Gear Reviews: Fact and Fiction

Recently there have been a lot of questions about my Gear Reviews on this site, actually the questions have been on the lack there of lately. As you know I actually use each and every piece of gear, whats more is that simply taking it for a spin often does not answer the questions as to the usefulness of the products!

Testing gear takes time if you want he truth of the matter. I don't accept products that I wouldn't myself purchase or that has not piqued my interest. Now I am not a big fish in the gear review game and the only way for me to get there is through your assessment of my reviews, i.e. comments and feedback. Without this "proof of life" of UpaDowna gear peddlers are less apt to hand over products to review. The more traffic/interest in my reviews the more companies will seek me out as a venue to have their products reviewed.

Now to dispel a few rumors;

• As a gear tester I am obligated to return the product to the company upon review completion should they require it. Some times I do get to keep the gear but often I do not.
• I do not blanket the market with requests, just as I am not inundated with companies begging me to review their products. In others words, it ain't easy!
• I will always give an honest assessment of what I thought, if a products is lame I'll give that opinion. However remember that most gear is subjective, especially clothing so use my review as a guide and not as an absolute.

If you have clicked on the Gear Review section on the left side of the page you have seen a few of my reviews and know how I work. You will also notice that there aren't very many new reviews. Lately I have been submitting reviews to GearJunkie.com (click the link for a list) and to avoid redundancy I have not published them here as well. If you would like to see them here let me know and I will post them on UpaDowna.

If you are thirsty for more reviews two of my favorite places to get the scoop is GearJunkie.com (obviously) and Explore It Outdoors both of which are listed on the blog roll on the right side of the page.

Hope this explanation helps.

Keep on keepin on.