Sharing info/reviews on our gear......?

[HobbesOnTour]

Inspired by @Vantage thread, I was wondering if people would be interested in creating a list of gear we use on our trips so that if someone is researching some gear they can have a look and see that X member uses Y tent.
Obviously it would best be done on the fora rather than by private message.
I know we can always start a thread with "hey, does anyone use X sleeping mat?" but frankly, it has never crossed my mind😊

I'm thinking one page, broken into sections for tent/tarp, sleeping mat, sleeping bag, stove etc.
Under tent, a list of tents with the member(s) who own/ed one.

It could be as detailed or not as we like. No need to write a review, but maybe some would like to, just a willingness to answer questions.

What say you all?

 

[Vantage]

It'd make for interesting/funny/scarey reading.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

It'd make for interesting/funny/scarey reading.

Yeah, but once you've made your contributions it would revert to normal pretty quickly!

 

[Oldhippy]

Good idea methinks.

 

[Vantage]

I'm just thinking about this. If we had separate pages for different things, wouldn't that require a lot of pages thus needing an entire subsection of the forum and lots of toing and froing to find something? I suspect some of those pages wouldn't generate alot of interest/traffic. Not everyone uses a liner for their bag or groundsheet for their tent. What say ye?

 

[Oldhippy]

For touring panniers I love my Carridice bags, simple, well made and do what they are designed to at a good price. Don't think you can best them myself.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

I'd be thinking something like this on one page......

TENTS
Vango Banshee @Vantage @Oldhippy
Coleman Coastline @HobbesOnTour
..
...
...
SLEEPING MAT/PAD
Thermarest Trail Pro @HobbesOnTour , @whoever
Klimvit @Vantage
..
..

And so on.
Basically, leave a bit of space under each section for people to fill in their existing or previous gear.
Ideally, a hyperlink at the top of the page to jump down to liners/tent pegs etc... (Don't know if that's possible)
Of course, all that is dependant on us being able to edit the original post. I'm not sure that's possible.
It's more likely we'd need the mods to manually enter any new additions.

There is the question of what level of detail is required. For example, there are three models of my Exped tent, as well as different sizes. Also, models change year by year, too.
I'd be of the opinion that one model is good for all variations as (hopefully) the owners will clarify that in any discussion.

A bit of discipline is all that is required. No chat, just pop in to add your new bit of gear and your username beside it. There should be no need to remove your gear/name.

Over time if someone was looking for a tent, for example, it would be pretty clear if there were any popular options and a ready number of members to ask about it. Perhaps also a useful source of information on where to buy for the best service/price etc.

I'd forsee someone starting a thread something like...
@HobbesOnTour I see you have a Coleman Coastline. I'm thinking of getting one, what are your thoughts?

As to what gear to include, I suppose that's up to us, really, along with the mods.
If it got to the level of tent pegs, for example, that's going to be one massively long page!
Perhaps the "main" gear on one page, and less common, or more specialist on other page(s).

As for reviews (if people wanted to write them) that would be a whole separate thread - again just for reviews.
If I were to write a review of my Coleman, for example, I could edit the @HobbesOnTour to jump to my review on the Review thread. I know not everyone would be comfortable doing that.
To be honest, I really couldn't be a*sed writing one (conservationist) but I'd happily answer any questions and offer advice.

It probably seems like a lot of work when someone could just throw up the question "I'm looking for a new tent......." 😊

 

[Vantage]

A bit of discipline is all that is required. No chat, just pop in to add your new bit of gear and your username beside it.

I tried that once on a thread I started. Some guy came along and started asking why I changed my sleep mat. It sent the thread right off.
Some people eh?

 

[classic33]

Something like these?
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/sleeping-bags.176516/

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/lets-talk-about-tents.233839/

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Something like these?
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/sleeping-bags.176516/

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/lets-talk-about-tents.233839/

Well, yes and no....

The idea would be a one-stop-shop for most likely the most common gear.
Someone is thinking about a new tent then the (hopefully) sticky thread/page would have a list of the tents that all interested members have.
Then it's a matter of starting a new thread but the OP will already have a good idea of who's input they really want to have and can use the @name function to draw them in. Once started, the thread will wander where it will. It's not exclusionary and nor should it be used to have discussions in private.

I have answered lots of questions about gps devices & online planners as an example, but they're all over the place in a variety of threads and fora. Ditto my tents.

I'd always recommend that someone does a search before asking a question, but;
a) that can be tricky for a newbie
b) there can be a lot of wading through irrelevant stuff
c) info can be out of date.

As another example, I was neither happy nor unhappy with my SON dynohub until I smashed it up in a drain. Now I'm extremely happy to look at my shiny new SON and appreciate the service the extra €s bought.

We have a great little community here and there are a lot of posters whose opinions I respect greatly (not all ). There are times when faced with reviews online that I have no idea how biased they are, a few words from a member here could point me in the right direction.

Often when it comes to gear how we plan to use it is the most important thing. An online review that says "X tent was perfect for my 2 week vacation" is not a lot of use until we know where that vacation was, when it was and who took it!

These days, once we start to search for something online, our browsing experience becomes clogged with ads for similar items. It's very easy to get inundated with info, specs and lord-knows-what-else. At least here we can get a real world review from people we interact with.

It's probably overkill and not necessary, but the idea of a page with gear and members who own that gear saying basically "we're happy to answer your questions" is, I think, a friendly, welcoming message.

The only site I know that does user reviews is CGOAB and unfortunately that site really only has activity in the journal section.

 

[classic33]

Fair comment.
On the tent thread, anything I'd add about newer tents would be second hand at best. No need at present to buy another.

Sleeping bags are a common point of contention. With personal preference coming into it first. Even on camping sites.

Only downside I can see, is that the first post, as laid out by yourself, remains editable for only a year by the poster. Anything after that would require the mods help.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Fair comment.
On the tent thread, anything I'd add about newer tents would be second hand at best. No need at present to buy another.

Sleeping bags are a common point of contention. With personal preference coming into it first. Even on camping sites.

You see, here's the thing; Your tent might be x years old, but if you submitted it to the list and someone had a chance to buy a second hand one, then you're the man!

Everything is personal preference, but here, at least, we have an idea of the personality behind the preferenceand their experience.