Impartial gear reviews

“Impartial gear reviews are essential information for backcountry enthusiasts searching for dependable gear to get out and enjoy the outdoors,” said Alicia MacLeay, co-founder and editor of Trailspace.

--Press release, March 2007, on Trailspace's publication of 10,000 "independent gear reviews."

But... gear "reviews" and other such opinions posted by people who have shelled out their own money to purchase the gear in question are in no way impartial.

On the whole, people are unlikely to say "what a dummy I was for buying this."

They are much more likely to say "I have such inconceivably vast experience, and what a clever person I was to purchase this item, and I think you ought to purchase this item as well."

I've posted such "reviews" myself, on any number of these sites.

Whichever Web site these "impartial" review appear on, the manager might conceivably then approach the manufacturer directly, or indirectly with a press release, with a relatively solid pitch for advertising. But it does appear the advertisers are pretty slow to bite.

Maybe they have a high opinion of their customers. Or more likely, they are just prudently cheap with their ad dollars.
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Even if the gear is donated for testing, rather than purchased, all reviews will have some bias as different people value different aspects to their gear.

I think most of us understand that "impartial gear reviews" means reviews by users who have no financial connections with the manufacturers, other than plunking down the purchase price. Of course, we want the users' opinions; thus the reviews themselves are not impartial--if they were, they'd be useless.

Rexim and Alan are right that the impartial/independent part of Trailspace’s ger reviews refers to the user’s connections with the gear manufacturer. Anyone is welcome to write a review, but if they have any connection to the gear manufacturer, their reps, or their direct competitors they must state so.

Obviously, we want people to share their positive, negative, and mixed opinions on gear. That’s the point -- and that involves some bias. All gear is not equal and the same gear is not equal for different users who have different needs, styles, and preferences. That’s why we encourage people to provide context on how they use their gear and how it performed under specific conditions. (See the review tips at http://www.trailspace.com/about/review-tips.html)

It’s interesting that Calamity suggests that people are more likely to give a favorable nod to gear simply because they shelled out some money for it. This may be true if you randomly asked someone on the street (or trail) what he or she thought about an item. But, in my experience (which includes reading every single gear review Trailspace publishes) people generally only write gear reviews because they feel like they have something to say and they want others to hear it.

Sometimes it’s a love-it scenario, sometimes it’s hate-it, and often it’s somewhere in the middle. But they have a real opinion (often a very strong one), regardless of whether they paid full price, got something on closeout, or were given it as a gift.

Personally, when I read others’ reviews I find it interesting to know whether the user paid full price (and possibly thinks the gear is a great value at double the price) or got it for next-to-nothing (and maybe thinks it wasn’t worth even that). Since gear reviews are designed to help people make good gear choices before their next purchase, knowing the gear’s value is part of that decision.

I can tell you that on the select and very rare occasions when Trailspace posts reviews of gear supplied by the manufacturer that we tested we ALWAYS state that the sample was provided by the manufacturer.

As for the advertising side of it, the editorial side of Trailspace (me) has no contact with any site advertisers. This is the same as it would be at any other publication.

If I buy something and it fails to perform, you can bet I will say something. I have done that in the past and will do it again, if need be. To me, the best reviews are by people who own something, have tried it out and are either pleased or disappointed. Granted, not everyone will be particularly qualified to do comparisons, but at least you can find out what they liked or didn't like about a particular item. I see this on sites I belong to all the time.