Hi Cameron
> Given the history of BS, and given the tent was a gift, I personally feel this is a paid
> endorsement. I don't trust this review to be on a product people can acquire in a
> reasonable fashion.
Them's fighting words. Absolutely NO WAY do any BPL staff ever do 'endorsements'. NEVER!
As for the 'gift' bit – BPL does not have the funds to buy gear for review. We, and pretty much all of the publishing industry, are reliant on vendors making 'review samples' available. Full disclosure is a requirement these days.
Of course the vendor hopes for a 'nice review', but that is never a 'given'. They take their lumps as they come. Does this cost us future cooperation if the review is bad? I guess it might, but I have also known the vendors take on board our comments and modify their gear as a result. They get some benefit even when the item is panned.
You want an example? The MSR Reactor was pulled from sale (total recall) just weeks before it was due to hit the shelves – as a result of the review which we published. There is an addendum to that review showing the improvements which MSR was able to make. (It is still a CO bomb though.)
Cheers