Zen & the Art of Creating the World's Biggest Splitboard Binding Company: Will Ritter, Spark R&D

In the second installment of our “Very Deep Dive on Bootfitting” series, Blister reviewer (and bootfitter) Kara Williard is joined again by Master Bootiftter, Sam Tischendorf. But this time it is all about you, the audience, as we make our way through a bunch of your questions. Sam and Kara explain some of the technical mysteries — and at times, controversies — within bootfitting, such as forward lean and ramp angle; provide a deeper explanation of why custom insoles are so imperative as the foundation to a boot’s fit; the differences between rigid and flexible feet; they make a case for women-specific ski boots; and they end on some horror stories and Sam’s true feelings about DIY bootfitting. TOPICS AND TIMESCustom insoles (4:40)Socks & Shell Fit (13:12)Forward Lean / Ramp Angle (18:51)Fore / Aft Balance (30:20)Binding Delta? (32:26)“The old skinny heel” (34:11)Aftermarket Liners (41:23)Time to Upgrade? (44:32)Flat Feet and Foot Flexibility (51:47)Rigid Feet Need Love (56:33)Women-Specific Boots (57:38)Horror Stories & DIY Bootfitting and Cool Stuff and Gross Stuff (1:07:28)RELATED LINKS:Part 1: A Very Deep Dive on BootfittingA Very Deep Dive on Ski BootsBecome a Blister Member / Get our Buyer’s GuideSubscribe to our Gear Giveaways & NewsletterOUR OTHER PODCASTS:CRAFTED Bikes & Big IdeasOff The CouchBLISTER Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

16 Sep 20221h 17min

Can engineering actually help us discover real-world characteristics about products that will be meaningful to end users? Or, when we incorporate quantitative data, do we mostly run the risk of having that data leading people astray? To lay out the concerns, stakes, and potential rewards, Jonathan Ellsworth talks with Thomas Laakso, the vice president of product and operations at DPS Skis, and Dr. Sean Humbert of Blister Labs.TOPICS & TIMES:Will Data Set Us Free? (6:12)Variability & Defining Uncertainty (14:05)Data & Real-World Applicability (16:58)DPS Pagoda Tour Update (29:03)Quantifying the User Experience? (34:34)Interrogating Engineering (37:42)RELATED LINKS:Become a Blister Member / Get Our Buyer’s GuideGEAR:30: Thomas Laakso on DPS SkisGEAR:30: Ski Testing & Dynamic Modeling w Sean HumbertVIDEO: Blister Labs Panel SessionSubscribe to our Gear Giveaways & NewsletterOUR OTHER PODCASTS:CRAFTED Bikes & Big IdeasOff The CouchBLISTER Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9 Sep 202245min

Few things in the world of ski gear are as complex, important, or misunderstood as bootfitting. So in this 1st episode of our new series on bootfitting, we dive into the basics with Sam Tischendorf, Masterfit University instructor, former clinical podiatrist, and lead bootfitter.TOPICS & TIMES:Sam Tischendorf’s background in Clinical Podiatry (4:56)How She Got into Skiing (8:41)Her Current Work as a Bootfitter (16:40)Masterfit University (21:41)Tecnica’s Women 2 Women & P165 (30:05)Bootfitting is Feelings (37:47)Communication with your Bootfitter (58:10)The Customization Process (1:04:29)Boot Longevity (1:10:58)What We’re Celebrating (1:22:23)RELATED LINKS:A Very Deep Dive on Ski BootsBecome a Blister Member / Get our Buyer’s GuideSubscribe to our Gear Giveaways & NewsletterOUR OTHER PODCASTS:CRAFTED Bikes & Big IdeasOff The CouchBLISTER Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2 Sep 20221h 25min

Greg Vanderbeek is back with a Blister Labs update on our mountain-bike-wheels testing. We discuss why the dynamic modeling we’ve been doing in the field is a critical component for ongoing testing back at Western Colorado University; what our test results are revealing about carbon vs. aluminum wheels; and we talk about the joy of new tires, the magic of espresso, and more.TOPICS & TIMES:The Joys of New Tires (4:21)Wheelest Testing Update (7:49)Age-Old Question: Carbon vs. Aluminum Wheels (13:34)What We're Celebrating (21:14)RELATED LINKS:GEAR:30 ep. 204: Blister Labs / Greg VanderbeekAll Blister Labs Current ProjectsCHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister PodcastCRAFTEDBikes & Big IdeasOff the Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

26 Aug 202224min

You do your research when it comes to your ski & bike & trail gear. But what about your eyewear? Julbo CEO, Dave Crothers, makes the case that there’s a whole lot more to lens technology that everyone ought to be considering, and that lenses are not all pretty much the same. Hear him out.TOPICS & TIMES:Julbo & Dave’s background (4:08)The Eyewear Industry Today (17:55)Differences in Lenses (20:10)Photochromic or Photochromatic? (30:51)Evolution of photochromic lenses - (33:06)“Categories” (36:23)Polarized lenses (38:43)Forte of photochromic lenses?“High Contrast” vs “Light Amplifier”Closing Remarks: DYR (50:27)What We’re Celebrating (53:03)RELATED LINKS:Subscribe to our Newsletter & Gear GiveawaysBecome a Blister Member / Get our Buyer’s GuideCHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:CRAFTEDBlister PodcastBikes & Big IdeasOff the Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

19 Aug 202255min

On the latest edition of our Reviewing the Reviewer series, our resident ski reviewer, bike tester, boot fitter, and sustainable farmer, Kara Williard, is in the hot seat. We cover everything from ski and bike gear preferences to scorpion-eating chickens; Kara’s stint as a Tall-Tee-clad park rat; whether goalie gloves smell worse than sweaty ski boots; and much more.TOPICS & TIMES:Kara’s background (4:39)Worst thing she did during high school? (12:18)College days (14:02)Kara’s family of goalkeepers (16:17)Gross goalie gloves (18:25)Kara’s skiing & bootfitting background (20:31)First time she met Jonathan (31:26)Mountain biking & gear preferences (36:26)Her favorite reviewers (46:06)Her favorite skier & bikers (47:21)Jungle farming with scabies & scorpion-eating chickens (50:06)What she’s better at than Sam Shaheen (54:28)Favorite books, movies, & musicians (57:21)Random review: her own red chile (1:03:05)Best question we haven’t asked you? (1:07:38)What We're Celebrating (1:12:04)RELATED LINKS:Kara discusses food systems & farming (Blister Pod Ep.221)Subscribe to our Newsletter & Gear GiveawaysBecome a Blister Member / Get our Buyer’s GuideCHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:CRAFTEDBlister PodcastBikes & Big IdeasOff the Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12 Aug 20221h 16min

Luke Koppa, Kara Williard, and Jonathan Ellsworth talk about our upcoming test, where we’ll be mounting up more than 20 pairs of the same ski with more than 20 different alpine bindings in the attempt to find out what really separates the most popular alpine (and 50/50) bindings from one another.TOPICS & TIMES:Teasers (0:30)Our Reference Ski: K2 Mindbender 99Ti (5:30)The Binding Lineup (10:01)More info for Blister Members (25:29)Tangent: Animal Encounters (27:34)What We’re Celebrating (31:19)RELATED LINKS:Our Blister Summit Panel on Ski Binding DesignBlister LabsSubscribe to our Newsletter & Gear GiveawaysBecome a Blister Member / Get our Buyer’s GuideCHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister PodcastBikes & Big IdeasOff the Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5 Aug 202238min

A few years ago, Kitsbow undertook an incredibly ambitious plan to move to Old Fort, North Carolina, and bring all of their apparel production to the United States, after years of working with overseas factories. In doing so, they not only found a way to adapt to today’s challenging supply chain logistics, but they also trained an entirely new workforce and spearheaded the revitalization of their new hometown, which had been losing manufacturing jobs for decades. So we talked with their CEO, David Billstrom, about how they did that while weathering a global pandemic; how doing so has been a boon to the brand, their customers, and their local community; and how they hope to be a blueprint for other companies to do the same.TOPICS & TIMES:Covid shields and facemasks (4:57)Moving to North Fort, NC (10:34)The Toyota Way (25:15)Domestic manufacturing & efficiency (31:53)Revitalizing a community (38:05)Employee purchase as a Public Benefit Corporation (52:54)David’s Big Idea (1:00:28)What We’re Celebrating (1:02:20)RELATED LINKS:Ep. 20: How the Outdoor Industry is Helping Fight CovidBlister LabsGear Giveaway / Newsletter SignupBecome a Blister Member / Get our new Buyer’s GuideBlister Mountain Bike Buyer’s GuideCHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister PodcastBikes & Big IdeasOff the Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

29 Jul 20221h 5min