Ski vs Bike Industry, Part 2: State of Shops; Gear Wins & Fails; & the Future of Each

Today, Jonathan lays out more fully his thoughts about the Peak Skis debacle; Luke Koppa offers his perspective too; and they discuss Jonathan’s initial comments made here on GEAR:30 back on May 23, what he’s been up to and learning since then, and what we think needs to happen going forward.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredJason Blevins’ article on Peak SkisGEAR:30 ep 191: Bode on Peak SkisGEAR:30 ep 163: Bode on Crosson SkisPeak's Crowdfunding Form C DocTOPICS & TIMES:Be Like Rocco, Rosemary, & Shashi (1:10)Some Background re: Peak (4:54)Reckless Spending (8:01)False Promises & Broken Contracts (11:57)How to Operate in the Outdoor Community (16:00)Lawsuits (23:17)Peak’s Crowdfunding Initiative (26:55)What Needs to Happen Next? (31:00)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDBikes & Big IdeasBlister Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, we head south to the snow, and back behind the counter at Outside Sports in New Zealand. We talk about the gear and innovations they're stoked on; what it takes to keep a mountain town business thriving; sustainability from a local shop’s perspective; business strategies for adapting to the unpredictability of climate change; and a whole lot more. RELATED LINKS:Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+Blister Recommended Shop: Outside Sports Ep.260: A Guide to Skiing in New Zealand with Outside SportsTOPICS & TIMES Consumer-Driven Conversation (4:54)Momentum: Local Distributor in NZ (7:57)What’s Been Most Exciting? (12:42)The Challenges (20:48)Commitment to Values (25:44)1% for the Planet (26:25)Helping the Community (27:46)Climate Change in NZ (32:44)How to Adapt (34:54)Exciting New Gear (40:24)The Winter Ahead (46:12)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDBikes & Big IdeasBlister Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this panel conversation from Blister Summit 2025, we discuss why all of your outdoor apparel recently changed — and how that will impact your own experiences.Specifically, we’re talking about the ban on PFAS chemicals; why they’d been so extensively used in outdoor apparel (and far beyond); the real-world performance differences between them and new PFAS-free alternatives; and what you need to know to make the most of your own apparel.To cover all of this, we brought together an excellent panel of industry professionals, including Eric Wallis (Patagonia), Dan Abrams (Flylow), Tom Mason (Ortovox), and Ross Herr (Rab). RELATED LINKS:Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+TOPICS & TIMES:What Are PFAS? (3:31)Why the Move Away from PFAS (8:09)New vs. Old DWR & Waterproof Membranes (10:15)New Discoveries (18:56)Exciting Trends (25:35)Audience Questions:Down vs Synthetic (28:55)Caring For PFAS-Free Layers (32:23)3rd-Party Water Repellants (35:53)Non-Porous Membranes (40:05)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDBikes & Big IdeasBlister Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In past years, we’ve done a series called ‘Bikes vs Skis’ where we’ve posed the question: Which bike company is most like which ski company? But this year, we’re zooming out a bit, and instead are putting up the whole ski industry vs the bike industry. In part 2 of this conversation, we take a look at the state of ski shops vs bike shops; what each industry is doing to grow participation and engagement in their sport; gear trend wins and fails; and we weigh in on which industry has the brighter future. You’ll hear from Blister reviewers Luke Koppa, Jonathan Ellsworth, David Golay, Simon Stewart, Kara Williard, and Xan Marshland.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredSki vs Bike Industry, Part 1Our ‘Bikes vs Skis’ Series:Bikes vs Skis, 4th Edition (2023): Part 1Bikes vs Skis, 4th Edition (2023): Part 2Bikes vs Skis, 4th Edition (2023): Part 3Bikes vs Skis, 3rd Edition (2021): Part 1Bikes vs Skis, 3rd Edition (2021): Part 2Bikes vs Skis, 2nd Edition (2020): Part 1Bikes vs Skis, 2nd Edition (2020): Part 2Bikes vs Skis, 1st Edition (2018): Part 1Bikes vs Skis, 1st Edition (2018): Part 2TOPICS & TIMES:Ski Shops vs Bike Shops (3:13)Growing Participation: Ski vs Bike Industry (12:52)Lift Tickets (25:01)BMX Bikes (26:30)Gear Wins & Fails (29:43)Brighter Future? Ski or Bike Industry? (38:41)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDBikes & Big IdeasBlister Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In past years, we’ve done a series called ‘Bikes vs Skis’ where we’ve posed the question: Which bike company is most like which ski company? But this year, we’re zooming out a bit, and instead are putting up the whole ski industry vs the bike industry, to identify the significant similarities or differences; assess the relative health of each; and see how the trends in one might align with trends in the other. Today, you’ll hear from Blister reviewers Jonathan Ellsworth, Luke Koppa, David Golay, Simon Stewart, Kara Williard, and Xan Marshland.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredOur ‘Bikes vs Skis’ Series:Bikes vs Skis, 4th Edition (2023): Part 1Bikes vs Skis, 4th Edition (2023): Part 2Bikes vs Skis, 4th Edition (2023): Part 3Bikes vs Skis, 3rd Edition (2021): Part 1Bikes vs Skis, 3rd Edition (2021): Part 2Bikes vs Skis, 2nd Edition (2020): Part 1Bikes vs Skis, 2nd Edition (2020): Part 2Bikes vs Skis, 1st Edition (2018): Part 1Bikes vs Skis, 1st Edition (2018): Part 2TOPICS & TIMES:Health of the Bike Industry (4:52)Volatility in the Ski Industry (12:11)Supply Chain Complexity (16:35)Which Categories are Growing or Shrinking? (18:45)Enduro vs DH Bikes (33:44)Pow Skis & DH Bikes (36:40)Small Brands & Niche Products (39:02)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDBikes & Big IdeasBlister Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Too often, the consumer reviews you find online are incomplete and unhelpful. But through our Blister Labs partnership with Western Colorado University & the University of Colorado Boulder, we’re working to change that. With Blister Community Reviews, we are creating a better method of gathering, synthesizing, and displaying user feedback from people of all shapes, sizes, ability levels, and locations, to produce even more helpful consumer product information for outdoor enthusiasts all around the world.Luke Koppa and Jonathan Ellsworth discuss the origins of our Blister Community Reviews initiative; the takeaways from our beta testing at Blister Summit 2023; our goals for the future; and more.TOPICS & TIMES:Blister Community Reviews: Background & Origins (4:17)Takeaways from Beta Testing (16:58)Going Forward: Goals & Timeline (22:10)Crashes & Close Calls (29:34)What We’re Celebrating (40:20)RELATED LINKS:Blister Labs: Learn MoreVIDEO: Blister Labs Summit PanelBecome a Blister MemberCHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Off The CouchBikes & Big IdeasBlister PodcastCRAFTEDHappy Hour (for Blister Members) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.