Manifesto
We don't take sponsors. Our rankings don't either.
Every gear review site you've used was paid to write that review. GearVote isn't.
The problem
Sponsored placements. Affiliate cuts that influence what gets ranked. "Best of" lists that mysteriously favor brands with the biggest marketing budgets. The whole gear-review industry runs on this — and you can tell, because the recommendations rarely match what actually performs in the field.
What we do instead
GearVote rankings come from people who actually use the gear. One vote per person, per item. No sponsored slots, no editorial team taking briefs, no "premium partner" tier that bumps brands up the list. The community ranks. We don't.
The never list
- We never take payment to rank gear higher.
- We never accept editorial briefs from brands.
- We never modify rankings based on advertiser relationships.
- We never hide downvotes.
- We never delete reports because a brand asked us to.
About the affiliate links
We do use affiliate links — that's what funds the site. But the link points to whatever the community ranked highest, not whoever pays the highest commission. If a Patagonia shell beats out a brand we'd earn more from, the Patagonia shell wins. The list is the list.
How the rankings work
Every gear item has an upvote and a downvote count. The net score is upvotes minus downvotes. By default we sort by community rating and vote volume — you can re-sort by price, rating, or newest. Filters narrow by activity, conditions, and specs. The full data is visible. No hidden weighting. No editorial overrides.
The bet we're making
Real users with skin in the game make better picks than paid reviewers. Communities like Reddit's running and trail subs have been quietly beating professional reviewers for years — they just didn't have a structured home to do it in. That's what we're building.
How you can help
- Vote on gear you actually own. One click. Your experience is the whole signal.
- Submit gear that's missing. If your favorite running shoe isn't here yet, add it.
- Flag what's broken. Bad links, items that no longer exist — report them so the catalog stays honest.
- Share this with someone who's drowning in sponsored review sites.