Nikolai Schirmer has made quite a name for himself by sometimes sailing to — and then, almost always climbing up — very technical lines, then often flashing those lines at ridiculous speeds on relatively lightweight gear. Today, Niko and Jonathan have the great debate about pin bindings; talk about Niko’s approach to selecting gear; discuss the specific gear he’s currently using the most; when & why he prefers lightweight ski gear, and we end with Niko announcing for the first time in public the name of his new film, which is his biggest project ever.

RELATED LINKS

Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+

Pre-Order: Our 24/25 Winter Buyer’s Guide

TOPICS & TIMES:

Niko’s Style

Pin Bindings (7:49)

Light vs Heavy Gear (21:08)

Ski Boots (38:29)

Boot Quivers (46:09)

Ski Quivers (48:23)

Niko’s New Film (1:06:16)

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Bikes & Big Ideas

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Today we’ve got another episode of our “Reviewing the Reviewer” series, where we ask our reviewers questions about their backgrounds and gear preferences to give you a more complete picture of the people behind our reviews. In the hot seat is bike reviewer, Zack Henderson, but in addition to mountain biking and gravel riding, Zack is also a snowboarder and a skier, so our conversation is almost equal parts bike, board, and ski talk. Jonathan also starts the episode by remembering our friend and fellow reviewer, Eric Freson.

RELATED LINKS:

Pre-Order: Our 24/25 Winter Buyer’s Guide

Become a Member: BLISTER+

TOPICS & TIMES

Zack’s background / sports did you play growing up? (7:40)

Where’d You Go to School & Why? (11:12)

How did you first get connected with Blister? (15:42)

Zack’s bike, ski, & snowboard, gravel bike preferences (18:31)

Who is your favorite reviewer at Blister? (40:12)

Who is your favorite pro mtn biker, pro skier, pro snowboarder? (41:17)

What’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever done? (51:21)

What gear are you most picky about? (54:35)

What gear are you least picky about? (57:21)

Best Crash or Close Call Story? (59:35)

Top 3 favorite books, movies, and musicians (1:02:54)

Give us a random review (1:06:39)

What’s the best question I haven’t asked you? (1:12:35)

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Blister Cinematic

Blister Podcast

Bikes & Big Ideas

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Interested in ski design? Curious about where the next advancements in ski design might come from? Dr. Sean Humbert is back to provide an update on our Blister Labs’ ski flex project and to go over some of the results and takeaways from the on-snow ski testing and dynamic modeling from this past ski season.

Blister Labs is a partnership between BLISTER and the Western Colorado University - CU Boulder Partnership Program.

RELATED LINKS:

The Published Paper on this Project

BLISTER+: Get Yourself Covered

TOPICS & TIMES:

Project Overview (3:23)

In-Field Testing & Results (6:08)

Bindings & Ski Flex Patterns (24:45)

What’s Next (35:54)

Published Paper (44:13)

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Bikes & Big Ideas

Blister Podcast

Off The Couch

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Imagine being in freezing temperatures on a glacier and having to remove your harness and several layers of clothing just to pee. What about scrambling around a desolate desert looking for a place to pull down your pants in private? Maybe you don’t have to imagine — maybe you’re part of half the population who have to wear pants that weren’t originally designed for your anatomy.

Gnara is an apparel company that has spent the last several years working to solve this problem with the advent of their “GoFly Technology,” a patented zipper that allows you to ‘go’ anywhere while maintaining privacy. We talk to Gnara co-founder, Georgia Grace Edwards, about how this idea came to be; the brand’s growth in the last few years; the impact they’ve had on a variety of professions and applications (with more to come); how to approach a taboo topic with humor and grace; and more.

RELATED LINKS:

Pre-Order: Our 24/25 Winter Buyer’s Guide

Become a Member: BLISTER+

Gnara’s GoFly Technology

TOPICS & TIMES:

Glacier Guiding & Origin Story (4:19)

Why Pee Zippers Matter (7:32)

“GoFly” Technology (15:53)

Product Lineup (17:22)

Using Humor to Address Taboo (24:16)

The Rewarding Moments (28:08)

Scaling (31:32)

Leggings (35:16)

Crowdfunding Strategy (39:55)

Rebranding (45:50)

Georgia Grace’s Background (54:21)

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Blister Cinematic

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Bikes & Big Ideas

Blister Podcast

Off The Couch

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Wool has seen quite the resurgence in technical apparel over the past couple decades, and for good reason — it’s breathable, odor-resistant, and manages moisture better than most natural fibers. However, the way that most wool is spun into yarns can hamper its natural performance traits — at least, that’s what Nuyarn CEO, Andy Wynne, claims, and it’s why Nuyarn set out to come up with an entirely new way to use wool in technical fabrics.

On today’s episode, Luke Koppa sits down with Andy to get the details on the traditional methods of yarn spinning; why he believes they have been holding back the true potential of wool; how Nuyarn is different; the extremely impressive performance metrics of Nuyarn; how it’s being applied to a very wide range of end uses; an exciting new wool product they’re about to launch, and more.

RELATED LINKS:

Pre-Order: Our 24/25 Winter Buyer’s Guide

Become a Member: BLISTER+

TOPICS & TIMES:

Andy’s Backstory (5:07)

Traditional Implemntations of Wool (7:44)

How & Why Nuyarn is Different (14:31)

Production (21:03)

Nuyarn’s Different Applications (47:37)

Future Product: Hurcelan (53:11)

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Blister Cinematic

CRAFTED

Bikes & Big Ideas

Blister Podcast

Off The Couch

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How has the ski / snowboard season in the southern hemisphere been this year? To find out, we caught up with Benji Knight and Darren Grimmett from Outside Sports in New Zealand; we also cover the gear trends they’re noticing in their area, and then they peel back the curtain on how, exactly, a local shop curates the collection of gear they offer — often picked from thousands of options — for their specific location and customers.

RELATED LINKS:

Our Blister Recommended Shop: Outside Sports

A Guide to Skiing in New Zealand, Ep.260

Blister Recommended Shops

BLISTER+: Become a Member

TOPICS & TIMES

Season Update (6:14)

How do you Pick Products?? (7:23)

Supplier Relationships & Brand Loyalty (12:24)

Athlete & Customer Relationships (15:04)

Bringing on a New Brand (19:04)

Sizing (20:42)

Hardgoods vs. Softgoods (26:53)

Evolution of the Industry (28:59)

NZ Gear Trends (33:42)

Season Outlook (41:45)

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Blister Cinematic

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Bikes & Big Ideas

Blister Podcast

Off The Couch

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Camille Jaccoux, co-founder of Black Crows Skis, is back on GEAR:30 to catch up on what the brand has been up to since last we spoke four years ago; the legacy of the iconic Corvus; how they overhauled it for 24/25; other new products they’re rolling out this winter; and a whole lot more.

RELATED LINKS:

Bag Balm: use code BLISTER to get 20% off

BLISTER+: Become a Member

Camille Jaccoux on Blister Podcast Ep.144

Camille & Julien Regnier on GEAR:30 Ep.64

TOPICS & TIMES:

Black Crows Since the Pandemic (4:04)

Touring Lineup (7:33)

New Octo & Octo Birdie (9:59)

Global Market Share (15:39)

The Corvus Legacy (20:09)

New 24/25 Corvus (25:42)

24/25 Lineup Highlights (33:00)

Other Products (42:30)

Ghost Resorts (45:06)

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Blister Cinematic

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Bikes & Big Ideas

Blister Podcast

Off The Couch

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Sean Fearon is a ski development engineer at LINE & K2, and he’s been busy — between the two sister brands’ 24/25 collections, Sean helped design over a dozen of the new skis. So Luke Koppa sat down with Sean to get the details on LINE’s new Pandora, Vision, and Optic skis (and how they all relate to each other); the overhauled K2 Reckoner and Omen series; working with Karl Fostvedt to create his unique pro model, the Reckoner KF, and more. He also peels back the curtain on what it actually means to be a ski designer / engineer, why his job is often very similar to what we do at Blister, and how others might pursue a similar career.

RELATED LINKS:

Bag Balm: use code BLISTER to get 20% off

BLISTER+: Become a Member

Blister Summit 2025: register before July 1st to save $150

Reviews: Line Pandoras, K2 Reckoners, K2 Omens

TOPICS & TIMES:

Sean’s Background (3:55)

Being a Ski Engineer / Designer (7:25)

24/25 LINE Skis Overview (13:20)

LINE Pandora, Vision, & Optic Skis (17:02)

K2 Omen Skis (41:47)

K2 Reckoner Collection (51:05)

Karl Fostvedt & The Reckoner KF (53:38)

Advice For Future Ski Designers (1:09:43)

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Blister Cinematic

CRAFTED

Bikes & Big Ideas

Blister Podcast

Off The Couch

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