295 episodes
GEAR:30 BLISTER
-
- Sports
-
-
4.9 • 759 Ratings
-
GEAR:30 is the podcast from BLISTER that dives deep into the details of the most interesting and innovative outdoor gear. You'll hear BLISTER reviewers discuss the gear they're testing, as well as product designers, professional athletes, and some of the gear-obsessed folks from our recommended shops weigh in on gear trends and the equipment they’ve been most impressed with. If you love outdoor gear, you're going to love this podcast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Alaska’s Epic El Niño Season, Ski Bindings, & More with Powder Hound
We’re back with Eric Helmbrecht, co-owner of Powder Hound in Girdwood, AK, to discuss Alaska’s banner El Niño season; the gear he enjoyed most; the gear Kara Williard brought to Girdwood; what’s changed at Alyeska Resort since joining the Ikon pass; the reliability of various AT & alpine bindings, and more.
RELATED LINKS:
Shop Talk: Powder Hound, Girdwood, AK (Ep.133)
Shop Talk: Celebrating 10 Years of Powder Hound in Girdwood, AK (Ep.222)
Trends, Favorite Gear, and Most / Least Durable Products, with Eric Helmbrecht of Powder Hound AK (Ep.41)
Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+
Blister Recommended Shops
TOPICS & TIMES
Alaska’s Epic El Niño (3:07)
Eric’s Favorite Gear (4:55)
Kara’s Gear for AK (7:05)
BOA Boots (10:57)
Ski Tuning Upgrade (13:17)
Ski Racing in AK (17:03)
Alyeska on the Ikon Pass (20:03)
Eric’s Trip Recommendations (25:19)
Alpine Bindings (28:01)
Binding Reliability & Longevity (30:56)
Eric’s Preferences (40:53)
AT Bindings & Trends (44:40)
CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:
Blister Cinematic
CRAFTED
Bikes & Big Ideas
Blister Podcast
Off The Couch
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. -
Whiskey, Murder, and a Bunch of New Skis
Luke Koppa and Jonathan Ellsworth discuss some of the new skis they’ve been testing this spring
RELATED LINKS:
Blister Rec Shop: Powder Hound
Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+
TOPICS & TIMES:
Intro & Updates (2:36)
Blizzard Anomaly 88 (9:50)
K2 Omen Team (20:00)
Blizzard Anomaly 94 (23:32)
Armada Declivity X 102 & Declivity X 108 (33:58)
Moment Commander 102 (40:46)
Line Pandora 99 & Pandora 106 (49:14)
Black Crows Corvus (57:38)
Rossignol Sender Free 118 (1:03:57)
Crashes & Close Calls (1:10:07)
CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:
Blister Cinematic
CRAFTED
Bikes & Big Ideas
Blister Podcast
Off The Couch
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. -
New Tech to Simplify Decision Making in the Backcountry
After years in the backcountry and a near-death experience, IFMGA Guide, Jeff Banks, wanted to build a tool that could simplify and improve the decision-making of any backcountry user. The result is Aspect Avy.
Kara Williard sat down with Jeff to discuss how this app compares to and complements other backcountry tools; key features such as Adaptive Slop Shading and “No Go Zones”; how it accounts for human factors; different types of risk; the general state of tech in the backcountry; and more.
RELATED LINKS:
Download Aspect Avy for FREE
Blister Rec Shop: Boulder Orthotics
Get Covered: BLISTER+
VIDEOS: BLISTER YouTube Channel
Invest in Aspect Avy
TOPICS & TIMES:
Jeff’s Background: IFMGA & Nordic (3:10)
Jeff’s Near-Death Experience (6:15)
Intro to Aspect Avy (9:18)
Adaptive Slope Shading (10:31)
No-Go Zones, Coaching Tool, & Runout Zones (13:21)
Human Factors (19:17)
Adaptive Tools (23:20)
Who’s It For? (30:32)
Tech & Backcountry Skiing (46:26)
CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:
Blister Cinematic
CRAFTED
Bikes & Big Ideas
Blister Podcast
Off The Couch
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. -
Icelantic & Moment Skis on Ski Design & U.S. Ski Manufacturing
What’s in and what’s out in ski design? And how have U.S. ski companies been doing over the past few years? At Blister Summit 2024, we discussed this and much more with Moment Skis CEO, Luke Jacobson, and Icelantic Skis founder, Ben Anderson. We cover notable trends; why skis cost what they do; the challenges of manufacturing skis in the U.S.; whether a core-shot-proof ski is possible, and more.
And, if you’d like to check out the video of this conversation, then head over to the BLISTER YouTube channel to watch this, plus other panel sessions from all of our Blister Summits, plus new brand lineup videos, etc.
RELATED LINKS:
Blister Rec Shop: Lone Pine Gear Exchange
Get Covered: BLISTER+
VIDEOS: BLISTER YouTube Channel
TOPICS & TIMES:
Introductions 3:21
Manufacturing Challenges 8:08
Ski Costs vs. Ski Prices 14:10
Exciting New Ski Materials? 26:01
Audience Questions 35:50
CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:
Blister Cinematic
CRAFTED
Bikes & Big Ideas
Blister Podcast
Off The Couch
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. -
Reviewer Reports: Taos Ski Valley, Carving Skis, All-Mountain Skis, & Luke’s 3-Day-Old Cheeseburger (Ep.290)
This week, Jonathan, Luke, Kara, Kristin, and JBobb were testing a bunch of skis, boots, snowboards, and apparel in Taos Ski Valley. But it was more than just a review trip, since it was also the first time back at TSV for several of us who previously spent many seasons there — which meant there were a lot of feelings.
So in this conversation, we discuss a number of the carving-oriented and narrower all-mountain skis we were on this week; Luke’s food choices; the heated debate between Taos’ Chair 2 (West Basin) vs Chair 12 (Kachina Peak); and more.
RELATED LINKS:
Blister Recommended Shop: Powder Hound AK
BLISTER+ Membership: Learn More & Sign Up
VIDEOS: Blister YouTube Channel
TOPICS & TIMES:
We’re Back! (5:45)
The Great Debate: Taos’ Chair 2 vs. Chair 12 (11:27)
Luke’s Green-Chile Cheeseburger (25:00)
Morning Groomers & Carving Skis (30:53)
Afternoon Steeps & All-Mountain Skis (44:31)
Crashes & Close Calls: Jonathan’s Latest (1:05:54)
CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:
Blister Cinematic
CRAFTED
Bikes & Big Ideas
Blister Podcast
Off The Couch
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. -
Standout Backcountry Gear: Past, Present, & Future (ft. Vertical Playground)
Luke Koppa and Kara Williard talk with Trygve Sande, one of the founders of Vertical Playground (VPG), which is our Blister Recommended Shop in Oppdal, Norway, to get a read on the past, present, and future of backcountry gear. We discuss current trends; all-time pivotal pieces of gear; the most durable products; the easiest ones to use; gear that helps break down the barriers to entry; skiing in Norway; and last but not least, Trygve’s involvement and collaboration with Hoji and 4FRNT’s new concept ski.
RELATED LINKS:
Vertical Playground
GEAR:30 Ep.169: Vertical Playground, Oppdal Norway
Get Covered: BLISTER+
VIDEOS: Blister YouTube Channel
TOPICS & TIMES
VPG background (2:19)
Current Backcountry Trends (5:20)
All-Time Pivotal Gear (11:01)
Frame & Tech Bindings (13:09)
Most Durable Products? (20:46)
Top Products: Ease of Use (24:31)
Hoji Lock (25:31)
Dynafit Ridge Binding (31:11)
Performance-to-Weight Ratio (28:06)
Best Gear for Norway (31:26)
Backcountry Accessories (33:38)
Backpacks (35:20)
Backcountry Gear Demos (36:54)
Hoji & the Raven & 4FRNT Concept Ski (41:00)
Summer at VPG (47:19)
CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:
Blister Cinematic
CRAFTED
Bikes & Big Ideas
Blister Podcast
Off The Couch
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Customer Reviews
Bring the boards out
Always enjoying the gear discussions. Listening to you guys a lot tuning skis. Have fun on the boards. Hope you have more best misses than crashes
Really want to love the show but I can't
This show is great for the guests they get and the subject matter that they cover. It’s all stuff I want to know but I always quit listening at some point because of the host, Jonathon. I think he is knowledgeable and eventually asks good questions, but with no exaggeration, the ratio of him talking to the guest talking is 2 to 1 or even 3 to 1. It gets frustrating to have to wait patiently for him to ask a 3 minute question to hear a good 1 minute answer from the guest. Although his questions are generally good, in the end I feel I should know more about what the expert guest thinks on a subject vs the host and I find that never happens in this podcast. 50-50 at best with the more talkative guests. Sorry about this but I do believe this show is unique and covers stuff I love. I just get too impatient to finish most shows.
Get on that snowboard!!
Jonathan and the Blister Team make my commute to and from the office tolerable listening to all their different podcast channels. Now it’s time to get Jonathan on that snowboard!