Long winded reviews

[TomMcC]

GH41, have you seen Robert the Texan's charging handle review up top. It's like the mother of all reviews LOL!

[Kain]

Depends on the review. Be it in video form or written, it just depends. If it is video and entertaining then I am all for letting it go, sometimes I'll be honest and the 20-30 minute reviews from a few channels I'll listen to while reloading, don't get a lot out of them, but they make for good background noise and the voice of the guy doing it doesn't bother me. Other channels, their 40-60 minute discussion videos, or Q&A videos I will happily sit through while sipping on something. But those videos also tend to be more detail oriented compared to some videos out there that are fluff, fluff, blabber, blabber, and bangy, bangy, which even if that is just showcasing something I might buy I won't stand it for more than about 40 seconds. Which brings me to the final point, it depends on the content that the review has. I will sit through a very detailed review video if it is full of information, detail, and technical data and data points while addressing possible concerns, and admitting the shortcomings of the review or the product. There are some channels that post rather short videos who I would happily listen to much longer videos of the content creator discussing their thoughts on the products. Give me the details, pros, cons, and perhaps entertain me and I don't mind. Blabber off for 15 minutes about how something is great, then I will ignore you. If I want shills I'll buy a magazine.

For written reviews, I am kind of the same, details are fine as long as they are driving the point of the review. By all means try to entertain me, but don't do so at the cost of providing valuable information and data, as well as pros and cons, and I am all for someone diving deep into niche rolls of a product, since that might further increase, or even create an interest in a product for me.

In both cases, make sure that the data is understandable and that your facts are correct. Try to bullshit me, or worse lie to me, and I will never consider you worth my time again. On the same note if you make a mistake admit it, we are human. Now, if the information is just garbage spewed by someone who gets off hearing their own voice, then, yeah, it bullshit, but then I don't listen much to that crap anyway. But, on the same note, I am honestly bad for trying to cover all aspects of something in a single post. Granted that is because I don't subscribe to the one size fits all mentality and understand that some people may have different considerations with something, so I try to hit all points I can think of. Makes for long posts, it is what it is though.

All of that said, I will say that if the article or review is full of valuable information, then reading something that is long is not a bad thing. Also, lets be honest, sometimes you have to wade through a mountain of paper to get to the gold. I have run into plenty of people who are not willing to spend 20 minutes of their time to educate themselves. I once posted a copy of the Filthy 14 article on another forum when the discussion began on whether to buy a quality AR vs the cheapest budget rifle around. One response was literally to the affect of, "I don't have time to read something that long, I know what I am talking about, a $300 AK is the best rifle ever made, they never jam or need cleaning, ARs won't go more than 100 rounds before they jam and are useless, and if you use oil in them it instantly attracts dirt and jams them." Which is ironic considering the information that was in the article that I had posted.

[Firefly]

I just hate intro music and title cards, guys trying to talk at a range while a guy is burning mags, and the slow mo.

I'm at a point where I like what I like, know what I want, and some dude blathering on loses me.

Just show the device.

[Kain]

I just hate intro music and title cards, guys trying to talk at a range while a guy is burning mags, and the slow mo.

I'm at a point where I like what I like, know what I want, and some dude blathering on loses me.

Just show the device.

On slow mo, I think it depends on how they use it.
Use it for a "better" shot then no. Use it to better demonstrate how something works, or a peculiar aspect of a design, then I think it is fascinating. The forgottenwepaons PKM shooting review for example was had a good use of the slow mo with it showing the ejection port cover operating during the firing cycle. I thought it was interesting.

[SteyrAUG]

I just hate intro music and title cards, guys trying to talk at a range while a guy is burning mags, and the slow mo.

I'm at a point where I like what I like, know what I want, and some dude blathering on loses me.

Just show the device.

Honestly I don't watch any of it. Once in a blue moon I'll watch Military Moron and that's it. Too many nobodies making youtube videos and thinking they are somebody because they have a channel with X number of followers.

I had 50,000 posts on TOS or something close to that, want to know what that made me an expert of? Nothing. Just meant I had the time and inclination to post a shit ton of content. If it was a youtube channel rather than a forum, it would mean exactly the same nothing.

I know what I know because I have a shelf full of books by the real experts. I know what I know because I've shot with people who were BTDT for the last 40 years and I've picked up some good info. I know what I know because I've been shooting since 1975 and have been exposed to a lot of weapon systems over the years. And guess what, somewhere there are a dozens of people I can name who nobody has ever heard of who know way more than I do about guns.

[ColtSeavers]

When showing the item, make sure your camera can focus on and is actually focused on the item as well as illuminate the item. Sick and damned tired of black on black (or any same color on same color) equipment with horrible background room ambiance lighting combined with a camera desperately trying to focus on... anything.

Make sure the item is actually in the shot, not your mug perfectly centered while holding your junk putting the muzzle device you're reviewing and supposedly showing live fire of completely or damn near out of the frame.

While I'm getting Cathartic, no measurements at bizarre angles and starting at some random number on the measuring tape. How damned hard is it to put the measuring tape metal tab on an end and simply pull?

Oh, and screw people using grams for weight measurement.




Damn it's easy to be a critic.

[Jellybean]

GH41, have you seen Robert the Texan's charging handle review up top. It's like the mother of all reviews LOL!

Dare I suspect that's what triggered him?

#stillbetterthannutn
I mean, it didn't take half an hour or better to get through it....

Personal preference.

I've written some long reviews in the past, and I'm sure that's turned people off. But, on the flip side, I've always had a frustration when I'm thinking about spending $1K or more on something, and I can't seem to find any serious information about it. I often don't just want a thumbs up or thumbs down, but a reasoned explanation of what each feature does, and how it compares to similar products. That also ends up being how I write reviews.

I would rather there be too much information and leave the option to skip to the conclusion.

Exactly. I'm trying to make a serious decision and there's ONE half-assed review on the product....
I have written some opus'es in the past as well and will continue to do so if I feel it's warranted. Of course there's a fine line between "too much" info and "not enough", but my God if I have to watch another so-called "review" that's just a glorified unboxing with a side of mumbling about nothing relevant, or read one that's just "It is good. I liked it" and nothing else, I will lose my mind...

BTW, nice site Brigand. Good to see you're still going.

....His [Nutn] video with the M60E4 had me rolling. Even my 12 year old son looked at it and asked “does he have any idea what he’s doing?”

I wasn't aware he ever did an M60 review.... ??

[TomMcC]

At the time I wrote to GH41 I hadn't seen Roberts review. I'm pretty sure you're right.

[Moose-Knuckle]

Reviews are like anything else, there are good one's and bad ones. I typically write reviews as a verified buyer on Amazon. I read a lot of reviews before I buy a product or go some place. It's helped me more times than not.

[BrigandTwoFour]

On video reviews, I absolutely agree with the above. My attention span is relatively limited in that regard. A video review should be no more than 4-6 minutes (which is also about how long it takes to read a 1500 word review).

BTW, nice site Brigand. Good to see you're still going.

Thanks! It's been a struggle to get back on a regular routine since the move. I'm hoping that the lawsuit against PNTC being dismissed, as well as some other opportunities popping up, will help.