Philip Fibiger

For a while now, message boards and mailing lists have been the best place to find product reviews and troubleshooting information. Want to find out how to add a larger capacity hard drive to your Tivo? Hit the Tivo Community Forums. Want to know which 4 megapixel micro camera you should buy? Look at what owners are saying at the Digital Photo Review Forums.

As the computer and internet adoption continues to soar, it’s no longer just niche electronics goods. The internet offers insane completists/collectors/nuts a place to chat about the minutiae of almost anything. You no longer need to guess which product might fit your needs and hope it works out. You don’t need buy an enthusiast’s magazine and go with one editor’s opinion. You can harness the collective knowledge of obsessive collectors. Want to know what the absolute best value in an automatic watch under $300 is? Want to find the best water resistant 20 degree down sleeping bag? How about the best single-battery LED flashlight? The information’s all out there, and pretty easy to find. These forums let you find the absolute best item in a particular category. What follows is my rundown of available forums, and what sort of information you could collect with a couple of quick searches. Feel free to add your own.

Candlepower Forums
Whether you’re looking for a flashlight that will literally turn night into day, or a small light that will fit on a keychain or in a pocket, these guys have reviewed everything. See also The LED Museum for more info.

Poor Man’s Watch Forum
Full of discussion of watches that cost less than a grand. In particular I like their list of Top 20 Best Buys (with both sub $500 and sub $1000 sections) that they’ve compiled. The Hamilton Khaki and Invicta 8926 are both particularly handsome, and watches one would never know about just browsing at a department store.

Blade Forums
Lots of discussion of locking mechanisms, the benefits of various types of blade steel, which multitool offers the best selection of tools or holds up the longest, and techniques for sharpening a knife. Whether you’re looking for a small locking pocket knife, a great gentleman’s swiss army knife, a pretty serious survival folder, or a stocked multi-tool the information here will point you in the right direction.

Backpacker Gear Forum
Most comfortable boots, weatherproof lightweight raingear, roomiest tent under 7 pounds, whatever you’re looking for there’s a load of information here. They’ve also got a “hot deals” thread that’ll point you toward some incredible closeout deals on high quality gear.

Howard Forums
Having trouble choosing a cellphone provider? Looking for a new handset? You can find handsets with the best reception, longest talk time, the highest resolution camera. Once you’ve got your phone, they’ve got information on getting wallpapers/ringtones, guides to unlocking the phone, pretty much anything you’d want to do.

E-Gullet Forum
While it isn’t about gear per se, there is a fair amount of discussion about kitchen gadgets/tools. Inside the various forums you can discussions of the best cocktail shaker, the required implements for baking bread, or the relative merits of enameled cast iron vs. stainless steel dutch ovens. The forums are full of professional chefs (including some you’ve heard of), and the amount of information is staggering.

Digital Photo Review
The reviews on this site are great, and pretty useful, but the real treasure trove is found when you drill down into the manufacturers forums. Considering a Canon SD10? Find out what people who have been using the camera for a year have to say about it. Find professional photographers weighing the pros and cons of the Nikon D70 vs. the Canon Digital Rebel. They’ll also point you toward great deals on cameras and accessories.

Chowhound Forums
If this list is all about harnessing the power of the internet to choose the “best” of a particular class of item, then even though there are no physical goods involved, this is one of the most important. The chowhound forums, while powered by incredibly outdated software, are an absolute goldmine. What better way to trade in cool and impress your friends/aquaintances than to choose a dynamite restaurant for your next trip out. Whether you’re looking for the best chinese dumplings in all of Los Angeles or the best steak frites in Philadelphia, chowhound knows everything.