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I would not trust Wirecutter. In the specific categories I have a lot of knowledge, they seem to ignore some of the best products, emphasize things that aren't

by wl 8y ago

I would not trust Wirecutter. In the specific categories I have a lot of knowledge, they seem to ignore some of the best products, emphasize things that aren't important, and ignore things that are important. On top of that, they've engaged in pay-to-play[0]. https://www.xdesk.com/wirecutter-standing-desk-review-pay-to-play-model https://www.xdesk.com/wirecutter-standing-desk-review-pay-to...

ghaff 8y ago
I suspect that, for any category where you have significant knowledge and strongly-held opinions, it's a fair bet that pretty much no recommendation site/pub is going to satisfy you consistently. Personally, I find Wirecutter pretty good and sufficiently transparent that I know when not to go with their exact recommendation. I wouldn't slavishly follow their advice for, e.g., a high-end camera. But, for a lot of things, their recommendations seem very reasonable and they often match for those cases where I have done a lot of other research.
vorpalhex 8y ago
For what it's worth, WireCutter does disclose this rather prominently. They effectively make money through you buying their recommended products through their website, and often depend on receiving expensive products for free. In general I think they're usually a decent guide, but they are sometimes not aligned to the values I'm after. I don't usually trust them for camping or hiking stuff since they tend to be overly focused on things being cheap or uselessly multi-purpose.
eddyg 8y ago
What are the thoughts about https://www.rtings.com https://www.rtings.com? Are there other sites that don't ignore some of the best products?
- basch 8y ago
  consumer reports, wirecutter, rtings, and americas test kitchen/cooksillustrated/serious eats are some of the best review sites on the web. one of the downsites to rtings is they usually only test one model out of a store. its not testing many multiple devices for variance.
snowwrestler 8y ago
Consumer Reports does this too. I remember when they used to release their annual camera and tripod recommendations... all my photographer friends thought it was the funniest thing. Or their beer recommendations... many LOLs from my beer snob friends. These general review sites are not really "for" people who already know a lot. The state of knowing a lot necessarily changes priorities. I know a lot about photography--why? Because I have a motivated aesthetic sense of photography. I didn't just acquire all this knowledge by accident--I sought it out, in an opinionated way. So, my sense of what is important is going to be different from a random person's. The idea of sacrificing image quality to save a few ounces seems ridiculous to me; but most people don't want to carry a heavy tripod around. So Consumer Reports would usually recommend the lightest tripod that did an OK job.
- brianwawok 8y ago
  I mean, I LOL at their laptop suggestions. They rank them on some silly things sometimes. But then I need to buy a microwave. I know 0 about microwave. Which heats better? I have no idea. Consumer reports has a ranking. Sweet! I really enjoy the product, at least in getting me from 0 to 50% knowledge on a topic. Not that useful for things I am an expert in...

by wl 8y ago

ghaff 8y ago

I suspect that, for any category where you have significant knowledge and strongly-held opinions, it's a fair bet that pretty much no recommendation site/pub is going to satisfy you consistently. Personally, I find Wirecutter pretty good and sufficiently transparent that I know when not to go with their exact recommendation. I wouldn't slavishly follow their advice for, e.g., a high-end camera. But, for a lot of things, their recommendations seem very reasonable and they often match for those cases where I have done a lot of other research.

vorpalhex 8y ago

For what it's worth, WireCutter does disclose this rather prominently. They effectively make money through you buying their recommended products through their website, and often depend on receiving expensive products for free. In general I think they're usually a decent guide, but they are sometimes not aligned to the values I'm after. I don't usually trust them for camping or hiking stuff since they tend to be overly focused on things being cheap or uselessly multi-purpose.

eddyg 8y ago

What are the thoughts about https://www.rtings.com https://www.rtings.com? Are there other sites that don't ignore some of the best products?

basch 8y ago
consumer reports, wirecutter, rtings, and americas test kitchen/cooksillustrated/serious eats are some of the best review sites on the web. one of the downsites to rtings is they usually only test one model out of a store. its not testing many multiple devices for variance.

snowwrestler 8y ago

Consumer Reports does this too. I remember when they used to release their annual camera and tripod recommendations... all my photographer friends thought it was the funniest thing. Or their beer recommendations... many LOLs from my beer snob friends. These general review sites are not really "for" people who already know a lot. The state of knowing a lot necessarily changes priorities. I know a lot about photography--why? Because I have a motivated aesthetic sense of photography. I didn't just acquire all this knowledge by accident--I sought it out, in an opinionated way. So, my sense of what is important is going to be different from a random person's. The idea of sacrificing image quality to save a few ounces seems ridiculous to me; but most people don't want to carry a heavy tripod around. So Consumer Reports would usually recommend the lightest tripod that did an OK job.

brianwawok 8y ago
I mean, I LOL at their laptop suggestions. They rank them on some silly things sometimes. But then I need to buy a microwave. I know 0 about microwave. Which heats better? I have no idea. Consumer reports has a ranking. Sweet! I really enjoy the product, at least in getting me from 0 to 50% knowledge on a topic. Not that useful for things I am an expert in...