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Chris McNamara
SuperTopo staff member
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jul 19, 2011 - 09:53am PT
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Big News in Gear Reviews
Announcing OutdoorGearLab.com
Thank you, everyone for helping us make the gear review section of SuperTopo a big success. We now have over 600 reviews covering 58 categories of outdoor gear.
Today we are happy to announce some exciting changes on gear reviews. As we have expanded gear review coverage to broader outdoor gear, we've received requests to do even more reviews of gear appropriate for people who only camp, hike, or backpack.
We've also received feedback that SuperTopo can be a bit intimidating for the non-climber, as it is so [appropriately] oriented towards rock climbers.
In the end, this has led us to conclude that we should take the expanded set of gear reviews to their own site, called OutdoorGearLab.com, dedicated to offering the world's best quality reviews of outdoor gear.
This decision will somewhat affect how reviews are presented on SuperTopo, and we'll be rolling those changes out over the coming days and weeks. We hope you'll find the changes to how we present review information to be modest in nature. Our goal is to have increased visibility for user-reviews posted by members of the SuperTopo climbing community, while still retaining the side-by-side comparison information that editor-written reviews provide.
Here's how it works:
 On the new SuperTopo review section you continue to see SuperTopo user-reviews and commentary from the climbing community on each piece of gear.
You also see an excerpt from the fully detailed Editors’ review with a link to the complete review on OutdoorGearLab.com. (view example)
Similarly, Best-in-Class category reviews are summarized on SuperTopo, with a link to the complete report on OutdoorGearLab.com.
Please forgive any bugs you may run into as we roll out this change, and if you have time, please post here to let us know if something didn't work the way you'd expect or prefer
We would love to hear your feedback on these changes and ask for your help in testing out the new review presentation on both SuperTopo.com and and OutdoorGearLab.com.
Thanks again for everyone who has contributed to SuperTopo.com gear reviews. We have been impressed with the quality and time put into the user reviews, and we are certain that your fellow climbers benefit greatly when you share insights gained from experience with outdoor gear.
Chris Mac, RJ and the whole Review Team.
PS: Check out our About OutdoorGearLab page to learn more about our gear review philosophy
PPS: Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter to be updated on when we post new reviews. If you follow our YouTube Page you can see our latest videos.
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ncrockclimber
climber
The Desert Oven
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Jul 19, 2011 - 01:23pm PT
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Good for you, Chris. Although I don't always agree with your "editors choice" selection, I think that you are doing a great job and provide a bunch of awesome content. Best of luck with the new site.
BTW, how about adding Wired Bliss cams to the big and small cam review section. These guys have an awesome product that, IMHO, is just about the most durable cam on the market.
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couchmaster
climber
pdx
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Jul 19, 2011 - 01:44pm PT
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Nice Chris: I'm looking forward to "the best rubber" article....and the 50 pages of argumentative opinion afterwards too. LOL.
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drunkenmaster
Social climber
santa rosa
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Jul 19, 2011 - 04:11pm PT
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Nice!!
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micronut
Trad climber
fresno, ca
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Jul 19, 2011 - 06:02pm PT
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Well Done. Thanks for the hard work. I hope to use it soon.
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John Mac
Trad climber
Littleton, CO
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Jul 19, 2011 - 07:32pm PT
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The site looks great. I think it will appeal to a much wider community as well. Good job.
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Auto-X Fil
Mountain climber
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Jul 19, 2011 - 07:39pm PT
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Obviously I don't take anything on the web as gospel, but your gear reviews come as close as anything. I really appreciate the time and effort you put into an honest review of all the good and bad points of an item, as it is often the only solid info I have to go on. The best part is how you point out the good and bad aspects of each item, and indicate what sort of user it might suit - not just flagging one product as a winner like the mags do.
So far my cam, nut, hook/pin, and ice axe decisions were based largely on your advice, and in hindsight you were spot-on. I bought them all by clicking on your price finder link, as a small thank-you.
You really need to get some Fish wall gear to review, though!
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happiegrrrl
Trad climber
www.climbaddictdesigns.com
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Jul 19, 2011 - 08:24pm PT
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I really like the graphic logo image - the mountain in the beaker. Well done. The site also looks very clean. I've posted about the launch on my business page on FBook, and will Twitter it as well. Best of luck!
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mapeze
climber
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Jul 23, 2011 - 06:50am PT
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Hi Chris,
The excerpt of the Totem Cam review is not in Supertopo.
Could you publish it please?
Regards.
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mapeze
climber
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Jul 26, 2011 - 08:43am PT
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Thanks for your prompt answer Chris. Really, user opinions add value to the reviews.
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