GEAR:30

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

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

We talk to Naked Sports Innovations’ president and co-founder, Lindsay Dakota, about how the concept of “simplexity” drives Naked’s design process; growing a small brand sustainably; the future of footwear; and how ski racing influenced the design of their new trail shoe.TOPICS & TIMES:The Naked Sports’ Running Band (8:01)Simplexity (11:13)Fit (17:26)Sustainability (19:42)Expanding Naked’s product line (23:40)What is a “cooling face fabric?” (25:04)Working with Vibram (27:48)The Naked T/r Trail Racing Shoe (29:19)How ski racing influenced this shoe (31:57)Small brands & the state of trail running (48:41)What We’re Celebrating (52:01)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Off The Couch podcastBlister PodcastBikes & Big Ideas podcast