As most of you (us) certainly has experienced, a lot of the post here in kit chatter seems to concern experiences of kit or places to get kit. With this in mind, I have humble request for the moderators and administrators of this site, namely a member-controlled review section. What do I mean by this? Well, how about a section of the site where members can add a piece of equipment, or a webstore, and rate it. If others also have tried this item, they can also add their review.
For instance, I want to share my experiences of a sleeping bag. I add it in the "sleeping out" section of the reviews, by brand name. Then there could be a couple of parameters, e.g. brief desccription (size, appearence, field of use, materials, weight, size etc) rating (1-10), pros, cons, where it was bought, price, and finally the subjective experience of the item (the main bulk of the text). The brief description would be the static (i.e. it is the same for all reviews). Let me illustrate:
Sleeping Out>Sleeping Bags>Nanok Endurance -10
The above reviews are just examples, I don't use that bag, but it seems popular so I though it was a good example
You get the point. A review system like this could be a valuable resource for anybody with a interest in the outdoors, and who is considering upgrading or complementing it's kit. Also webshops and schools could be reviewed in the same way. Preferably a picture could be shown with each item. Also, I think it would be better to have the opinions gathered at one place instead of the odd review amongst the other posts, and a lot of repeating could be avoided.
(of course the formatting would be different and more appealing)
What do you all think?
For instance, I want to share my experiences of a sleeping bag. I add it in the "sleeping out" section of the reviews, by brand name. Then there could be a couple of parameters, e.g. brief desccription (size, appearence, field of use, materials, weight, size etc) rating (1-10), pros, cons, where it was bought, price, and finally the subjective experience of the item (the main bulk of the text). The brief description would be the static (i.e. it is the same for all reviews). Let me illustrate:
Sleeping Out>Sleeping Bags>Nanok Endurance -10
- Description: A three season sleeping bag. Synthetic filling, two zips. Comes wiith a boot bucket, which can also be used to carry water or as a stuff sack. Sleeping length 195 cms. Weight: 2340 g. Comfort rating -10 (not ENXXXX rated). Green.
- Member: Big_Swede
- Rating: 6/10
- Pros: Rugged, Green, The boot bag
- Cons: The weight, two zippers
- Price: £XXX at www.yyyyy.zzz
- Review: I used it during several longer hikes. The rating is quite accurate but colder sleepers may want to consider a fleece liner. If it would have been more expensive I don't think it's worth it. Somewhat overrated. My main disappointment is the weight and the packing volume. Comparable with brand X model Y, which is cheaper.
- Member: Someone_Else
- Rating: 2/10
- Pros: The colour
- Cons: Filling, bulk, and whatnot
- Price: £XXX at www.yyyyy.zzz
- Review: I hated it, it's really optimistic rating, got a cold in +10 degrees. Weghs a ton and soaks up water like a sponge. Beware: overrated cr4p!
The above reviews are just examples, I don't use that bag, but it seems popular so I though it was a good example
You get the point. A review system like this could be a valuable resource for anybody with a interest in the outdoors, and who is considering upgrading or complementing it's kit. Also webshops and schools could be reviewed in the same way. Preferably a picture could be shown with each item. Also, I think it would be better to have the opinions gathered at one place instead of the odd review amongst the other posts, and a lot of repeating could be avoided.
(of course the formatting would be different and more appealing)
What do you all think?