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What is the WORST gear review you've ever read?

Martin Harris · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jan 2016 · Points: 200

The restaurant where I work a had some dude bash is because " I was just thrown off and decided to leave when our French fries were coated in coconut."

We grate Parmesan cheese on the fries.

Scott McMahon · · Boulder, CO · Joined Feb 2006 · Points: 1,425

Honestly this is a thread about how stupid people are...I can't stop shaking my head.

bearbreeder · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Mar 2009 · Points: 3,065

Most magazine gear reviews

They are just shilling for their advertisers

They find a way to give a "best for this" award to every piece of gear

Unless a mag or blog consistently gives negative as well as positive reviews its useless

Rah rah rah!!!

When a few of Nike’s shoes didn’t fare so well in the 1981 reviews, the company pulled its $1 million advertising contract with Runner’s World. Nike already had started its own magazine, Running, which would publish shoe reviews and commission star writers like Ken Kesey and Hunter S. Thompson.

“Nike would never advertise with me again,” Anderson says. “That hurt us bad.” In 1985, Anderson sold Runner’s World to Rodale, which, he says, promptly abolished his grading system. Today, every shoe in Runner’s World is effectively “recommended” for one kind of runner or another. David Willey, the magazine’s current editor, says that it only tests shoes that “are worth our while.” After Nike closed its magazine, it took its advertising back to Runner’s World. (Megan Saalfeld, a Nike spokeswoman, says she was unable to find someone to comment about this episode.)

“It’s a grading system where you can only get an A,” says Anderson, who went on to become the founder and chief executive of Ujena Swimwear.


nytimes.com/2011/11/06/maga…

;)

Ray Pinpillage · · West Egg · Joined Jul 2010 · Points: 180

There is a new crop of E-Zines in the climbing industry that give "reviews" for gear they have never seen. They are normally a one paragraph blurb about the manufacturer's description and value. We have a few members here that pimp them every chance they get. I assume they are a way to get free or cheap gear for the site owners. They pollute search engines and are worse than worthless.

Jeffrey Arthur · · Westminster, CO · Joined Mar 2008 · Points: 290
bearbreeder wrote:Most magazine gear reviews They are just shilling for their advertisers They find a way to give a "best for this" award to every piece of gear Unless a mag or blog consistently gives negative as well as positive reviews its useless Rah rah rah!!!
I don't trust any gear review from a magazine as well. I've yet to come across any gear review, or "The Gear Issue" from any magazine that I trust. None of the information is useful in my opinion. It is obvious they are just giving each product positive feedback for fear of losing them as a sponsor.
Doug Meneke · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2013 · Points: 10

LOVE IT!!!

How about "to love and to cherish to death do us part"....HA! THAT turned out to be a joke! 1 star.

highaltitudeflatulentexpulsion · · Colorado · Joined Oct 2012 · Points: 35

Nearly 40 years ago my dad worked for an outdoor magazine of the hunting and fishing variety. He was never once allowed to publish a review that was anything but glowing.

Chances are, aside from consumer reports, there has never been an honest magazine review.

Scott McMahon · · Boulder, CO · Joined Feb 2006 · Points: 1,425

I weed through the crap reviews and sometimes rely "loosely" on real peoples valid reviews. I could care less about what a climbing editor thinks of a shoe, but when I bought a certain marmot jacket the other week the reviews were spot on. "great jacket, sizing way off". haha ended up having to go a size up. So in that regards I try to go back on and review items, as if you are somewhat OCD in your research you find that valuable.

I especially use reviews for items like guitars and bigger ticket items to help me narrow down to certain brands etc. They've helped me to get a better product and less crap.

Cor · · Sandbagging since 1989 · Joined Mar 2006 · Points: 1,445

Bearbreeder & Jarthur,

While I do agree to some extent about usefulness of magazine gear issues/reviews…
I think you are not correct on "just shelling out to advertisers, with a positive review."
Many companies send things to test. Some of them don't even advertise in the magazine.

I test gear for a magazine, report notes, and they write review. We get many things to
review. They all do not get into the magazine. In fact, I tested a hard shell that was
completely the bomb. There was / is no way for me to destroy it so far! (1 year old now…)
This completely awesome coat did not make it into the magazine. Shit it even retails for $600 USD!
Along with that was some other products that I thought were complete shit. They did not
make it in also. These shit products were even ones by companies that advertise in the magazine.

Happy Friday!

JesseT · · Portland, OR · Joined May 2011 · Points: 100

"The medium fit me great."

While I am happy for you that you got the right size, that information might have actually been useful if you included your height/weight/shoe size/what size you wear from other companies/something...anything at all...to put that in some context.

Ian Stewart · · Unknown Hometown · Joined May 2010 · Points: 155
caughtinside wrote:Don't bother. The only purpose of reviews is for an e-retailer to profit from your experience with a product that you paid for.
Or you could be providing useful information for other potential customers to base a decision on. Like somebody else mentioned, clothing reviews that mention fit/sizing are often very useful, and I've skipped on many things before due to "irregular" sizing. Negative feedback on a product doesn't usually lead to more purchases/profit from the product.

Also, if you have a good experience with a company, why would you be so opposed to posting good feedback and increasing their sales? God forbid anybody be rewarded for doing something well...
Ian Stewart · · Unknown Hometown · Joined May 2010 · Points: 155
Cor wrote:I tested a hard shell that was completely the bomb. There was / is no way for me to destroy it so far! (1 year old now…) This completely awesome coat did not make it into the magazine. Shit it even retails for $600 USD!
One year is nowhere near long enough to claim something can't be destroyed. I've had a couple things feel absolutely bomb-proof that failed in a few years. And I don't see why the cost of the product should really be relevant, other than just being another data point for the review to factor in. Even if the product is fantastic, if there are other products that perform equally well and cost half as much then I wouldn't consider the product to be that great. A $600 jacket that's awesome is great, but a $300 jacket that's equally awesome is even better.

Cor wrote:Along with that was some other products that I thought were complete shit. They did not make it in also. These shit products were even ones by companies that advertise in the magazine.
I think you're just proving everyone's point: the company pays for advertising in the magazine so they withheld a negative review of one of their products.
Ian Stewart · · Unknown Hometown · Joined May 2010 · Points: 155
Gunks Jesse wrote:If I find something that works significantly better than other things, I review it. If I find something that works terrible I review it. It has to be super good or super bad. I'll never review a carabiner or any basic item that just does what it is supposed to, as advertised, because it's a waste of time to repeat what somebody else already said. But I think well thought out reviews have value for community members.
+1
Ian Stewart · · Unknown Hometown · Joined May 2010 · Points: 155
caughtinside wrote:After two weeks? I don't think the info would be that useful.
Why not? You'll know sizing details the moment you try it on. Products can break within the first minutes of using it. Other details about the product that aren't advertised can be determined pretty quickly, too. For example: "this stove puts out a lot of heat and can boil water quickly, but it's also very loud and can't be adjusted low enough to simmer". I find it extremely hard to believe that you can't come up with opinions of a product within the first two weeks (with long-term durability being an exception).

I'm not saying you have to go review everything you buy, but the statement you made about reviews only benefiting retailers is completely false. Customer reviews are a huge factor when I decide what I spend my money on.
Cor · · Sandbagging since 1989 · Joined Mar 2006 · Points: 1,445

Ian,
You can't put ALL of the products sent to the magazine in to a single issue.
With that said, would you want to read a review about some product that just sucked?
(Maybe this is good so you knew for sure not to buy it… But otherwise…)
Probably not, because the reading would suck just like the product.

About that coat that did not get reviewed…

New goods come out every season so I think that a year is a long enough time for a hard shell to last
if you are doing things like:
Alpine climbing / abrasion on rock.
Ski a season in it, and rip through many trees at warp speed braking branches off in the process because you are a crazy person/skier.
Ice climb in the coat for a season, and "try" to see if points want to put holes into the fabric purposefully.
Wear it in heavy downpours to see if water comes through, as well as inspect how much is absorbed into the outer shell fabric layer.

Yes, a cheaper coat that is as good is great. Sometimes the price is worth a product. Depends...
Would you not think that was enough to say "This coat is da bomb!" ?
No coat, or fabric will last forever. Especially if you off width in it!

So no, I don't really think that the magazine just caters to the adverti$er$.
But hey, that is just my Friday thoughts… No beers in me yet!

bearbreeder · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Mar 2009 · Points: 3,065

its just important to know the bad as well as the good ... its a matter of telling your audience what NOT to buy, dont want em to get some lemons

consumer reports gives good and bad ratings to cars and other items ... of course they dont get ad dollahs

one service that the intraweb forums and reviews is telling us what didnt work for a particular person

IMO there is alot of shilling of the latest greatest shiniest gear in alot of the climbing media ... the manufacturers know this and give free gear to the popular blogs to "review"

;)

Ian Stewart · · Unknown Hometown · Joined May 2010 · Points: 155

Cor, yeah ok, you're right. I guess if you're being a total badass in the jacket all the time then a year is long enough. I was thinking more from a "normal user" standpoint, where I'd be pretty pissed if a jacket DIDN'T last a year/season.

As for bad gear reviews being boring, that could also be true, but on the flipside some of the most entertaining reviews I've read have been of shitty products. And it's not like the magazine needs to review the whole product either, just a brief "this gear didn't make the cut and here's why". Though when a 50 page magazine has 3 pages of real content like they do nowadays, I see how that could be hard, too.

I don't think magazines JUST cater to the advertisers, but I'm sure that's a pretty huge factor that goes into whether a review is positive and/or published. I don't blame them though...you gotta put food on the table somehow.

jonathan.lipkin · · Brooklyn, NY · Joined Dec 2012 · Points: 70
bearbreeder · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Mar 2009 · Points: 3,065
Gunks Jesse wrote:So how do we get this discussion into the hands of the people who write reviews about everything? You guys have come up with a very balanced approach.
theyve known it for decades

short answer ... you dont bite the hand that feeds you

;)
mattm · · TX · Joined Jun 2006 · Points: 1,885

Mag reviews might be able to introduce you to a new product and give you some lowdown on what it is etc but rarely do they get into enough nitty gritty (good or bad) to give you much more than some basic cliff notes.

A metric ton of reviews, either blogs or consumer reviews provide little info and are generally terrible. They lack any sort of context, be it the testers size and other items (to see if they even know what they're talking about size wise), or context to judge if they're capable of providing a quality review.

Usually, you have to do some work and sift through bad reviews to find the good ones and THEN assimilate as much as you can to form a picture.

With climbing gear that may be difficult to do (small user base) or not all that important but other products can have extremely useful information out there.

Terrible reviews lack context. As other have said "The medium fit me well" or "I have wide feet and these were great" provide us nothing. In a climbing review I look for details and descriptions of use "I placed the cams in lots of grainy, granite cracks and found X" They give a context and then observation which you can then match with your own to judge the quality of the review

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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