Today we're discussing the wonders and weirdness of Interbike, 2018, with Blister's bike editor, Noah Bodman. Noah gives the rundown on Interbike's new digs (it moved from Las Vegas to Reno this year), what he saw, what he didn't see, and what he rode.

And we open with Jonathan Ellsworth giving a bit of an update on our 18/19 Winter Buyer’s Guide, and revealing some sketchy details about his participation at Interbike last year.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Update on Winter Buyer's Guide (2:20)
• Confessions from Interbike, 2017 (4:00)
• Interbike's New Digs — from Vegas to Reno, NV (6:40)
• The new Pivot Shuttle and the predominance of e-bikes (8:20)
• Pivot 429 Trail (14:45)
• How this year's show compared to last year's (16:20)
• Dumb or Niche: folding e-fat bikes (20:05)
• Tariffs impact on Asian companies (20:45)
• Single bike racks are for the lonely and / or lazy (22:06)

PRESENTING SPONSOR:

750 Miles of Trail in Gunnison/Crested Butte, CO

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We talk to Boston-based Parlor Custom Skis co-founder, Mark Wallace, about the origins story of Parlor; the very successful “Build Your Own Skis” class they offer; the new models in their 18/19 lineup — including Parlor snowboards and splitboards; and several trends on the East Coast ski scene.

And if you’d like to hear Mark talk more about custom ski building, check out our Round Table on Custom Skis, which is episode #33 of the Blister Podcast.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Brief history of Parlor Skis (2:50)
• On Parlor's "Build Your Own Skis" class (8:21)
• 18/19 Parlor Skis Lineup (19:58)
• "Project Warbird" (21:20)
• Naming skis (22:53)
• Working with titanal (24:47)
• The Cardinal Pro (26:59)
• The "Dad Skinner"?? (29:24)
• Parlor's New Snowboards (31:39)
• Trends in East Coast Skiing: backcountry skiing (34:15)
• East Coast Ski Width (36:54)
• EC Snowmaking (43:55)
• What's the best question I haven't asked you? (48:38)



PRESENTING SPONSOR:

750 Miles of Trail in Gunnison/Crested Butte, CO

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We are back with round 2 of Bikes vs. Skis, where our bike editor, Noah Bodman, and I ask the question, “Which particular bike company is most like which particular ski company?”

And the response to Bikes vs Skis, Part 1 certainly warmed our hearts, since we learned that a lot of you wonder about these sorts of questions, too. Noah and I talk about a number of your suggestions in this episode, so listen up to see where we think you had the better answer, and where we think you are clearly crazy.

Here in Part 2, Noah offers his rather surprising vote for the “best looking bikes ever made"; we discuss which bike is the equivalent of the Moment Bibby / Wildcat / Blister Pro; and we give our take on another 20+ bike companies.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Which bike company is Moment Skis? (4:50)
• Santa Cruz (7:50)
• Yeti (9:16)
• Bike equivalent of Kaestle or Stockli? (10:40)
• What bike is the Moment Bibby Pro? (13:19)
• Commencal (22:39)
• Canfield (25:01)
• Devinci (26:30)
• Zerode (30:35)
• Surly (32:17)
• Salsa (36:40)
• Intense (39:38)
• Kona (43:59)
• Rocky Mountain (46:08)
• J Skis? (47:40)
• Knolly (51:09)
• Schwinn (54:57)
• Smaller indie bike vs. indie ski co's (57:15)
• Scott (1:02:30)
• KHS (1:08:34)
• Diamondback (1:11:25)
• GT (1:13:44)
• Mongoose (1:16:33)
• How to apply for Team Disappointment (1:20:30)

RELATED LINKS:

• Bikes vs Skis, 3rd Edition (2021): Part 1
• Bikes vs Skis, 3rd Edition (2021): Part 2
• Bikes vs Skis, 2nd Edition (2020): Part 1
• Bikes vs Skis, 2nd Edition (2020): Part 2
• Bikes vs Skis, 1st Edition (2018): Part 1
• Bikes vs Skis, 1st Edition (2018): Part 2

PRESENTING SPONSOR:

750 Miles of Trail in Gunnison/Crested Butte, CO

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

We talk with DPS Skis founder, Stephan Drake, about DPS Dreamtime; the new DPS Wailer 110; the DPS Spoon, Lotus 138, and 124; and some very big news about DPS Phantom, the ski and snowboard base treatment that DPS introduced this past season.

(If you’d like to learn more about Stephan’s own background and the history of DPS skis, you should check out Episode #38 of the Blister Podcast. And if you’d like to hear the conversation I had with Stephan about the introduction of DPS Phantom, check out Episode #59 of the Blister podcast.)

Presenting Sponsor: The 750 Miles of Trail in the Gunnison Valley — Check out Outerbike in Crested Butte

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Stephan's current ski testing (2:45)
• What is DPS Dreamtime? (3:22)
• DPS "Powderworks" - and the new DPS Wailer 110 (5:18)
• Clarifying the DPS framework: constructions & shapes (9:49)
• The DPS Lotus 138 (13:47)
• DPS Spoon (17:53)
• Lotus 138 vs. DPS Spoon (19:10)
• Lotus 124 vs. Lotus 138 (22:40)
• Cassiar 94 and Cassiar 79 (24:54)
• Big News about DPS Phantom (27:52)

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Which ski company is most like which bike company? Who is the Moment Skis of the bike world? And which ski company shares the most family resemblance with Yeti? Or Transition?

Jonathan Ellsworth and Blister's bike editor, Noah Bodman, have been having this conversation for years, and they're now taking the debate public. So give it a listen, then let us know in the comments section of the show notes to this episode on the site where you agree, where you disagree, and where you've got the better analogies. Then in a week or two, we'll run Part 2 of this conversation, where we’ll share some of your comments and questions, and do another round of Bikes vs Skis.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Which ski brand is most like Specialized? (4:15)
• Evil & Transition? (8:48)
• Yeti (15:41)
• Santa Cruz (25:40)
• Giant (34:02)
• Trek (42:04)
• YT (45:55)
• Cannondale? (51:08)
• Ellsworth? (52:48)
• Pivot vs. Ibis, Transition, and Yeti (55:03)
• Preview of Part 2 of Bikes vs. Skis (59:25)

RELATED LINKS:

• Bikes vs Skis, 3rd Edition (2021): Part 1
• Bikes vs Skis, 3rd Edition (2021): Part 2
• Bikes vs Skis, 2nd Edition (2020): Part 1
• Bikes vs Skis, 2nd Edition (2020): Part 2
• Bikes vs Skis, 1st Edition (2018): Part 1
• Bikes vs Skis, 1st Edition (2018): Part 2

PRESENTING SPONSOR:

The 750 miles of trail in Gunnison / Crested Butte

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

We talk with Blister editors, Luke Koppa and Sam Shaheen, about the recent Alpenglow Mountain Festival and running with our hero, Courtney Dauwalter. Then we talk about some of the key things we learned during our ski testing this spring, including the correct thing to think about Domino's thin-crust pizza, dumb gear, and great gear.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Luke's recap of the Alpenglow Summer Mountain Festival (2:01)
• In praise of our hero, Courtney Dauwalter (4:02)
• Rants & Revelations from our spring ski testing - #1: Domino's thin-crust pizza (7:36)
• Recommendation #2: Primus Kuchoma Grill (11:05)
• On Hubris - groomers & pond skims (12:08)
• Rant #1: waterproof jackets: hard shells vs soft shells (19:05)
• Rant #2: socks (24:14)
• Rant #3: waterproof low-cut shoes (26:33)
• Recommendation #3: Patagonia's new R1 TechFace (28:18)
• Recommendation #4: the redesigned Flylow Richie Hoody (29:15)

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Jonathan Ellsworth sat down with Mike McCabe at the Folsom Skis headquarters in Denver, Colorado, to dial in "The Hammer" that they have been discussing for a long time now, and that's based on the Folsom Primary Jonathan reviewed last season.

They then talk about three other new skis that Mike's recently developed, the Spar 88, some new editions of the Rad Dad, and the Primary Plus. (You can see graphics for all these skis - including The Hammer - here on the site.)

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Background on The Hammer (2:33)
• Folsom's new "Primary Plus" (11:14)
• Tweaks to the Primary to create The Hammer (12:08)
• The new Folsom SPAR 88 (27:06)
• New variation of the Folsom Rad Dad (31:09)
• More on the new Folsom Primary Plus (35:53)

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Jonathan Ellsworth and Blister senior editor, Sam Shaheen, discuss a number of new skis they've been reviewing recently, including two skis from Prior Skis — the CBC and the Husume. They then discuss the new Atomic Bent Chetler 100, the K2 Wayback 106, the Scott Super Guide 105, and Sam offers his thoughts on the ski that is serving as our reference ski for the lightweight AT binding comparison review we’re conducting, the Salomon MTN Explore 95.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Prior CBC (1:50)
• Prior Husume (7:44)
• K2 Wayback 106 (11:55)
• Scott Super Guide 105 (15:33)
• Atomic Bent Chetler 100 (16:47)
• Salomon MTN Explore 95 (20:01)

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It seems like everyone who hasn’t been to Alaska dreams of going, and those who have been dream of going back. So today we’re talking about spring skiing and biking in Alaska with Eric Helmbrecht, the owner of Powder Hound ski shop in Girdwood, AK.

Eric and I talk a bit about some of the inbounds and touring gear that he thinks works particularly well in Alaska’s maritime snowpack and unique terrain, and some of the boots and bindings that are coming out next year. Then, Eric provides a bit of beta on spring skiing and biking in Alaska, and we wrap up with some talk about the quickly-growing mountain bike scene around Girdwood and Anchorage.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Introducing Eric / starting Powder Hound in Girdwood, AK (1:05)
• What skis do you like for AK's snowpack and terrain? (7:32)
• AT boots - Scarpa Maestrale RS, Atomic XTD 130, Tecnica Zero G Tour Pro (19:14)
• AT boot liners (27:57)
• AT bindings (31:29)
• Beta on spring ski skiing in Alaska (38:31)
• Spring mountain biking in Alaska (46:04)

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G3 (aka, Genuine Guide Gear) is introducing a new touring binding — the Zed — that they’re calling the lightest fully-featured AT binding on the market. So we talk to G3’s engineers about their design philosophy and development process, current trends in AT bindings, and the compromises inherent in any AT binding.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Introductions (2:15)
• When did work begin on this binding, and what was the primary aim? (4:55)
• The “Dark Swamp of Despair” (8:03)
• The difficulty of naming products (11:09)
• The G3 ION as the precursor to the ZED (12:37)
• Cutting weight on the ZED (17:14)
• Why choose the ION over the ZED? (26:03)
• Why choose the Zed over "ultralight" bindings (29:07)
• Using ultralight bindings on wide skis (30:19)
• Carbon reinforced plastics (33:51)
• Current binding trends and U-Spring bindings (37:15)
• Understanding the inherent compromises in bindings (44:55)

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