Voormi: How a ‘Textile Technology’ Company Does Outdoor Apparel
Voormi is not interested in being just another outdoor apparel company. They develop their own textiles inhouse; they manufacture in the United States; and they’ve got some big plans. So we sat down in Blister HQ with Timm Smith, their head of materials development, to learn more about the Voormi story and where the brand is heading.TOPICS & TIMES:Voormi’s origin story (2:02)Materials (11:19)Highlighting some specific products (19:43)Manufacturing Processes (25:21)River Run Hoodie (26:17)Voormi Socks (31:46)Manufacturing in the USA (36:45)“Responsible” production (39:04)Where will Voormi be in 10 years? (47:30)WATCH THE VIDEO ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
14 Aug 202053min
WNDR Alpine’s 20/21 Lineup with Matt Sterbenz, Pep Fujas, & Xan Marshland
Matt Sterbenz, Pep Fujas, and Xan Marshland came to Crested Butte and sat down with us in Blister HQ to fill us in on WNDR Alpine’s new materials, new updates to the Intention 110, and their brand new ski, the Vital 100. And you’ll also hear some stories about Matt and Pep competing in slopestyle events against each other back in the day, and more.To learn more about the WNDR Alpine backstory, check out these other conversations we’ve had with them:Blister Podcast, Ep. 98: Origins & science behind WNDRGEAR:30, Ep. 63: Ski talk with Sterbenz & XanBlister Podcast, Ep. 100: Pep Fujas on how & why he got involvedTOPICS & TIMESWNDR Alpine’s background (6:55)What’s been easy, what’s been hard? (16:54)Greenwashing (19:47)Updates to the Intention 110 (30:01)New Vital 100 (41:27)Vital 120? (45:57)Fujas vs. Sterbenz in slopestyle comps (50:40)More on the Vital 100 (56:55)The WNDR Roost event (1:01:19) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
9 Aug 20201h 5min
Bikes, Forks, & Our 20/21 Winter Buyer’s Guide
Jonathan Ellsworth talks to David Golay, Dylan Wood, & Luke Koppa about the Guerrilla Gravity Gnarvana; Manitou Mezzer & RockShox ZEB; Rocky Mountain Instinct BC; our 20/21 Winter Buyer’s Guide (become a Blister Member to reserve your copy + get a ton of other benefits); and … ‘The Year of Ellsworth.’TOPICS & TIMESGuerrilla Gravity Gnarvana (5:43)Manitou Mezzer & RockShox ZEB (8:00)Rocky Mountain Instinct BC (17:33)Our 20/21 Winter Buyers Guide (28:10)2020: The Year of Ellsworth (34:33)Buyer’s Guide Cover (38:18) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
31 Jul 202045min
Aprch, CBD, & the Story Behind an Emerging Category
Normally on GEAR:30 we dive deep into the details of specific ski, apparel, or bike equipment. But this week, we’re taking a close look at a massive emerging category — CBD products in general — and one specific company in particular, Aprch. And to walk us through some of the relevant science, regulations, production processes, and the trajectory of this industry, we’re talking with Aprch co-founder, Adam Hunter.TOPICS & TIMES:Origins of Aprch (4:58)Defining Terms (10:07)Marketing this product? (24:06)Price (29:38)Production Process (36:09)Bubbles! (37:44)Future of Aprch & this industry? (41:37)LINKS TO LEARN MORE:• CBD Researcher, Dr. Raphael Mechoulam • Article on Dr. Mechoulam's research findings regarding CBD and potential benefits Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
24 Jul 202051min
Reviewing the Reviewer: Kristin Sinnott
In our “Reviewing the Reviewer” series, we ask various BLISTER reviewers questions about their backgrounds and gear preferences to give you a more complete picture of the people behind our reviews. And since we like to rank & review things around here, we also give a score to each of our reviewers’ answers, then come up with a cumulative review grade for each of them. In the hot seat today is Kristin Sinnott, and I recently subjected Kristin to our regular gauntlet of Reviewing-the-Reviewer questions, which led to answers that involved Family Feud, killer bees, ski dance videos, her background in alpine and nordic skiing; and some of her gear preferences. TOPICS & TIMES:Kristin’s background (4:39)What sports did you play growing up? (7:04)Trajectory after college (17:11)How did you first get connected with Blister? (21:48)Why are you so picky about certain foods? (25:54)What gear are you most & least picky about? (28:05)Who is your favorite reviewer at Blister? (30:30)Who is your favorite pro skier? (32:24)What’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever done? (35:03)What are you better at than Sam Shaheen? (41:45)Top 3 favorite books, movies, and musicians (43:38)Give us a random review (46:33)What’s the best question I haven’t asked you? (49:16)What we’re celebrating (57:28) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
10 Jul 20201h 7min
Our Favorite Kid’s Gear, Part 1
Kristin Sinnott and Justin Bobb join Jonathan Ellsworth to talk about some of the kid’s gear they’ve found to be the most game changing. And even if you don’t have kids, you should still definitely listen to this episode if only to learn about a piece of gear that we’ve currently named, “The JBobber.” And there’s another piece of equipment that currently has a unanimous approval rating among our Blister parents, and might be the single greatest piece of kid’s gear of all time? Check it out.TOPICS & TIMES:Patagonia Daily Sun Hoody (5:00)The JBobber (6:47)Baby Carriers (10:24)Mac Ride (12:18)What We’re Celebrating (16:24) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
3 Jul 202022min
Kingswood Skis founder, Alex Herbert
Kingswood Skis is a custom indie ski manufacturer based on the South Island of New Zealand, and we caught up with Kingswood founder, Alex Herbert, as the southern hemisphere ski season is getting underway to talk about ski materials, sidewalls, cosmetics & construction, base material thickness, and Kingswood’s rather unconventional Race Department.TOPICS & TIMES:New Zealand & Covid-19 (2:09)The southern hemisphere ski season (8:41)The quick Kingswood backstory (15:31)Ski materials (17:09)Sidewalls & cap construction (25:13)Cosmetics & Ski Repairs (28:20)Base material thickness (32:57)Ski shapes (39:59)Being 100% made to order (49:26)Kingswood’s Race Department (53.08)What We’re Celebrating (56:53) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
26 Jun 20201h 5min
Your Questions + What We’re Celebrating
Luke Koppa and Jonathan Ellsworth answer your questions and discuss our preferred gear for skiing funky spring / summer snow; what we’re reading; ski knickers?; mountain bike shoes; ski boot liners & durability; and more. TOPICS & TIMES:On our current state of affairs (1:03)Eating Food vs Photosynthesis? (6:33)Ski-Touring Knickers? (10:07)How long should a ski boot liner last? (13:7)What is Jonathan reading? (19:44)The best type of ski for funky, summer snow? (24:36)Mtn Bike Shoes (30:40)Climbing Skins 101 - upcoming article (34:06)What we’re celebrating (34:38) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
19 Jun 202040min
