Have you ever gotten part way through reading an online review and realized that the person who wrote it has no clue what they’re talking about? Us too. It’s the worst.
There’s a lot of junk in the world. That’s why reviews are handy; they help us separate the junk from the good stuff. But what’s the point if the reviews themselves are junk? There’s a reason most people have a hard time trusting anything they see on the internet.
I’ll get off my soapbox in a minute. The reason I’m writing this is because I want to remind our dear readers that we here at Tech Writer EDC strive to do things differently. We review gear that we’ve held in our own hands, worked hard with, and in some cases accidentally taken millimeters off our fingertips with.
My point is, there’s literal sweat and blood that goes into these lines you’re reading! Today I want to tell you a little bit about how our review process actually works.
What We Review
We mostly review gear related to everyday carry and bushcraft. Knives, machetes, hatchets, watches and flashlights are some of the most common items you’ll find here.
Ultimately, anything we think is cool is fair game. Any time an interesting tool, wallet, pen, fishing rod, backpack or random piece of outdoor/survival gear crosses our path, there’s a fair chance we’ll end up testing it out. Sometimes, we just can’t help ourselves.
How We Test Gear
Long story short, we test knives and other gear by putting it to use, by carrying it around for weeks and giving it a good workout. One of our top goals here at Tech Writer EDC is to make sure that every product that ends up on our site is one that we’ve personally used and tested.
We’re a fairly small operation based in South Carolina. Our laboratory is a spacious backyard and a garage overflowing with all sorts of gear that we’ve either tested or plan on testing. We spend a lot of time chopping, slicing and generally doing our best to test the limits of the gear we review.
If we’re testing a knife, for example, we’ll put it through its paces cutting through wood, rope, rubber hosing, cardboard, plastic milk jugs, and pretty much anything else we can think of. If we’re testing a hatchet, we’ll split logs, chop down trees, and put up a target and see how well it throws. If we’re testing a machete, we’re gonna clear some acreage baby.
We also try to go beyond the basics to see how well made a knife really is. Can you pry with it? Is it good for batoning? Does it work for food prep? Does it dull quickly? Is it easy to sharpen? How tough is the lock on that folding knife if you really put pressure on it? Don’t worry, we wear cut gloves and safety goggles.
Why You Can Trust Our Reviews
Look, no one knows better than we do how untrustworthy a lot of online review websites are. There are plenty of websites that just crank out product roundups based on absolutely zero real-world experience, and there’s no reason at all why you should trust those sites. We set out to do things differently.
We spend our days tossing flashlights out of second-story windows to test their impact resistance and wearing watches in the shower to see if they’re as water-resistant as they’re supposed to be. We do that because we think honest reviews are important. And also because it’s fun.
That’s not to say we’re right about everything. You may disagree with our opinion sometimes, but you can be sure that everything you read on Tech Writer EDC is an honest opinion backed up by real experience. We like to think that if you’ve read any of our reviews, you can tell the difference.
We’re a small group of folks who do what we do because we’re passionate about it. It might sound cheesy, but we really care about this stuff. I mean, really, if we just wanted to make a quick buck, there are better ways than beating up pocket knives and writing about it.
How We Choose the Gear We Review
Gear finds its way to us in all kinds of ways. A lot of the time, we review new and exciting products that we’ve heard about and want to try. Other times, we review old standbys for no particular reason except that we’ve used them for years and want to tell you how awesome they are.
Sometimes we go out and buy the items we review. Sometimes they’re given to us for free (that’s one of the perks of this job). There are also times when a company sends us their product and asks us to review it. We often do, but with the understanding that there’s no guarantee that they’ll like what we write.
For the most part, we review gear that we like, or at least think has some redeeming qualities. We’ve published plenty of mixed reviews over the years. But for the most part, if we’re sent a product that we think is an absolute piece of junk, we won’t waste our time or yours writing a full review of it.
We’re upfront about the fact that we participate in affiliate programs that can earn us a commission if you buy one of the products we’ve featured on our site. We are also upfront that we do not accept money to write a review or article.