I read about the first 10 posts so I might be missing a few things but thought I'd comment too as Ryan and I are affected by these same dynamics, i.e. reviewing a sponsor's gear.
Everyone holds bias, no matter what we say (when I get on a plane, I'm biased towards the highly qualified, highly experienced pilot, not the new guy who just hit minimum hours to fly.) You're biased towards what you like too. Think about that...
Of course I'm biased towards sponsors gear on Rokslide:
1) They help pay the bills around here and without them, Rokslide would be some obscure gear site listed on page 10 of a google search- with no credibility either.
2) By design, you won't see sponsors on Rokslide we don't trust for one reason or another, whether it's the best quality, or best value vs. price, highly specialized or niche, and of course great customer service.
Not saying we could never let a bad sponsor slip in, but it won't be for the money if we do. That would only kill our reputation.
So that is the bar for me when I'm reviewing a sponsor's gear- they wouldn't be on Rokslide if I didn't trust them so I feel justified about reviewing their gear and if you read our reviews, we really try to show the good and bad, but there's way more good than bad or they wouldn't already be a sponsor.
I'd also pay close attention to what is NOT reviewed here or in any reputable org like Gritty. In other words, I'm picky about what I review as I don't want to spend my time reviewing something I don't trust and will end up with a bad review, not to mention wasting the limited time I have to actually write.
This is also why I promote member reviews more and more on Rokslide (watch our giveaways, I'm always asking people to give us feedback on the gear they win.) This is to give you all another valid opinion--valid because they actually own the gear, not because they're an expert or not. (Let's not talk too much about opinions from those who have not tried or owned it- read Ryan Avery's signature line, that captures it).
The risk I take when I do that, is it invites "plants" from other non-sponsor companies to dominate the conversation and many of you don't even know they are a plant and no one is more biased than a plant (plants are so biased you can almost smell them). So far, the risk is worth it if I get a member who's actually using something (sponsors or not) and it helps you all.
I have a few writers on here who are on the prostaff of sponsors but I publish their articles anyway, (like Jared Bloomgren's Kryptek articles). How can I do that in good conscience? Try and get on Kryptek's prostaff and you'll see why I actually trust him/them. Look at what Jared does as a multi-weapon, multi-state hunter. Because the bar is high for Kryptek staff and the sheer fact that Jared is a certified killer of about anything he sets out to hunt, I give validity to who he chooses to associate his name with. Heck I started using Kryptek based on his articles and a few years later, I agree that most of their stuff performs and they are a solid company, sponsor or not. Jared reviews a lot of other gear, but Kryptek is his clothing for good reason. Yip, he biased, but that's OK in this case as he's got good reason to be, just like my bias towards an excellent pilot.
If you want complete unbias, read DaveC's posts (who's articles I also publish when possible). But also remember, if we only read his stuff, we're becoming biased too and there's no way he's going to be able to offer opinion on every genre of gear, hence our variety in writers on Rokslide.
No matter what, make sure you use your God-given brain when reading reviews anywhere, including Rokslide.
I don't want to go on and on, but wanted to let you know that Ryan and I (and all our staff writers) try to be sensitive to this issue and write in a balanced way. I won't say we're always going to get it right, but that is the goal. Hope this helps understand the issue in a broader context.
