GEAR:30

Blister reviewer, Drew Kelly — the man with the best turn in Crested Butte — is in the hot seat today, and in this insanely wide-ranging conversation, we talk about choss monsters, cave trolls, geek beaks, Drew’s dating profile, birding, Sweet Nasty, the universe, gear preferences, and more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Meet Drew Kelly (2:52)
• Growing up in New England (4:38)
• Music, Writing, & Film (12:52)
• College (14:02)
• Moving through mountains (17:56)
• Birding & Dating Profiles (20:35)
• Ski Gear Preferences (27:36)
• Backcountry Touring Gear (36:00)
• Duke PT vs. ATK Freeraider (39:52)
• Packing for the backcountry (42:37)
• Choss Monstering (45:02)
• Favorite Blister Reviewer? (53:25)
• Favorite Skier & Favorite Runner (55:19)
• Stupidest thing you've ever done? (1:00:26)
• What are you better at than Sam Shaheen? (1:02:03)
• Gear you’re most & least picky about? (1:03:44)
• Favorite Books, Movies, & Music (1:08:25)
• Random Review (1:21:16)
• Best question I haven't asked you? (1:24:09)
• What We’re Celebrating (1:29:39)

RELATED LINKS:

• Secure Your Spot at the Blister Summit ‘23
• Subscribe to our Newsletter & Gear Giveaways
• Become a Blister Member / Get our Buyer’s Guide

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:

• Blister Podcast
• Bikes & Big Ideas
• Off the Couch

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In this Blister Labs update, we sit down with Greg Vanderbeek to talk about how he chose his grad school based on proximity to climbing; starting a custom motorcycle business; what we’re currently working on with respect to mountain bikes at Blister Labs; and more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Figuring out Greg’s Title (3:49)
• School & Custom Motorcycles (7:03)
• Climbing & Mountain Biking (17:25)
• Skiing (22:37)
• Blister Labs update (26:00)
• Why Wheelsets? (33:01)
• Lab Testing + In-Field Testing (36:30)
• What We’re Celebrating (46:20)

RELATED LINKS:

• Blister Summit 2023
• More about Blister Labs
• Video: Blister Labs Panel, Blister Summit
• GEAR:30: Blister Labs with Jeni Blacklock
• GEAR:30: Blister Labs with Sean Humbert
• Subscribe to our Newsletter & Gear Giveaways
• Become a Blister Member / Get our Buyer’s Guide

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:

• Blister Podcast
• Bikes & Big Ideas
• Off the Couch

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Luke and Jonathan discuss Jonathan’s travels across France & Italy; his visits to the Lange factory and ATK bindings factory; provide updates on our Mtn Bike Buyer’s Guide and Winter Buyer’s Guide; and more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Italian vs. French Food (2:18)
• Update: Our Winter Buyer’s Guide (15:20)
• Update: Our Mtn Bike Buyer’s Guide (22:01)
• Lange factory & ATK factory (24:51)
• What We're Celebrating (33:19)

RELATED LINKS: 

• ATK Bindings, Pt 1
• ATK Bindings, Pt 2
• Rossignol’s Recyclable Ski
• Ski Testing & Ski Development
• Blister Labs
• Videos from our Blister Summit 2022
• Subscribe to our Newsletter & Gear Giveaways
• Become a Blister Member / Get our Buyer’s Guide

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:

• Blister Podcast
• Bikes & Big Ideas
• Off the Couch

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Few people spend as many days as we do testing skis on snow. But Rossignol’s AJ Kruajitch definitely does. So Jonathan Ellsworth spent a day at Les Deux Alpes going through AJ’s testing process, then talking with him and Jake Stevens about the similarities and differences in our approaches.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Introducing Jake & AJ (2:51)
• Brand development since 1907 (17:13)
• The testing process: similarities & differences (20:17)
• “Band of Tasters” (40:10)
• Accounting for different tastes (48:05)
• What We’re Celebrating (56:10)

RELATED LINKS:

• Blister Labs
• Videos from our Blister Summit 2022
• Subscribe to our Newsletter & Gear Giveaways
• Become a Blister Member / Get our Buyer’s Guide

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:

• Blister Podcast
• Bikes & Big Ideas
• Off the Couch

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A recyclable ski? Jonathan sat down with David Bouvier to talk about Rossignol’s new “Essential” ski; discuss the origin of the project; the challenges posed by making the circular economy of a ski a priority; who this Essential ski is for; and how this project will influence other Rossignol products.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• David’s role(s) at Rossignol (2:52)
• Rossignol’s history (4:04)
• The “Essential” ski (7:01)
• Stats on ski waste and landfills (11:17)
• David’s product-development history (14:15)
• More details on Essential (22:26)
• Biggest challenges (28:24)
• The 7 materials (39:06)
• A new way forward (47:36)
• When & where will the ski be available? (48:42)

RELATED LINKS:

• Blister Labs
• Videos from our Blister Summit 2022
• Subscribe to our Newsletter & Gear Giveaways
• Become a Blister Member / Get our Buyer’s Guide

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:

• Blister Podcast
• Bikes & Big Ideas
• Off the Couch

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In part two of our conversation with ATK CEO (and one of ATK’s chief product testers), Davide Indulti, we discuss ATK’s current binding lineup; the design differences between their four collections: Race, Speed Touring, Touring, & Free Touring; how Davide thinks ATK bindings stack up against the competition; some new products that are in the works; and more.

TOPICS & TIMES

• Overview: ATK’s 4 binding categories (1:33)
• ATK Kuluar binding (5:14)
• Kuluar vs. RT & Crest bindings (10:11)
• ATK Raider 12 (12:34)
• Testing products 80-90 days per winter (15:22)
• Brakes Placement: Front vs. Rear (19:30)
• ATK Raider 12 cont.  (23:10)
• ATK Freeraider bindings (31:14)
• Downhill performance differences (35:47)
• Sneak Peeks (42:39)
• Releasability (50:45)
• ATK vs. Salomon & Marker bindings (56:46)
• What We’re Celebrating (1:00:57)

RELATED LINKS:

• ATK Bindings, Part 1
• Blister Labs
• Videos from our Blister Summit 2022
• Subscribe to our Newsletter & Gear Giveaways
• Become a Blister Member / Get our Buyer’s Guide

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:

• Blister Podcast
• Bikes & Big Ideas
• Off the Couch

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Italian company, ATK Bindings, has been taking the tech-binding world by storm. And in this first podcast that the brand has ever done, we talk with ATK CEO (and son of ATK’s founder), Davide Indulti, about the surprising origins of this family business; a pivotal moment in ATK’s history; where ATK saw the biggest opportunities to improve tech bindings; and more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• ATK, Ferrari, & the family business (2:18)
• Decisive moment in ATK’s history (15:02)
• Room to improve tech bindings? (22:00)
• 2010 RT binding (33:49)
• “Performing through lightness” (36:55)
• What We’re Celebrating (49:28)

RELATED LINKS:

• Blister Labs
• Videos from our Blister Summit 2022
• Subscribe to our Newsletter & Gear Giveaways
• Become a Blister Member / Get our Buyer’s Guide

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this Blister Labs update, Sean Humbert joins us to talk about the movie Real Genius; flies; ski testing and dynamic modeling; math and slarving; and more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

Growing up in Tahoe (4:46)

Sean’s engineering background (8:27)

From flies to robotics (24:55)

Blister Labs (29:32) 

Ski testing & dynamic modeling (35:38)

Edge angles, load cases, & stability (50:02)

RELATED LINKS:

Blister Labs

Videos from our Blister Summit 2022

Subscribe to our Newsletter & Gear Giveaways

Become a Blister Member / Get our Buyer’s Guide

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, in another edition of our Reviewer Reports series, we’ve got a wide-ranging conversation with Kristin Sinnott, Dylan Wood, Kara Williard, Drew Kelly, and Luke Koppa, where we cover everything from the setups Drew used while touring for several weeks in Alaska this spring, to a whole bunch of skis that all of us have been using this spring — in both the backcountry and the resort. We also touch on some new outerwear, get an update from Kara on some heated socks, and discuss some unique gear and tricks Kristin’s been using to ski with her son.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Drew’s AK Ski & Boot Setups (4:31)
• Tecnica Zero G Tour Scout W (7:35)
• Faction Mana 2 & Mana 3 (13:51)
• Trail Magik Kid Carrier & Jelly Bean Bribes (20:10)
• Plum Pika and Blizzard Hustle 10 (25:14)
• K2 Mindbenders (27:30)
• Salomon S/Lab MTN Summit + ZipFit GFT Liner (36:18) 
• Strafe Lynx Pullover & Willow Half-Bib (39:03)
• Heated Socks & Gloves (42:59)

RELATED LINKS:

• Videos from our Blister Summit 2022
• Blister Labs
• Subscribe to our Newsletter & Gear Giveaways
• Become a Blister Member / Get our Buyer’s Guide

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk with Spark R&D founder, Will Ritter, about the current happenings at Spark; compare the splitboarding and backcountry skiing communities and gear trends; go over design highlights from their current lineup; and more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Bozeman backcountry conditions (3:54)
• Spark R&D: Background (5:52)
• Spark’s new building (7:35)
• Current supply chain & shipping logistics (13:00)
• Splitboarding State of the Union (19:40)
• Ski Touring Gear vs. Splitboarding Gear (23:36)
• Touring gear that never sees the backcountry (28:45)
• Weight preferences & the “gram race” (32:38)
• Spark R&D’s latest product developments (35:41)
• Biggest improvements across the industry? (40:58)
• What We're Celebrating (52:00)

RELATED LINKS:

• Videos from our Blister Summit 2022
• Blister Labs
• Subscribe to our Newsletter & Gear Giveaways
• Become a Blister Member / Get our Buyer’s Guide
• GEAR:30 Ep. 27 w/ Spark R&D
• GEAR:30 Ep. 28 w/ Spark R&D

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:

• Blister Podcast
• Bikes & Big Ideas
• Off the Couch

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.