Outdoor Gear Review Writing 101
Jul 26 '07
The Bottom Line By following a few basic guidelines, anyone can write a very helpful Outdoor Gear review
Are you thinking about posting a review in the Outdoor Gear category? Concerned as to what you should talk about or cover in your review? Here is what I hope will be a helpful guide.
Reviews?
Basically writing an outdoor gear review is much like reviewing a product anywhere else on Epinions. You want to have information on the product and you want to have information on your experiences using that product. Having just one or the other, while helpful information, doesn’t paint the entire picture of the product for consumers who are considering the various products. They can get the technical details on the product’s website while many other ‘review’ sites include short reviews that basically speak to the user’s ‘experience’ of the product.
Comprehensive reviews are the most helpful and are also what makes Epinions stand apart from other review sites. You provide both a basic technical context for the product and your overall experiences with that product. This gives the reader (who’s hopefully a consumer shopping for the product you are a reviewing) a much more holistic view of the product and provides them with enough information to make an informed choice when buying the product.
Writing a review in Outdoor Gear
I've written in the Outdoor Gear category for a long time and been an Advisor and Top Reviewer in the category. I know that when I am either writing a review, the first thing I want to make sure is that the review contains at least some sort of story about my experience with the gear. For me, that personal story shows that:
1) I've been using the gear
2) I have an understanding of how it works
3) I have a reason to be reviewing the product
4) I can make an informed decision about the overall quality of the product
I also think it helps the reader understand where you are coming from in your review of the product. The personal story provides a context for the reviewer’s use of the product since a highly technical climber or mountaineer might review a product from a certain angle while a weekend backpacker might see the product in a completely different light.
That said, I also look to include the basic product details on all of my review, even if the product is a fairly simple item. The details don't need to be a play by play description of a product or a list of technical specifications, but they have to give me an idea of:
1) What the product is
2) What the product does
3) How the product lives up to its expectations
These details provide a footing for the review of the product. I’m of the mind that if you don’t tell the reader what the product is, what it does and how it works in at least a basic manner, the review itself isn’t that helpful. That doesn’t mean that a list of technical specifications should be provided, more that the important details of the product should be included as part of the review, especially as to how they relate to your experiences with the product.
What do I mean? Here’s an example of what I would consider a good inclusion of product facts and what I would consider a bad inclusion of product facts (I’m using an imaginary tent here as an example):
Good
While the Katahdin Tent claims to be a 3-person tent, I have found that on my trips it can easily fit two people, while having 3 in the tent can be very tight, if not uncomfortable. Not only that, with the 3 people in the tent, there’s no room to store your gear inside.
While the tent is waterproof, it’s a good idea to use the rain fly that is included with the tent for that extra measure of protection. Not only that, but the fly extends over the front of the tent, providing a dry vestibule area outside the tent, which is perfect for cooking or for storing your boots during inclement weather.
Inside the tent there are several mesh storage pockets along the perimeter of the tent. These pockets are big enough to hold a standard water bottle and a few smaller items and are great for storing your glasses while your sleep.
Bad
The Katahdin Tent has the following features:
- 3-person capacity
- Waterproof tent with a rain fly
- Four mesh pockets on inside of tent
I realize that the bad example is a bit extreme, but it gets to the point that if you only provide basic facts about a product without any context, the information just isn’t that helpful. When I write a review, I want the reader to understand why the information I’m providing is important and how it related to how good or bad the product is.
Overall for me whether I am writing or rating, I like to see a review that combines both the experience and the details together into a coherent tale about the product. I might want to know how much something weighs, but I'd much rather hear that it weighs a few ounces and doesn't add much to a backpacks weight than to only hear that it was 2.7 ounces. I also hate seeing that laundry list of details - if it's important to note, it's also important to note how that detail works out with real-world experience.
Think like a consumer
One of the best pieces of advice I can think of is think like a consumer when you are writing your review. If you were shopping and comparing various products, what would you like to know about it? What kind of personal experiences would you want to hear about? Thinking this way helps you keep your review on topic and helps you to organize your information in a way that makes your review more helpful to consumers who use Epinions to compare, research and making buying decisions.
Resources
If you want more advice or have some questions about writing a review, don't forget about the Outdoor Gear Message Boards. There's a whole section on Writing Outdoor Gear Reviews.
Final Advice
Make your outdoor gear review interesting, even if it’s about a product that isn’t all that exciting. Talk about your experiences with the product and make sure that any technical details you provide are in a context that makes that information useful! Weave a story through your review. That story should talk about what the product is, why you purchased it and what your experiences have been with it since you purchased the product. Don’t forget to think like a consumer too. By thinking like a consumer, your story will stay organized and better help consumers using Epinions.
While there are a ton of different kinds of products in the Outdoor Gear category, I think by sticking to these basic guidelines, you shouldn’t have any trouble writing a review of your outdoor gear.
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