Luke Koppa, Dylan Wood, and Eric Freson join Kara Williard to talk about the epic storm cycle we recently had in Crested Butte, and the powder-ski testing that followed. We also discuss several of the new all-mountain skis we’ve been on lately; Dylan’s new favorite ski poles; a standout touring boot; 3D-printed custom goggles; and a bunch of Crashes & Close Calls. 

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TOPICS & TIMES:

Pow Skis (4:19)

All-Mountain Skis (20:39)

Other Gear We’ve Been Testing (41:23)

Crashes & Close Calls (55:37)

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Luke Koppa sits down with Kyle Siegel, the founder of Raide, which is one of the newest players in the backcountry softgoods category. They launched with a lightweight 40-liter backpack that immediately made a splash when it was released, so we sat down with Kyle to learn about how — and why — he started Raide.

We cover the problems he’s looking to solve; how he went about doing so with the Raide LF 40 pack; we do a deep dive on some of the latest high-end, ultralight pack materials; the challenges and benefits of running a new, small business in the category; what we should expect from Raide in the future, and more.

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Blister First Look: Raide LF 40L Pack

TOPICS & TIMES:

Kyle’s Background (3:28)

The Problems Raide is Attempting to Solve (6:19)

Prototyping Process & Must-Have Features (12:15)

Deep Dive: Materials (17:00)

Raide LF 40L: Overview (28:07)

Raide’s Future Products (35:57)

Running Lean & Nimble as a Small Business (43:32)

Raide’s Athlete Team (46:17)

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Are you an “expert” skier or rider? Advanced skier? Intermediate? What’s the difference between “advanced” and “expert”? Today, we’re following up on our GEAR:30 conversation with Luke Koppa (episode 277) to revisit these questions — having received a lot of great responses from all of you. Joining Jonathan today to rethink these things is Jordan Jones, co-founder and president of Powder7, to provide a retailer’s perspective on these things. See what you think, and let us know whether you think we ought to change or tweak our 6 ability level categories for Community Reviews.

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Ep. 277: Jonathan & Luke on Skier Ability Levels

TOPICS & TIMES:

Meeting Up in Girdwood, AK (8:15)

Technique (12:37)

Is Our Bar Too High for “Expert”?(16:46)

Our “Advanced” Category (25:53)

Advanced & Expert Descriptions (28:56)

Assigning Ability Levels to Skis (32:04)

Skier Weight vs Skier Power (39:13)

Skier Personality / Style (44:29)

Accounting for Different Conditions / Locations (48:10)

Monoskiing (51:27)

Final Thought: The Best Skiers on the Mtn (59:08)

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Today, we’re following up last week’s episode, where we looked back at 2023’s “Gear Of The Year,” and we’re now looking forward to 2024. Jonathan Ellsworth, Kara Williard, Justin Bobb, and Luke Koppa attempt to predict what’s “in” and what’s “out,” what trends will be revived, what categories will see the most change, and spin off into several other tangents.

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Ep. 278: Gear of the Year, 2023

TOPICS & TIMES:

2023 Gear Trends (2:26)

What’s “In” for 2024? (8:05)

What’s “Out” for 2024? (15:27)

What Trends are Coming Back? (25:55)

Categories to See the Most Change? (31:11)

Crashes & Close Calls (38:24)

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Jonathan Ellsworth sits down with Luke Koppa, Kara Williard, and Justin Bobb to reflect on some of the standout products and notable trends that defined the past year in ski and snowboard gear. 

So, what trend does Luke think is “the gear equivalent of superhero movies?” How many BOA dials has JBobb broken in a decade as a self-described BOA convert? What’s Kara’s pick for the “Not New But Still Amazing Award?” Take a listen and find out.

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TOPICS & TIMES:

Biggest Developments & Trends

• Ski Boots (4:21)
• Snowboard Boots & Boards (17:56)
• Snowboard Bindings (22:03)
• Ski Bindings (26:06)

Standout Products (31:54)

Best Values (51:36)

Not New But Still Amazing Award (1:00:33)

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We just launched our new Blister Labs project, Blister Community Reviews, so Luke Koppa and Jonathan Ellsworth discuss where it is today; how it will evolve; and some big questions like, how much info is too much or too little?; how to best define the difference between an intermediate, advanced, and expert skier; rating scale debates; and more.

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Video: Blister Labs Summit Panel Session

GEAR:30 #257: Previous Labs Convo 

TOPICS & TIMES:

Solstice & World Snowboard Day (1:54)

Blister Community Reviews (7:47)

Defining Skier Ability Levels (20:03)

Rating Scales (32:31)

Should Our Reviewers Contribute? (37:55)

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Shane McConkey’s college roommate is back on GEAR:30, and Jonathan talks to Greg Klein (president of Willi’s Ski & Snowboard Shops) about all the stuff in the episode title, plus the $10,000 bet made at our Blister Summit that it looks like he’s won?

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TOPICS & TIMES:

Shop Pizza (4:02)

Greg @ the White House / Sustainability (8:17)

Ski Boots, Walk Modes & Winning Bets (22:04)

The Future: Cables, BOAs, or Buckles? (33:57)

90-Flex Boots (41:46)

Ski-Boot Pricing (46:32)

Egg Beaters & Eyes-Closed Skiing (57:57)

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Jonathan and Folsom Custom Ski’s Mike McCabe discuss the skinniest ski in the Folsom lineup, the Spar 78; Folsom’s new huge pow ski, the Rotor; and then they discuss a new custom touring-ski project for Jonathan, and dive deep into the various layup & core combinations one would use to hit certain weight targets. Our fellow gear dorks, you’re going to dig this one.

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TOPICS & TIMES:

What’s going on at Folsom? (5:30)

Folsom Spar 78 (8:08)

New: Folsom Rotor (11:58)

Backstory: Folsom ‘Giver’ & ‘Primary’ (14:02)

Bag Balm x Blister x Folsom (20:55)

JE’s Custom Touring Ski Project (34:30)

Which Bindings? (38:36)

Which Boots? (42:21)

Ski Length (52:11)

Weight (54:44)

The Hammer (1:08:44)

Folsom’s Configurations (1:14:53)

Mount Point (1:16:44)

Camber Profile (1:19:03)

Mike’s ‘Crashes & Close Calls’ Story (1:30:26)

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Luke Koppa, Kara Williard, and Jonathan Ellsworth discuss getting back on snow, the best holiday of the year, ski boots, frontside skis, mountain biking in Nepal, engagement taco parties, and new apparel.

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TOPICS & TIMES:

Blister Summit Update (0:00)

Back on Snow (3:41)

Ski Boots (12:16)

Mtn Biking in Nepal (23:49)

Frontside Skis (32:02)

Apparel (50:01)

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What are some of the biggest mistakes skiers make when buying gear? And what do regular, recreational skiers & snowboarders need to know about ski tuning and waxing? Jonathan discusses these questions and more with Logan and Riley Boone of Boone Mountain Sports. They also talk about how they all met (it was in Austria), and Jonathan reveals the upcoming ‘Blister 90-Flex Challenge’.

TOPICS & TIMES:

Blister Summit Update (1:50)

How / Where We All Met (8:09)

Intros: Logan, Riley, & Boone Mountain Sports (13:44)

Kombucha, Music Festivals, & Youth Programs (18:33)

Biggest Ski Buying Mistakes? (28:42)

The Blister ‘90-Flex Challenge’ (35:11)

Ski Tuning (51:00)

Waxing (1:08:35)

Crashes & Close Calls (1:13:50)

The Boone Mountain Sports Logo (1:23:30)

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