Splitboard.com Forums

For the last week or so I have been trying to find a pair of snow pants that would excel while in all aspects of splitboarding. But unfortunately there is no real library of reviews that break down the multitude of snow products on the market. So I contacted chris or BC rider recently about setting up an entire section to peer reviews of all the different products that we wear and have tried and failed with. So many of us snowboarders turn splitboarders have used all sorts of gear and it would be awesome to have a place where we can put feed back for our personal history with gear. I am going to start brainstorming and would love to hear some ideas from all members on what they would like to see in the gear review section. My foundation for thinking comes from the extensive gear review forum on mtbr.com which is a mountain biking site. Briefly, it has all the various companies listed and under each company is all products currently on the market and from years past. Under each product is a rating and review by any member of the site and their experience with the product. Furthermore the members full line of current gear in use is displayed allowing all members to get a good understanding of what is popular and such. I as many others on this site and on the web love shopping around for gear, and especially love pulling the trigger on a new addition to my collection. Chris and I and anyone else interested in helping in constructing this section would love as much feedback as possible.

Cheers Ryan

I'm happy to help. I'm a total gear whore/monger myself, and a dirtbag cheapskate to boot.

I like the mtbr model, and agree it would be a useful addition to the site.

Here's a link to the example http://www.mtbr.com/reviewscrx.aspx

Looks like it's for form based as opposed to forum based which means it would take more knowledge, time, and energy to create something similar. Maybe there is a plug-in or a generic review template we can incorporate? Any research help is appreciated!

I was originally just thinking of adding a Review forum where the only posts would be product reviews.

In most CMS's, you could set up a custom content type that would be similar to the mtbr.com form. You would then grant permission for members to add reviews using the custom content type. I'm not sure if that type of functionality is generally available inside forum software, but maybe ...

Maybe I'm an idiot, but I thought that's what the "gear room" was for. I guess it could be both

The nice thing about the mtbr model is that a (hopefully) comprehensive list of products are posted in an organized way in categories by the site administrator, and anyone can review the item. They don't get slapped willy-nilly on a forum. The forum model would work if EVERYone would do a search first and add their two cents to a single thread covering the topic in a focused way that others could then also find. But having 20 different threads on a particular pair of boots, or where the thread wanders off into the weeds through discussion of mods, trip reports, etc, detracts from the pure review focus. Meandering discussions are great too, don't get me wrong, and that is what forums are for. But for straight-up, first-hand experience with a product it is hard to beat a dedicated review area where you aren't responding to each other, but rather responding to the single question: 'how does product X perform?' I'd be into it.

+1 to the mtbr style review page...I use it extensively when looking for new mtb gear. Wonder if phpBB has a MOD for something like this?