Blister Labs: Quantitative In-Field Gear Testing

Blister Labs is a new partnership between BLISTER, the University of Colorado Boulder, and the brand-new, state-of-the-art engineering facility at Western Colorado University in Gunnison, Colorado. At Blister, we have focused primarily on long-term qualitative testing of skis, bikes, running shoes, technical apparel, etc. The aim of Blister Labs is to answer some of the big questions in the outdoor industry, such as: are those expensive mountain bike wheelsets really worth the extra cash you spend on them? How do the in-field damping properties of different skis compare? With Blister Labs, we are working with CU Boulder engineering faculty and their students to marry our qualitative experience on the mountain and on the trail to quantitative analysis performed in the lab and under real-world riding conditions. To this end, Blister Labs faculty and students have been developing test equipment for both laboratory testing carried out in repeatable, controlled conditions and field testing under real-world riding conditions. As a result, people from all around the world that are passionate about the outdoors will have unprecedented access to new tests and data from an independent party to help them better understand what they are — and what they aren’t — getting if they spend their money on expensive bike parts, technical apparel, and ski equipment.