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YouTube Reviews

wales Offline Smashie

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YouTube Reviews
on: December 29, 2022, 01:33:59 AM
Mods: please feel free to move this if it's in the wrong place.

Or not as the case may be.

Over the last 10 years or the overall quality of YT gear reviews (Knives, MT's and flashlights) has taken a serious nosedive IMO.

Serveral channels I've blocked and I absolutley will not watch under any circumstances. No, I'm not going to name them, tough.
Some of those channels charge vast ammounts of money for favorable reviews, others get sent gear for free and it's not a review, it's an unboxing/advert. Now there are many good channels out there that buy their own stuff and review it, or imedediately disclose they have been sent the item. These have way more integrity than the afore mentiond unboxing channels.

I watched one video recently and the guy had done no preparation for the video at all, he couldn't name a single tool on a particular SAK. Now I don't expect everyone to be a subject matter expert on everything, but I would expect a some reading and preparation before the camera is turned on.

This one I'm going to very vague on for obvious reasons, one video was a review of a tool I own and I am obsessed with. He couldn't work out why the design had followed the path it had done. So I very politlely explained the reason, he posted a reply that he disagreed, went away and thought about it then banned me from commenting and deleting both of the posts. Rather than help people who have had the same question (and ended up here) he shuts down answers that are correct but he can't see himself.

Anyone else experienced this? or was it just me having too much time time on my hands this past year.
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Re: YouTube Reviews
Reply #1 on: December 29, 2022, 01:49:47 AM
It sounds like a case of bad web manners and or the infamous "someone is wrong on the internet".

Been there and done that. There might be a multitude of reasons in addition to just rude manners. I generally just move on and unsubscribe. Life it just too short.
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us Offline Poncho65

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Re: YouTube Reviews
Reply #2 on: December 29, 2022, 02:34:16 AM
I have seen some great reviews and some not so great :whistle:

Those that are paid to do reviews usually always have a bit of bias and I am sure that trend will continue whether we like it or not :facepalm:

I do have a YouTube Channel myself but tend not to do reviews as such :dunno: I mostly tell about the tool (info mostly) and what I like or don't like but I also have a smaller demographic :D and also I am not paid :D


us Offline Farmer X

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Re: YouTube Reviews
Reply #3 on: December 29, 2022, 05:38:26 AM
Like Poncho, I have a channel, and I do not consider myself a reviewer. To my way of thinking, in order to properly review something, you must have used it. A good many of the knives and multis seen on my channel are safe queens. I consider myself more a presenter.

I've never received free gear to "review" or been paid for my opinion. If a manufacturer wants to send me gear to show on the channel, cool. They'd be doing so with the understanding that if I think something is a piece of smurf, I'll unhesitatingly say so. My opinion is not a commodity.

That said, there are a few channels I just can't get on board with. Those are mostly due to lack of objectivity and/or flagrant misuse of the English language (by native speakers).
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ch Offline Etherealicer

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Re: YouTube Reviews
Reply #4 on: December 29, 2022, 01:04:58 PM
I'm less and less interested in reviews/opinions but more interested in good presentation of the product, so I can form my own opinion.
Especially when it comes to knives, reviewers seem to have a strange focus on things that don't matter to me. Fidget-ability, blade-steel, designer, out-of-the-box-sharpness, origin.

And yes, I also have the feeling that most "reviews" are minimum effort. Prime example for me, is the Nitecore keychain flashlights. I have not seen a single review of one, where the ability to power it with a powerbank was mentioned, even though it is prominently on the product page and is a feature that separates them from to competition.
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us Offline Enginears

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Re: YouTube Reviews
Reply #5 on: December 29, 2022, 03:03:28 PM
It seems like advertisers and youtube creators have been using the word review to label unboxing videos or product feature rundowns. That is fine if they know what they are talking about and you know what to expect, some of them are quite informative. There are still some channels that present the tool, show its sharpness before and after putting it through tests, sharpen it, and test until destruction. Those types of videos I find much more like a review in the traditional sense.

Usually I prefer creators that say explicitly if they bought the tool or were sent the tool for free. Quite a few at least make an effort at transparency.


us Offline Aloha

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Re: YouTube Reviews
Reply #6 on: December 29, 2022, 03:52:14 PM
There are a lot of opinions bought on you tube.  Some not so obvious while others are blinding.  I enjoy a well presented item and like E I can form my own opinions.  I do not care for unboxing or first impression presentations. 

I have no cause to care if someone is paid or the item presented is given to them just be clear about it.  As to the comments, this is a bit off topic, some of my best time spent on you tube are the comments.  I have been known to laugh out loud.  That said its a shame what happened Smashie.  Seems the presenters feathers got ruffled.

I am not subscribed to any channel so I come on a watch and move along.     
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wales Offline GearedForwards

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Re: YouTube Reviews
Reply #7 on: December 29, 2022, 04:02:40 PM
Disclaimer: I have my own channel, like Poncho and Farmer X, I have received products for review, but that video is late and I immediately disclose they sent the stuff

I don't mind 'exhibition' videos, but it irks me when they are labeled as reviews when they're very clearly not. It also bothers me when a product is paid for and has no negatives in the video, despite being pretty obvious.

My personal grievances with other channels include:

-Clickbait that's so egregious that you don't even know what the product is, that's just annoying.

-Reviewers that have become very detached from the 'everyday person' partially due to the large amount of gear they review, and the financial situation a successful channel brings with it... but then continue like those things aren't factors.

-Reviewers that act like we are in 2012 and knife prices increasing is ridiculous when we are in a massive point of global inflation and knives are susceptible to getting hit on that on multiple levels (materials, manufacture, supporting the company infrastructure).

- Channels that put out strong opinions before using the tool to form said opinion.

- Channels that use paper-thin criticism to bring down a brand/item, or overly specific circumstances to recommend one. I'll be open here, Olight gets slammed a lot for things that are hypothetical or just downright not a real-world problem. They aren't perfect, but I'd rather see legitimate criticisms.

Check out my Youtube channel  for gear reviews, comparisons, and carry philosophy.

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wales Offline Smashie

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Re: YouTube Reviews
Reply #8 on: December 29, 2022, 05:21:55 PM
Ok, I said I wasn't going to do this but I am.

Here's a prime example of someone NOT doing any homework at all. This one had me shouting at the screen. Learn how to use the smurfing scissors you smurfing asshat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGn-vsqaomo
« Last Edit: December 29, 2022, 05:27:04 PM by Smashie »
“Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people.” - Socrates
"I'm not feeling very talky today, off you smurf". - Smashie
Complaining is mental preparation for failure.
Si vis pacem, para bellum


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Re: YouTube Reviews
Reply #9 on: December 29, 2022, 06:14:45 PM
On another note: The companies that decide that send or pay some of these channels to do a review clearly hasn't done their homework either. Having their product shown off by someone who neither cares nor knows doesn't seem like anything worth paying for. Quite the opposite, it sounds like a minefield of potential downsides.

Come to think of it, if you have a crap product that is likely exactly the reviewers you want? If so at least there might be some information in there for us? A company that decide bad channels are a fit for their products do say something about their own view of their products: "This channel is a fit for our products as it wont show any shortcomings, give random or arbitrary reviews so maybe we suddenly have a winner, or just give plain good reviews against payment which is the only way we can get that".
"Simple is hard"
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(Partial disclosure: I design tools for a living).


cy Offline dks

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Re: YouTube Reviews
Reply #10 on: December 29, 2022, 06:48:03 PM
The only channel I regularly watch is Knifecenter, which is obviously selling things, so no super-hidden agenda.

Any "reviews" I have done were/are done in writing, in this forum, though I rarely review anything these days.
My first post ever here was a review :) 
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pt Offline pfrsantos

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Re: YouTube Reviews
Reply #11 on: December 29, 2022, 09:29:41 PM
Ok, I said I wasn't going to do this but I am.

Here's a prime example of someone NOT doing any homework at all. This one had me shouting at the screen. Learn how to use the smurfing scissors you smurfing asshat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGn-vsqaomo

This is video from russian hacker guy where safety number one concern.

I've seen other videos, some are not that bad, others are like this one. He just starts to handle the knife/multitool for the first time in front of the camera, without looking for instructions on how to operate them. In a way, it's good. It shows the first reaction anyone has with the first time they have that tool in their hands.
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