Question for the Bloggers and Reviewers

[Computalotapus]

The one thing I like most about WEVO is that it is one stop shopping. The admins do a great job at posting new product, they don’t catch everything at release but they don’t miss much. The members fill in that gap when something might slip by the admins. Also we have several members that are bloggers and product reviewers. I have added a lot of those pages to my RRS reader and try to read as much as I can when I can. The other thing here at WEVO that helps is that our member base is very wide in variety. Along with this variety comes a variety of budgets for builds and other various products.

I read the blogs and the product reviews but it is hard to find material for those of us on a budget. I would love to own a TAD Hoodie but seriously $275 for a hoodie is just plain ridiculous. Or $400 for a pair of pants (pants pants.. not foul weather gear pants... just plain jane pants ) and $700 for a windbreaker…I mean come on if I combined those three items I could build a decent rifle with quality name brand products. Maybe I am just reading the wrong blogs, maybe there is a place I can go to find products that are in the realm of the everyday guy’s budget, but I have not found that place yet. If there is a place like that I would greatly appreciate anyone that can point it out. I am not talking about blow out sales on last year’s product to make room for this year’s trends. I actually postponed the purchasing of my rail just so I could pick up 2 pairs of 5.11 pants….that were on sale. I am a guy, and most guys don’t spend $90+ on a pair of pants.

The top of the line products are nice to read about but in all honestly 99.9% of them I will only read about and never purchase. I have a wife and two kids that come first, so my gear purchases are on a budget. It would be nice to read reviews on budget gear every now and then.

[DMViergever]

I know you follow me on IG but my reviews on my blog are pretty much all quality gear at affordable prices. I have to sell stuff to get new stuff, make zero money and a lot of stuff is loaner status. I also contribute for www.GunsandTactics.com and it is the same deal. Reviewing is a labor of love, is expensive snd is literally a second job.

[UWone77]

Comp,

I'm wondering what kind of gear you want to see reviews on that's reasonable priced. Do you have specific items in mind? You mentioned clothing, but do you also want to see guns an accessory reviews?

I guess it boils down to what do you think is reasonably priced?

Some guys that only wear Arcteryx LEAF may consider TAD Gear just average. Just depends on your perspective.

For instance, I won't use or buy any 5.11 gear. I don't feel the quality is like it used to be.

[Computalotapus]

I know you follow me on IG but my reviews on my blog are pretty much all quality gear at affordable prices. I have to sell stuff to get new stuff, make zero money and a lot of stuff is loaner status. I also contribute for www.GunsandTactics.com and it is the same deal. Reviewing is a labor of love, is expensive snd is literally a second job.

I follow you on IG and I read Guns and Tactics, Arms Collective, Black Sheep Warrior, Grey Fox, and a lot of other blogs. I understand it is expensive for the bloggers to swap gear in and out. And I guess I shouldn't say gear, I should say clothing and clothing accessories. What makes you as a blogger/reviewer pick a TAD ( $219-$475 ) or Arc'teryx ( $259-$549 ) softshell to review over something like Under Armor's Tactical Softshell ( $89-$119 )

Comp,

I'm wondering what kind of gear you want to see reviews on that's reasonable priced. Do you have specific items in mind? You mentioned clothing, but do you also want to see guns an accessory reviews?

I guess it boils down to what do you think is reasonably priced?

Some guys that only wear Arcteryx LEAF may consider TAD Gear just average. Just depends on your perspective.

For instance, I won't use or buy any 5.11 gear. I don't feel the quality is like it used to be.

Like I said to DMV I shouldn't say gear. I understand that gear is completely different than clothing. Guns and accessories are what they are but seriously $275 for hoodie. Heck a decent windbreaker from North Face is less than that. But you take something that has the same quality of North Face slap a velcro panel on it and call it a tactical windbreaker and the price jumps up $150. I live in Michigan and the winters are stupid cold here. I have a jacket and softshell that has zipper panels that let me get inside the jacket quickly or to my hip quickly. It is not made by a company that is known as belonging to the shooting community. Same quality jacket or softshell with identical features is almost $150 more.

Man I support the mess out of small business. I will gladly pay a premium for quality and customer service and I will gladly pay more for products made in the USA, but having my wallet treated like the high school tramp at prom because a company decides to say it's "tactical", that is straight up asinine.

For the current LEO's and DOD people that are putting their clothing through the harshes environments I get it there has to be a durability requirement that is met. But for your average joe that goes to shoot meets, or just wants to something comfortable to wear for the office job there has to be something. Currently the clothing market for the shooting community is geared for Tier 1 audiences. You are either the elite of the elite or you are a peon, if you are the later it seems you are being shunned because of it.

Lets talk about backpacks for a second, name any 3 day pack off the top of your head and I guarantee it is over $100. While I would love to use something from GGG or Mystery Ranch the price is stupid. I carry around a pack that is equivalent in size to a 3 day pack. I carry a 15" Lenovo T-530, leather bound notepad, a 80 piece screwdriver set, folder, wiring tools, wire testing tools, spare 8 port switch, misc length patch cables and other items. Roughly 25lbs of gear daily to and from multiple client locations constantly in and out of the pack. I have had this backpack for almost 4 years not a single problem, not a broken zipper, not a broken strap, velcro still sticks and holds internal compartments closed. It has a separate padded compartment that is easily accessible that would carry my full size pistol and spare mags in the organizer pocket inside that compartment when needed/wanted and its water proof. It's an $80 backpack. What makes GGG, Karrimor, or Mystery Ranch more expensive? As a consumer I don't want a cheaper product, I just want a less expensive product, there is a difference.

I am not poor but I am definitely not Bruce Wayne. The more I see the ridiculously over priced clothing on blogs the more it makes me want to hit the unsubscribe link.

[FortTom]

Comp, just log-off and pick up a copy of RECOIL magazine. Then you can read the reviews of a $1000 (yes that's not a typo) set of basically, issue BDU's. Then log back on to WEVO and the sticker shock won't be half as bad.... O.K., being kind of a Smart A$$, but just sayin' And hey, cool it! I think I married that High School tramp...

FT

[rob_s]

"Retired" blogger/reviewer/gun writer here...

I never really did soft-goods reviews. And I took the ioss out of many that did/do for a long time. Like you, I rarely saw the benefit to the extravagant cost, and the explanation I was usually given was "well, they're a small company so it costs more for them to make". So what? It would cost me thousands of do,Lars to bring back a mason jar of Iraqi desert sand, but it doesn't mean I can sell that jar of sand for a profit when I get back. That is, unless I get it in the hands of some reviewers, name it something cool-sounding, and manage to get it trendy (anyone else remember the pet rock craze?).

I do understand that some soft goods are made better (triple stitching, double layovers, better materials, etc.) or performs better in a smaller form-factor (cold-weather gear, for example) but those things do not necessarily play out for all users. Also, I personally don't like to be seen in public with anything that says "gun guy". I don't care about looking that way to the public or a bad guy, I just don't want to talk to other "gun guys" when I'm out and about with family and friends (or even when I'm alone, for that matter). So all that stuff about buying the cool kids "grey man" gear so that the other grey me. Know I'm in the club just ain't for me. Vertx pants, Saloman shoes, arc..whatever, TAD, etc. I don't even like wearing the BCM hats with the plain US flag after someone at a bar recognized it and wanted to talk guns.

I just bought a pack from REI. It got a top rating from some hiker review site on YouTube. I could buy a black one for $70 or a light green one for $47. I chose light green. Like you, I don't know why there aren't more reviews of accessible gear. F

For a long time I've tried to direct my writing towards the average dude. It's actually not very sustainable. Why? Because most people are compensating for something, and don't want to be told that it's pointless. Whether it's the guy that over-trains to win a SHTFantasy gunfight, or a match nobody else cares about, or buys an AR and glues the entire arfcom website to it, or dresses himself head-to-toe in the RECOIL magazine uniform, they don't want to hear that a very little bit of firearm proficiency is sufficient for a self-defense encounter, that a basic 6720 with Aimpoint PRO (or even iron sights, for that matter) shoots good enough for 99.9% of applications, and that an REI pack is every bit as functional for a family trip to an amusement park as the latest arc..whatever.

Honesty doesn't sell in a market and industry fueled by fantasy.

[Computalotapus]

Rob I can wrap my head around what you are saying. Maybe for softgoods I just need to look else where for reviews. Hiking and Backpacking softlines are the closest to anything in the shooting industry. When it comes to clothing, clothing accessories, and packs I am a hands on type of person and unfortunately the only place near me is Cabela's, I miss being around an REI. So I am stuck reading reviews to find out about products then ordering in what I think is my size.

Currently what happens when I see a review on soft goods is I look at the pictures of the product first, if I like the way it looks I immediately look for a price or a link to the manufacturers site to find a price. If it cost me an arm, leg and/or testicle I don't even bother reading the review and move to the next blog site. If the blog is a multiple offender it just gets moved out of the rotation of reading material. Maybe I am in the minority of expecting realistic pricing on realistic products.

[Slippers]

Review writers are generally looking to garner website hits for advertising, or if it's for print, it's something the magazine wants to use to generate more readership. Reviewing high end products will get the interest they want. For example, every car magazine is going to have at least a few articles on some crazy new sports cars that are out of reach for anyone that isn't a millionaire.

REI's house brand is pretty darn good. I own several of their day packs and other hiking clothing like shirts and pants. When you catch them on sale, there's quite a good bit of value. They also have a great return policy, allowing for a full year from date of purchase.

Despite Rob's dislike of Vertx, their pants are quite affordable with some of the discount codes floating around. The last pair I purchased was about $30 shipped for the Phantom LT model, and for the most part they just look like cargo pants, not really "tactical."

In rain and cold weather I own two North Face jackets, but they're both from the outlet and were purchased while on sale. One is over 10 years old, so despite it's $200 cost, that's some amazing durability considering all the mileage on it. It's been on dozens of trips into the back country and traveled with me to europe and asia multiple times.

For all the disdain people have for Arc'teryx due to the high prices, I also have one of their Atom LT hoodys which I use as an under layer beneath my North Face outer in the winter, and as a general use jacket in the fall and spring. It's extremely well made, warm, super light, and also packs down to nothing. I was fortunate to be given the jacket for free by a friend who is sponsored by Arc'teryx, but after using it for several months, I purchased one just like it at retail for my Father. So yes, I'd buy one again in a heartbeat if mine was lost or stolen.

As for their Leaf line...forget it. You can get just as good gear from so many other companies for half the price. If you're .mil or leo, Patagonia has a HUGE discount on last year's inventory. Depending on the item, 40%-60% off or more. Patagonia may not be as stylish or tacticool as Arc'teryx, but they make some amazing gear.

[FortTom]

....look at the pictures of the product first, if I like the way it looks I immediately look for a price or a link to the manufacturers site to find a price. If it cost me an arm, leg and/or testicle I don't even bother reading the review and move to the next blog site. If the blog is a multiple offender it just gets moved out of the rotation of reading material. Maybe I am in the minority of expecting realistic pricing on realistic products.

Comp, here's an item you might be interested in. How about $999.99 for 1 (one pair) Fugitive Shooting glasses, Model Zeiss/VIVX with a generous 3 sets of lenses, and distortion free.

Seriously, who buy's this stuff? I can get prescription shooting glasses that can double for regular glasses for less than half of that...

[voodoo_man]

I review what I buy, meaning what I personally spend my money on. There is stuff I can review, but it'll be a short review and will be on the lines of "this product blows don't waste your money" on some cheaper items and honestly, no one wants to read "negative" reviews about me using, abusing and then talking about how much a product sucks.

Perfect example being, I go through a lot of socks, on duty, off duty. Everyone does I imagine. I buy 5.11 for duty, Oakley brand, some REI brand's too. Am I going to do a review on "cool" socks? Maybe...I guess I can. It may be a waste of my time sadly, how many people are going to read a review about socks? LOL

As for the expensive clothing bit, I have arc'teryx gear, I shop a lot at REI and places like Tactical Distributors. I have to say, typical store brands suck, they do not do what I want them to do and they do not give me the performance I want out of that specific item. I have a pair of Kuhl pants (that i'll be reviewing soon) that have lasted my about 3-4 years and feel/look brand new and I've run/gun in them often enough to destroy any other pants. I have no issue paying that premium to get an item I do not have to replace in years and the quality is awesome.

[rob_s]

I would hardly call Kuhl a premium brand.

There is also a difference between living and working outside in Alaska and buying expensive gear because you need it to last, and buying 4xl Arc... To wear to the mall. I don't care what other people spend their money on, but intellectual dishonesty rubs me wrong.

Some compare the premium tactical hipster clothing to quality firearms, but that's just bullshit. A Colt would be more along the lines of carhart. Price, and quality, fully a result of function.

Many, MANY of the firearms blogs exist to either stoke their owners ego or fill their closets and safes with fancy junk. When I was still playing that game I can't tell you how many people emailed me asking how to get started so that they, too, could get free shit. I just ignored them. Even without it being my goal I wouldn't up with boxes of crap, some bought, some free, that I can hardly unload now because it's yesterday's new-hotness thereby making it today's old-busted. Surefire lights that were the cutting edge and $500+ two years ago that I can't sell for $200 today. That tells me a lot about what really drives the buying public, which is image and flash not function and use.

Which, again, is why people don't want to hear that the Colt 6720 is the best choice, they want to hear that they "need" a KAC. and there are dozens of blogs that are more than happy to tell them same. Mostly because the writers suffer from the same mental illness.

[voodoo_man]

...You do "need" a KAC, everyone does

Also, I was comparing Kuhl to regular store brands like, Levi's, Wrangler, etc.

[Hmac]

For instance, I won't use or buy any 5.11 gear. I don't feel the quality is like it used to be.

What are your issues with 5.11? I realize it's sort of the Mall Ninja's clothing of choice, buy I don't care much about that...I've found it over the years to be easy to buy (Amazon), reasonably-priced (at least not outrageous), and of pretty good quality. I have a few pairs of their pants, a winter jacket (which I was issued years ago for the Bomb Squad), a couple of their bags that I've had for years and have held up well, and even their kilt, which my wife gave me as a joke a few years ago, complete with a D-ring sporran in my clan tartan and a ZT350 in place of a sgian-dubh. The kilt is pretty funny. I haven't had the occasion to wear it to a course yet. One has to be a little selective about that kind of thing.


/

[gatordev]

Which, again, is why people don't want to hear that the Colt 6720 is the best choice, they want to hear that they "need" a KAC. and there are dozens of blogs that are more than happy to tell them same. Mostly because the writers suffer from the same mental illness.

But Rob, I remember a post several years ago from you saying how good a great all-around rifle a SR-15 was for a complete rifle. Now you're changing your mind? Now I'm going to have to completely rethink my life choices...

On a more serious note, I know in the past you also were preaching about how great a choice the 6920 is/was. Personally I think both ideas have merit. It is interesting how just those two rifles easily do 90% of what most people want out of an AR.

What are your issues with 5.11? I realize it's sort of the Mall Ninja's clothing of choice, buy I don't care much about that...

I have one (1) set of 5.11 pants, and while they still function well enough, I've been very disappointed with how they have been shedding random pieces of thread. Much of the stitching has bits and pieces that come undone and leave Irish pennants everywhere.

I compare that to my several pairs of Vertx pants (which admittedly are a little different design) and I'm a huge fan of Vertx. I've worn them as just casual khaki pants out and about, as well as wearing them out in the So. CA desert where they aren't babied, and they've held up so much better than my 5.11s which are only worn for a couple of months during the year, one or two weekends a month.

[Hmac]

I have one (1) set of 5.11 pants, and while they still function well enough, I've been very disappointed with how they have been shedding random pieces of thread. Much of the stitching has bits and pieces that come undone and leave Irish pennants everywhere.

Not something I've noticed on the pairs that I have, even the ones that are several years old, although I really only wear them occasionally. My wife won't iron my pants so the 5.11s only get worn to events where no one notices or cares about wrinkles.