Complex gives us some food for thought with their latest write-up as they give us some reasons as to why the sneaker culture needs better sneaker reviewers.
I do agree that most videos on sneakers aren’t real ‘reviews’ and even if the person is trying to give an actual review… they often don’t know what they’re talking about. However, those of us that do provide real reviews; isn’t that enough? Sure, we don’t buy every sneaker released but we do grab almost all of the anticipated ones. I do my best to wear test and review as many hoop shoes I can… not just for U.S. consumers but also for those that live overseas and have other brands to choose from like ANTA, PEAK and Li-Ning.
Head over to Complex and check out their article then feel free to come back here and share your thoughts on the subject. Are there not enough ‘real’ reviewers available for consumers or is it that consumers don’t want ‘real’ reviews?
I think the majority of Shoe Reviewers just go over the basics. 60% of materials used to make shoe(sometimes their just guessing). I don’t think they do reviews to share knowledge to people but rather to show off the latest piece in their vast COLLECTION
This, plus even if you do, do a review you have to have some professionalism about it. Can’t just be the every slang, because you never know who might see this and want to hire you. The production has to be on point as well. Part of the problem is every pc/mac has a camera so most assume “well such an such did a video”, but fail to research or even ask about their setup.
Most people just want to be seen and not really educate the masses. Plus, let’s be real if the masses knew better would they still by the same re-hashed product? Everyone know’s the money made of shoes far exceeds what goes into them, so would they demand better prices?
Well I do agree that there are a lot of “reviews” around when it should really be called “unboxing” In any case this site I think is a step in the right direction because from 1 it is growing and that is nice to see especially since NW himself says that it’s a lot of work cause it’s a lot of shoes.
i watch all of nw’s reviews he goes so in depth with specs and info that it makes watching his vids entertaining. there are about 4 other reviewers im subscribed to but i usually skip their vids because as you stated their review usually should fall under the category of an unboxing rather than a review.
I don’t get the mindset behind unboxing…. anyone can go to the store and try a shoe on, even if you didn’t say win the raffle you can “gasp” see the box.
That’s right up there with the cats that post in a comment only saying “First” with nothing actually said.
I’ve honestly just stopped caring. The “major” brand give us crap quality at disturbingly high prices and the other ones bait and switch us by making lesser shoes than what the players wear.nwhen I was young if you go get a pair of jordan VI you knew you were getting the exact same shoe mike wore and they were great kicks. now pretty much everything is overhyped garbage not worth buying. Nike elite? They should come out of the gate as elite. Thats what we used to get anyway.
Exactly the main difference has always an will always be the custom fit orthotics that go into a shoe for say Westbrook. I remember growing up wanting to get what say Mike had, now I just want a legit shoe that will hold up and “save” my legs as tinker said in the 29 video.
Have the time I see a PE, I don’t want it because of a player having it, I want it because I like the colorway or style of it. I give a damn if Irving is rocking it or if mike miller is, but I’m not the target audience they are going after, an sounds like you aren’t either.
nope..I have a brain that works
most unboxing vids are just about showing off. i watch Kickgenius, not because of their reviews because i think they are biased toward Nike/Jordan, but the production and quality of their vids are second to none. NW has the best performance reviews, hands down. However, another performance review site I like to follow is the gymratreview, seems like a grassroots type of site. I think more performance review sites are good because evryone is different and their games are different.
Kick genius and nightwing are really the only reviewers I watch becuz no one knows what they are saying or doing anymore. Plus, they are beast at basketball
I write. ’em, I read them, and I watch a couple ( NW and KG mostly to see if we are thinking the same). Don’t do video because I hate my voice. I welcome all PERFORMANCE reviews. Could care less how the box looks or what outfits go with them.
This article FAILS to address the reason for a review.
People use reviews to help determine if they want/should buy a product or which product is best for their needs.
You think a sneakerhead is going to pass on buying the concord lows retro because a shoe review said the foam midsole is made stiffer or from a different material?
^^^ nope – main reason I stay away from reviewing the “popular” releases – I try to go for shoes people might not buy unless they were looking to play in them (or run). It doesn’t matter what reviewers day about a Kobe or a Lebron – they will sell. An Adidas CrazyFast? Those are performance only and need a review. Same with a shoe like the Spawn – new tech that people wonder about.
The only Shoe preformance reviewer I watch is NW( You can count Mr.Foamersimpson but 50% of what he said I cant understand) I tried to watch KickGenius because they are biased to Nike/JB they said that the UA Anatomix Spawn was SHIT! But for real it a beastly performance shoe,Even the Adidas Boost they said it was a Gimmick! Every Technology for them execpt for the tech of Nike/JB is just a Gimmick. Just because they played for Summer is Serious and get some free SHIT! from Nike they talktrash about Adidas,UA,etc.
Been a while since I’ve outed an article for weartesters, I often get a lot of flack for posting “no-name, rip-off, cheap” brands. But when I applied for this gig, Nightwing gave his blessing to post “interesting” and relevant reviews from local brands, that’s what I do. There may be only two Local brands here and only one of theme is good enough to not self-destruct on court. Simply put, as reviewers, we have to first and foremost, care about what goes out to our readers, that means not just reciting a spec list our a simple unboxing vid, this means, like what the weartesters crew does, is go out and play with the damn shoes and THEN give our feedback on whether or not they’re worth dropping your hard earned money for. We sacrifice our, time and money so you can make an informed decision. We’ll honestly tell you if a shoe is garbage or not.
As readers, you also have a responsibility to do your research, don’t rely on us (although we do enjoy your company) for making your final decision, do comparative reading, see if the kicks you plan to buy are consistent with the major performance reviewers out there (yes, including Mr.Foamersimpson and the boys at kickgenius) and then come to your own decision. We can’t tell you what to buy, but we can tell you what you’re getting if you do buy em.
In the end, buy what you want.