We need better reviews!

I should change out of my sweatshirt. I should brush my hair, I should put on makeup.

But I want to talk about this now.

I love looking at reviews. Whenever I'm going to buy something new, like a piece of video equipment, audio gear, something for backpacking, something for camping, or new clothes, I search YouTube.

I want to see the object. I want to hear real-life reactions to it.

The other day I was curious about a knapsack. It's a women's specific pack, and I looked it up on YouTube. There was a video from the manufacturer, there was a pretty good video from an outdoor retailer, but I wanted some real-life perspective. Someone who's actually used it... and this is why I'm telling you the story.

​I could not find a review from somebody who actually used the pack. I did find two videos. TWO of them that featured a woman wearing the pack (because it is a women-specific pack) with a man standing next to her, pointing and talking about its features and fit, but NOTHING from the person actually using it. I'm thinking about a little experiment ... I'm not going to buy anything new for this. I'm just going to talk about some of the things that I use. You should probably do it too ... we need more voices trying out gear and sharing their reactions.