Other potential applications of Fusion Fiber (31:56))Environmental consideration

In celebration of episode #100, of course we had to have Hoji back on, our patron saint of GEAR:30.We discuss all the tinkering he’s been doing during quarantine; what ski gear has the most room for improvement; snowmobiles; climbing skins; the Pomoca & 4FRNT collab; monoskiing; and then one of the best big-mountain skiers of all time talks about one of the greatest basketball players of all time.TOPICS & TIMES:What have you been up to? (7:52)What gear have you been tinkering with lately? (9:46)What ski gear has the most room for improvement? (13:10)What other outdoor gear has room to improve? (18:04)Snowmobiles (23:50)Climbing skins (30:15)Pomoca & 4FRNT collab (38:34)Still skiing with your boots unbuckled? (49:57)Hoji on monoskiing, teleskiing, noboarding & snowblading (54:14)Hoji on Michael (1:01:05) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What outdoor gear is in need of the biggest improvement? How old is too old to try your first backflip? If you had to opt for skis that are too long or too short, which would you pick? What should I do with my life? How does one start reviewing for Blister? Could you please provide an unbiased review and comparison of the Blister Membership, Deep Dive Subscription, and Blister Premier Membership? Luke Koppa and I answer these and many more.TOPICS & TIMES:Jonathan’s review of PBR’s Hard Coffee (2:35)Skis, Ski Length, & Ski Brands (12:38)What gear needs the most improvement? (24:25)What’s your favorite quarantine apparel? (31:45)How old is too old to try your 1st backflip? (34:24)Preferred conditions to monoski? (36:25)Best anorak of 20/21 (38:24)What makes you happiest? (43:00)Deep Dive vs. Blister Membership vs. Premier? (53:05)What should I do with my life? (1:06:15)How do I review for Blister? (1:09:00)Luke’s review of Beastie Boys Story (1:13:45) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out inform

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 and ski reviewer, Eric Freson, and Luke Koppa and I recently subjected Eric to our regular gauntlet of reviewing the reviewer questions, but we also threw in a few questions specifically for Eric, including, How many times have you broken your neck? The story behind his co-founding the freeride team at Western Colorado University? And, of course, we ask him about a couple of Freson-isms, like “torksmash” and “smoking rocks.” You can also (soon) watch the video of our conversation on our Blister YouTube Channel. TOPICS & TIMES:Eric’s background (3:26)What sports did you play growing up

Mystery Ranch has a long history of working with and making packs for the US military, fire departments, and law enforcement. They also make everything from backpacks for everyday use, to packs for backcountry skiing, and the company has quite a unique culture. So we sat down with product designer, Alex Rich, to discuss what it’s like to design packs for US special forces; how their military designs trickle down to outdoor packs (and vice versa); how their design ethos reflects their sustainability culture; and more.TOPICS & TIMES:Starting on the production floor (2:00)Durability & designing for the military (5:55)Resisting lightweight pack design (8:52)Durability & Weight: what’s the future look like? (10:20)“Supportive” vs. “Light” (11:50)Why designing for hunters is so difficult (13:45)Working with Special Ops (14:40)Urban Assault Daypacks (24:12)Saddle Peak Pack for resort skiing (29:25)Durability & Sustainability (40:22) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Luke Koppa, Jonathan Ellsworth, and Luke’s mustache discuss the pros and cons of a number of current AT bindings, including the new Marker Duke PT, the SHIFT binding, Daymaker Alpine adaptors, frame bindings, and tech toe bindings. They then discuss four new touring skis: the J Skis Slacker, Sego Condor, 4FRNT Raven, and Volkl Blaze 106. Then it’s time to talk Tiger King.TOPICS & TIMESUpdate: Luke’s mustache & cooking skillz (3:20)Marker Duke PT (8:12)Duke PT vs. SHIFT binding (11:08)Daymakers (and Frame Bindings) (22:53)Marker Kingpin & other tech bindings (31:28)New J Skis Slacker (42:28)A Rant (46:00)Updated Sego Condor 108 (49:12)Updated 4FRNT Raven (50:56)New Volkl Blaze 106 (53:51)Tiger King: Our Review (56:35) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Since we now have to learn how to tele ski and shoot a tele video, we’re crowdsourcing a crash course in telemark technique (see Blister Podcast episode 125) and in telemark gear. So here in Tele Gear Part 1, we’re talking again with the artist, Geoff McFetridge; Flylow Gear co-founder and president, Dan Abrams; and Blister reviewers Paul Forward and Kristin Sinnott.TOPICS & TIMES:Geoff McFetridge (2:42)Dan Abrams (21:25)Paul Forward (30:50)Kristin Sinnott (42:26) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.