What this isn't

This isn't:

1.  A profit making enterprise.

2.  A store (never thought I'd have to say that, but one of the recent comments prompted me).

3.  A place where manufacturers can place products (I'll take submissions, of course, but only if I think you will be interested in them).

4.  A place where you will see analysis of a vast array of products (EDC stuff and other utility tools only).

5.  A professional gear blog.

This is a gear blog, that is definitely the case.  But it is not like the more "professional" gear blogs out there.  I think you know what I mean.  I read three and I like many others.  Personally here are my favorites:

Gear Patrol
ToolGuyd
Uncrate

There are tons more.  But these are really just a series of ads with a pinch of commentary and analysis, much like a celebrity interview on Jay Leno's show is really a commercial for a new movie.  Additionally, these places have...um...well more than one person.  I know that Gear Patrol has an editor (which would be really nice) and a photographer (again nice).  Here, I am a one man show.  These sites also cover a very wide range of things, things that I will never, ever cover.  You will not, for example, read anything here about grooming products.  Ever.  I don't comb my hair on a regular basis and sometimes when I am in a rush I use my gel aftershave (that I got a Wal Mart) as hair gel too.  Not on purpose, mind you, but because really I don't care that much.  I don't want to be a slob, not by a long shot, but I leave the Bieber impersonations to someone else.

The final difference in the list above is the most important, I think.  Unlike those sites, I actually use the stuff and provide a systematic way of reviewing things.  A quick read of the "gear blogs" show that they MAY have hands on time with something, maybe, but even those "hands on" articles involve minimal use.  As I have said before, I like to carry a knife until it needs resharpening.  I like to carry lights for two weeks.  Many of things I have reviewed are things I own or have owned.  In those cases the carry time is even longer.  So the difference in perspective is huge, I think.

The vast array of products they cover means that they have only a scant knowledge base for each product.  They may be able to explain an f stop on a camera and that the Benchmade Mini Grip has a blade of 154CM steel, but I am not sure if they can give reasons why 154CM is better or worse than VG-10.  I think I can.  It is not because I am a steel expert, far from it, but because I have had lots of experience with both.  I may not have the machine of people they do, but I do have the experience they are missing.  

All of this adds up to something that is a bit rougher around the edges than the uber-slick pro gear blogs out there.  No matter how hard I try there are typos in the stuf that goes up (that one is on purpose).  I try to fix them as I see them, but I want to put something out two or three times a week and that means that I am under some time pressure and perfect spelling goes out the window.  If this were a full fledged operation with an editor that wouldn't happen.  But I hope that the few typos are made up for by the depth of content and the systematic method of review of products.  Unlike those guys I don't depend on ad revenue or product placement, so I don't have an allegiance to any particular manufacturer.  I can have loyalty to only one group--you the reader.   I don't do this for a job, to supplement my income or for any other financial benefit.  It means that I have no reason to be swayed by a manufacturer.  They can't offer me anything that work as a bribe.  I really don't need another knife or flashlight, so offering me freebies won't change my opinion.  And since I don't keep any of the ad revenue like the pro gear blogs do, I could give a shit if you click on the links or not, other than the fact that it is fun to give stuff away. 

Those gear blogs have their place.  I read them regularly.  But I hope that this is blog is different.  I hope that my opinions, perspectives, and voice are clear.  I hope that the systematic nature of the reviews I do is helpful.  I also hope that I never have to talk about "man makeup." Ever.