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Thread: Blister
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02-22-2019, 08:25 PM #1
Blister
Goddamn it why do I have to pay $60/year to read a comparison from 4 years ago.
But Ellen kicks ass - if she had a beard it would be much more haggard. -Jer
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02-22-2019, 08:36 PM #2Registered User
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People gotta get paid somehow.
Which does make me curious... do those guys have day jobs or other sources of income coming in? Living and skiing everyday at crested butte can't be cheap.
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02-22-2019, 08:48 PM #3Registered User
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I'm halfway surprised people do subscribe. My understanding is they don't purchase the gear they test? Reviews are generally great, but I wonder how much politics are involved. Surely they can't trash on a product if they want the manufacturer to keep sendin' em things, right?
Last edited by KyleLanTheman; 02-22-2019 at 08:53 PM. Reason: Grammar
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02-22-2019, 08:57 PM #4
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02-22-2019, 08:57 PM #5
That and they have ads. I know one of their reviewers is a heli guide and I’m pretty sure he’s a doctor as well. The others I know nothing about. Come on though 4 years later. Maybe release it to the public after a certain amount of time has lapsed.
But Ellen kicks ass - if she had a beard it would be much more haggard. -Jer
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02-22-2019, 09:42 PM #6Registered User
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I've been a little critical of blister for a few reasons: I've had fundamental disagreements with a few reviews they've posted (pretty much every Praxis review), their reviews of female skis are generally poor (they should definitely put their lady reviewers on male skis when they come in short enough sizes), but the main thing is that I basically hold them to the same standard I would any other professional journalist or self-proclaimed expert and call them out when they don't get it right. Which obviously they don't like. But I think if you're putting yourself out there like that as a figure of authority or expert and getting paid to do it as your job, you're accepting a level of responsibility similar to a journalist, unlike your average TGR poster.
But the bottom line is that blister provides a service, and apparently it's one people are willing to pay good money for. So good for them. If you're complaining about lack of access to an old review, it means their content is valuable enough that you want to read it. And apparently badly enough to start a thread complaining about it. Personally, I'm grateful for the info they provide in their free reviews. Things like rocker profile pics and measured dimensions are really nice and way easier to find on their site than by searching TGR.
If more folks here took it upon themselves to write detailed reviews/comparisons, maybe fewer people would rely on blister. Though even when mags make detailed posts and reviews, they often get lost or buried -- you can't easily sort by manufacturer or ski type the way you can on blister. So maybe we need review subforum on tech talk so that stuff doesn't get lost. And I think to some extent, your average layperson doesn't want to read a thread where various people might disagree on some aspect of a ski -- they want an "expert" opinion that they think they can trust.Last edited by auvgeek; 02-23-2019 at 02:03 PM.
"Alpine rock and steep, deep powder are what I seek, and I will always find solace there." - Bean Bowers
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02-22-2019, 10:01 PM #7
If their annual rate were 50% less I'd probably subscribe, I just can't justify it at the current price. Maybe use the current rate for current-year gear reviews, and a heavily discounted rate for everything older. That would fit reader demographics better.
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02-22-2019, 10:13 PM #8
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02-22-2019, 10:17 PM #9
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02-22-2019, 10:47 PM #10
Blister are good for finding info on mount points, straight pull lengths etc.
The reviews are worth reading of course, but you have to take them with a grain of salt like any reviews.
At least they don’t read as arrogant as they did a few years ago.
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02-22-2019, 11:00 PM #11
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02-22-2019, 11:46 PM #12
Maybe we create a mag account and all pitch in $5-10 bucks a year then be able to access all that shit for far cheaper when spread out over 5-6 people?
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02-22-2019, 11:53 PM #13
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02-23-2019, 12:30 AM #14
I’ll chip in. I go years without buying gear and when I’m going to it sure would be nice to read reviews.
But Ellen kicks ass - if she had a beard it would be much more haggard. -Jer
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02-23-2019, 01:04 AM #15one-track mind
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VERY little of Blister's content applies directly to my height/weight class and ski performance tastes. Sure, if I had founded Blister, I would do some things differently, but it's not my company---it's theirs. Instead of complaining, I just ask myself "Is the world a better place if Blister shuts down? Or survives?" I want them to survive, so I root hard for Blister.
For now, the free option is: Just post a new thread here asking us to compare old ski models for you.
Their $600,000 deal might help payroll for 2 years: http://crestedbuttenews.com/2018/11/...view-for-600k/
My blind guess is it seems like ~3 people are working full-time, worthy of real full-time salaries. When I rolled into CB and barged into their office unannounced, their managing editor was still working in the office after 5pm on a MLK holiday---that doesn't sound like slacking to me.
I skied a token 1.5 hours with reviewer/managing editor Luke Koppa after the highest lifts at CB closed for the day (limited terrain open in the final hours), but I saw enough to say Luke knows what he's doing and I'd trust his ski reviews (best when applied to skiers near his height/weight).
Good idea. I encourage you to nicely propose that new policy to Blister. They might say "yes" and change which content they deem to be premium. I mean, I think this year's Winter Buyers Guide is free for the first time, so yeah...they seem open to change if it makes sense for their business.
Seconded. C'mon guys, you know how to consume info in the Internet Age. Sure, some of you might wish Blister's content is the perfect holy grail, but you know better. Like all content, focus on the good parts of it and filter out the rest.
.- TRADE your heavy PROTESTS for my lightweight version at this thread
"My biggest goal in life has always been to pursue passion and to make dreams a reality. I love my daughter, but if I had to quit my passions for her, then I would be setting the wrong example for her, and I would not be myself anymore. " -Shane
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02-23-2019, 05:05 AM #16Registered User
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02-23-2019, 06:33 AM #17
i dont pay for sheenless shit
ever"When the child was a child it waited patiently for the first snow and it still does"- Van "The Man" Morrison
"I find I have already had my reward, in the doing of the thing" - Buzz Holmstrom
"THIS IS WHAT WE DO"-AML -ski on in eternal peace
"I have posted in here but haven't read it carefully with my trusty PoliAsshat antenna on."-DipshitDanno
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02-23-2019, 07:57 AM #18
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02-23-2019, 08:13 AM #19
Lol, just checked the rate, I was thinking it was $30 annually to be a member, and I'd be willing to pay $15. Jeez, $60...yeah my limit is still $15.
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02-23-2019, 08:14 AM #20I drink it up
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Blister
Chicken/egg.
TGR used to fucking rock for ski reviews. That’s what tech talk WAS. there were stickies that curated ski review links sorted by make/model.
Then blister started. They tried to do ski reviews better, starting with the models created and refined on TGR and epicski, and posted in all the review threads. But instead of posting reviews in review threads, they posted links to their free site. And encouraged discussion on their site. And they positioned themselves as so fucking expert that discussion wasn’t debating pros and cons of a ski from different perspectives, it was debating the reviewers different impressions. It was fucking lame (though, to their credit, enough people worshipped at their altar that it worked).
TGR ski reviews died. Blister put up a paywall.
Fuck those guys and their stupid pay site.focus.
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02-23-2019, 08:30 AM #21
The reviews might not be 100% unbiased on blister, but I found them to be more honest and balanced than most reviews I found in tech talk, which often consisted of "first day, awesome ski, any turn shape, no speed limit, I'm in love, etc. "
The average reviewer hasn't used enough skis to make a reasoned comparison, and had hundreds of dollars of thier own money in this new product they bought... That is biased.
It was because of blister that I even knew of the existence of the Rossi Sickle and that ski was not popular, was almost certainly not being pushed by Rossi (they had the S7 to push), and was a super useful and accurate review.
I still think the content there is the most reliable source for detailed info and impressions, even if it's not perfect. Maybe that's because it's curated in one place, maybe it's because the reviews are in a common format, or maybe it's because it's largely the same people doing the reviews (implying at least some consistency)... Or maybe it's all of the above.
I'd love to support them, but not to the tune of $60 per year.
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02-23-2019, 08:37 AM #22I drink it up
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It being the same people is the problem.
Also, S6/sickle was a cult classic here before blister was a thing. Go here. Scroll to rossignol s6 reviews. The NEW Ski Review Links Thread
https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...d.php?t=104129focus.
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02-23-2019, 08:41 AM #23Registered User
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02-23-2019, 08:42 AM #24I drink it up
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Seriously, read this:
Review: 186 Rossignol Ravyn (S6/Steeze)
https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...d.php?t=146197
And this:
TR: <3land Demo Day (8 skis and 4 goggles reviewed)
https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...d.php?t=140114
Tell me that’s not better than Blister’s pedantic “well I headed over to Upper Deathwish Chute, my favorite run for this kind of ski....”focus.
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02-23-2019, 08:45 AM #25
The S6 is not the same ski as the sickle... Different camber. It makes a big difference.
There are only 2 reviews of that ski in that link, one of which is a super short mention in a demo day review, which I had to search for.
The blister review is of a different ski, is more complete, has camber pics... Much more useful.
The fact that the same people do the reviews means that at least their comparisons are relative. I don't ski like the blister guys do... Not even close. But I can read into the reviews because I know that.
I stand by my statement.
Sent from my SM-G903W using TapatalkGoal: ski in the 2018/19 season
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