While my YouTube channel is primarily focused on outdoor adventures and activities, from time to time I review products that relate to my wider range of interests. Whether it's outdoor gear, aquarium equipment, technology, or something else that I believe may be useful to my audience, I only review products that I think could genuinely provide value to viewers.
One thing I want to make absolutely clear is that every review I publish reflects my honest opinion.
It doesn't matter whether I purchased the product with my own money or whether it was sent to me free of charge by a manufacturer or retailer. My responsibility is to my viewers, not to the company that supplied the product.
There is often a misconception that receiving a product for free somehow encourages positive reviews. In reality, "free" products are not really free when you consider the time and effort involved in creating a quality review.
Let's look at a recent example.
I was gifted an aquarium heater worth £49 on the understanding that I would review it and publish a video on my YouTube channel. At first glance, that sounds like a good deal. After all, I get to keep a product worth £49.
However, producing a review involves much more than simply opening a box and sharing a few thoughts.
A typical review requires:
- 1–2 hours researching and scripting the video
- 1–2 hours filming and recording footage
- 5–6 hours editing, post-production, and uploading the finished video
That amounts to approximately 10 hours of work.
If I were to sell the heater second-hand, I would probably receive around £30 for it. Now let's compare that to the value of the time invested.
Using the current UK National Living Wage of £12.71 per hour, 10 hours of work equate to £127.10. In other words, the time invested in producing the review is worth considerably more than the product itself.
This is why I have absolutely no reason to give an artificially positive review simply because a product was supplied free of charge. If a product performs well, I'll say so. If it has flaws, I'll point those out too.
The reality is that if a company chooses not to send me products in the future because they dislike an honest review, I lose very little. My credibility with viewers is far more valuable than any free product.
The purpose of my review videos has always been simple: to help viewers make informed purchasing decisions. I want people to understand the strengths, weaknesses, and overall value of a product before spending their hard-earned money.
Trust takes a long time to build and only a moment to lose. That's why every review on this channel is based on honesty, transparency, and real-world experience.
At the end of the day, my viewers come first, and that will never change.
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