ignoring the reviews

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wheats09

Joined
Jun 28, 2011
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I just ordered the Buck Punk, despite a lack of reviews or seeming popularity. There are somethings you just like and have to go for. That got me thinking, what items that have lacked reviews or even had bad reviews have you purchased anyways? For the ones with bad reviews, did it live up to the reputation or did it work for you?
 
Often you have to sift through a lot of reviews to get any good information. On Amazon, for example, most people b**ch about how the color of their online bought socks doesn't match the shade of color in the online photo. Useless. Rarely any in-the-field reviews as plenty of 'em are "first impression" of when as soon as they get the item. Guess they just want to gripe about whatever they can.
 
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Bought Randalls without reviews and they were much better than expectations. Also got a CRK Green Beret despite everyone harping about how it will break by looking at it and it was a great knife. I like to read reviews but I don't give much attention to the guys that seem to complain about every little thing.
 
It's on my "get" list, got to handle one recently, seems like a great knife, and surprisingly light for a knife in that size range.

Only thing that stopped me from buying that one, is that between the knife and southpaw sheath, I've sunk a lot into my TOPS Pathfinder School knife, and just wasn't ready to buy another knife that was so similar in size.
 
I find reviews helpful, but you've got to remember that you can pretty much throw out the top and bottom 20%. People either rave about something that they're particularly high on or tear something apart because it wasn't what they expected. From there you look to see how much they're letting personal preference color their review and figure out if they're on the same page you are preference wise. I read a ton of reviews before I buy almost anything, but mostly to see if I can identify any fatal flaws, subtle advantages, or other deal breakers or makers before I buy. Reviews are subjective by their very nature, so always take them with a grain of salt.
 
I went ahead and pulled the trigger on a Spyderco Puukko despite all the online kvetchin' about the high price, the Spydie hole, the fact that its made in Taiwan, etc. It caught my eye and I couldn't stop thinking about it's simplicity and elegance so I scored it.
So all you haters can suck it. :D
 
On the flipside, I can think of an example of where I should have ignored all the positive reviews instead - the Cold Steel Trail Hawk. What an utter piece of Chinese junk.
 
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Sufler said:
Often you have to sift through a lot of reviews to get any good information. On Amazon, for example, most people b**ch about how the color of their online bought socks doesn't match the shade of color in the online photo. Useless. Rarely any in-the-field reviews as plenty of 'em are "first impression" of when as soon as they get the item. Guess they just want to gripe about whatever they can.
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Yup. The internet is full of usefull info but you have to sift through a mountain of crap to get to it. For instance on this site alone, if you were to ask about SAK's in GD you'd get that they're crap and only bought by people who don't know any better. You go into the outdoor forum(where people actually use their knives) and almost everyone is carrying them. Have one in my pocket now.
 
Smithhammer said:
On the flipside, I can think of an example of where I should have ignored all the positive reviews instead - the Cold Steel Trail Hawk. What an utter piece of Chinese junk.
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It's Taiwanese. ;) I like it a lot. Use it often.
 
Shotgun said:
It's Taiwanese. ;) I like it a lot. Use it often.
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Glad you have found it useful. Obviously, others have as well. Maybe I just got a lemon, but mine came with such a horrible fit between the handle and the roughly-cast head that I had to spend hours sanding and filing to get a marginal friction fit out of it, and even then it was still not an appropriate fit for doing any sort of serious work. I have yet to see what the real world usefulness of a 'hawk is in the field, vs. the solid combo of a good knife, axe and/or packable bucksaw. It just seems like a toy that does a number of things sort of well, but none of them as well as the aforementioned tools. To each his own, though.

I also see no shortage of irony in the fact that Cold Steel puts a big sticker on everyone of their 'hawks and axes that says, "The American Tomahawk Company." I don't believe a single one of them is made in the US, and frankly, it shows. There are some 'hawks made stateside that, while more expensive, are also infinitely better quality and actually built to do some real work.
 
The Gerber Myth. I bought it because of the commercial. They got me...lol! Been carrying and using it since deer season started. Great field knife despite some bad reviews. I love the knife sharpener integrated into the sheath. Very easy to clean and stays clean. I have had knives that blood still comes out from behind the scales after gutting a deer two or three days after I wash them. So that is a good benefit to this knife. Full tang and light weight. It holds a good performing edge. The only down fall for me was the rubber fastener. I put on a button snap from an older knife sheath that I found. Its had a month and a week of bush time. I think it's a great working knife. Worth $60. No, but I enjoy the knife hobby and especially innovation (Integrated sharpener). I don't care what anyone says, Gerber does have some unique designs. I always thought Freeman was a good, practical knife designer (Freeman Hunter - another I bought despite bad reviews and love, LMF II, 06).
 
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