Thursday, July 26, 2012

A word about our reviews/comments*

Post edited, thanks for all your support!

11 comments:

  1. Thanks for everything you do Jason, I represent to the opposite side of spectrum from Kramer.

    Since I live in the city, somewhat and do not have the resources to afford the higher end products, its important to me that I make my purchases count, with a product that is functional yet also affordable.

    Your blog provides me the necessary information to make an informed decision, and for that I thank you.

    As a "weekend warrior" with a deep interest in Bush craft as a hobby, I am able to road test products using your reviews to further determine my personal needs for my given geographical area.

    Thanks again Jason, good work!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Reno-

      Thanks for your comment, I really appreciate that.

      Cheers,

      Jason

      Delete
    2. Actually, I've decided to stop anonymous attack comments like Kramer's from happening in the future, so I'm going to delete it. I believe that is someone from the Bushcraft USA forum who was never a fan in the first place, and they just wanted to start trouble here. If someone wants to say negative things, then they'll have to register and identify themselves first and not do it anonymously.

      Delete
  2. Jason,

    I have not commented in the past but I do enjoy reading your posts and gear reviews. Hope you continue to do them! Keep up the good work. No complaints at all from me.

    Best regards from Alaska!
    Stace

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Stace-

      Thanks for the really nice comment, and yes, I have no intention of stopping!

      Stay safe up in Alaska. I hope to visit there one day.

      Cheers,

      Jason

      Delete
  3. "J Kramer" is now banned from Rocky Mountain Bushcraft. He is a troublemaker from Bushcraft USA, and in his second comment, used foul language along with a personal attack. Some people just love to make the world a messy place, sadly.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hey Rocky Mountain Bushcraft
    Your reviews are thorough, well documented and photographed to say the least. I for one always enjoy reading your reports they are very interesting to me.

    Maybe throw in a usage video or two for some variety would be cool.

    Speaking of cool weather, here in Fla is sweltering in the shade and it gives me the summertime blues and makes me lazy. My participation in all boards has pretty much been zero lately for no good reason.


    Back to your reviews I have purchased gear based off of your reviews here and even from your sponsors!

    My favorite ax the Council Tools Velvicut Hudson Bay was brought to my attention by your blog posts and subsequently bought by me because of it. I sold my GBSFA because the CT is that good to me. "Like the GBSFA on Steroids"

    I hope my past comments have been respectful and light hearted because that is how they were intended.
    I really hope you continue to do what you do it is not easy. I cant imagine it being a serious money maker either.
    I think you should get something in return for all your hard work and whatever that is, is none of my biz..

    I think the market is saturated right now and everyone is feeling a falloff, but when the weather cools off and more people are out things will pick up.

    I am a little confused though on one hand you want more commentary and then you want to disable it on the other. I can see how it might be tedious to respond to every single post though. That's the great thing about running your own show do what you want!
    Hey did that copycat blogger get shutdown?

    Anyway take care CW

    later Al

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Al,

      You have been a faithful follower and an excellent commenter, so let me take this opportunity to say a big thank you! And to answer your question, yes, you've always been very respectful.

      I think part of my problem is that I'm getting tired of writing reviews, but I still have to honor my commitments until they're done. And yes, we barely get any money, mostly some free gear here and there. The amount of work I put into each review is definitely not worth it. In fact, it keeps me working 80-90 hours a week! I have no life. Some companies are very patient and some companies hound me until the review is posted, so it can get very stressful. I am seeking more advertising revenue to help off-set this imbalance of- "lots of work for little or no pay". I may also add a Paypal donation link to the main page for those that like what we do and want to see the quality remain high. As it stands, I won't be able to keep up this pace unless I can bring in some more revenue somehow. I am writing magazine style reviews, which companies love and I am very proud of, but they are incredibly labor intensive. I hope to keep doing this but it will depend on how the revenue works out in the end.

      Leah, who's been a wonderful editor, is also stretched thin because of other work commitments, so she's going to scale back for at a time as well.

      So we're both feeling it right now, and maybe my post was a bit of a relief valve.

      I really just want to run around in the mountains, bushcraft, study animals, plants, trees, and discover new techniques, but I'm working seven days a week writing reviews or field testing gear/photographing it. If people only knew!

      I worked on the Bear Grylls and Puma Knife reviews for over 6 months and thought they were really good, so I guess I was a bit sensitive about the lack of comments on them and some other recent posts. Yes, lots of knife reviews out there, but I did a Rambo theme on the BG knife and a Jeremiah Johnson theme with the Puma Bowie, which I thought readers would really enjoy and set the reviews apart from all the other sites. Though I'm very proud of them, they completed drained me. Everything is hit or miss, so I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and hope that readers dig it.

      Regarding comments, let me clarify. While I'm so busy, I think it will be less stressful if I disable comments on most posts. I will leave them open on certain things, especially axe related or my base camp endeavors, and maybe once I'm done with the USA article and some other review commitments, I'll re-open them for all posts again.

      I always love to hear your comments as always, so thanks again.

      Take care,

      Jason

      Delete
  5. Jason. I like commenting on your articles :) I've been away from the computer a lot lately due to a new addition to the family but I look forward to getting caught up on your posts. It's a shame I won't get to enlighten you with my words of wisdom as much ;)

    Keep up the good posts.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OutdoorEnvy-

      You have been an excellent commenter, so thank you once again! I apologize if I came across as not wanting comments, in fact, quite the opposite. I plan to leave open certain posts and subjects for comments, so it's not a total restriction on them. I'm just trying to keep my focus while I'm pecking away at the tremendous workload that I took on for the whole "Made in the USA" project, something I believe in deeply, but which has also taken away a large chunk of my life in the process!

      I am excited for the time (soon) when I can post lots of unique bushcraft articles/tips & tricks/wilderness survival/wilderness first aid/plant and tree identification etc. I also plan to review every major axe out there, and also post articles related to this subject from my own perspective. Very exciting stuff, but I have to honor certain commitments first.

      I always love to hear your comments, to please, keep them coming!

      Hope all is well.

      Jason

      Delete
    2. Thanks Jason. I actually went to post on the Puma knife and when I didn't see the option I thought maybe the site was having problems. Then read this post. So here's what I wanted to say about the knife:

      I was very close to buying this knife about a year and half ago but went with a different knife after I wasn't sure how this knife would hold up to bush and general camp use. I wish there would have been a review like the one you did on it at that time and I would have got one. Now I still might get it down the road since I know it can hold up. It was a good review and it is a classy looking classic knife. Thanks for putting the time in for it.

      Delete