At Stridewise, our product reviews aren’t just thorough; they’re downright obsessive. We dive deep into the nuances of durable apparel and accessories, from boots to backpacks, ensuring every recommendation is backed by rigorous analysis, expert insight, and a passion for quality.
But we don’t just sit behind a computer and read about how things are done—we go into the field, see for ourselves what goes into these products, and meet the people who create them.
At the time of writing, we visited Spain, England, Indonesia, Canada, Mexico, and Guatemala. We traversed the entire United States to get our hands as dirty as possible, going as far as learning cobbling and bootmaking ourselves.
How We Write Helpful Reviews
We spend an enormous amount of time researching, interviewing, traveling, and, most importantly, using the products we review.
Reviewing boots is where we started. It’s how we honed our craft. Our reviews on the best boots, like Red Wing’s Classic Moc and Thursday’s Captain boot, result from years of wear and scrutiny.
We don’t just look at the boots, we live in them, pushing them to their limits to see if they truly hold up. For one example, we wore Thursday’s Hero boot for a year before putting pen to paper.
- Red Wing Moc Toe Review: 3 Years Old – Do The Boots Hold Up?
- Red Wing Iron Ranger Review: 6 Years In the Ultimate Casual Boot
When it comes to the best canvas backpacks, we’re not going to publish basic comparisons. We construct elaborate spreadsheets to dissect each option, considering every factor from style to functionality, ensuring our readers spend their money wisely.
Behind the scenes, our editorial team is constantly sharing oodles of Google sheets comparing every element of a product, carefully weighing a product’s strengths against its popularity so we know the right way to contextualize reviews. Is it worth the hype, or a hidden gem that deserves the spotlight?
Or maybe we find out that a brand isn’t well known because it’s just not very good. Those reviews are less exciting, but we consider them just as important to write.
- 12 Alternatives to the Filson Journeyman Backpack: Waxed Canvas Backpacks
Our bread and butter is boots, but as you can see, our coverage has grown to encompass all “casual stuff that lasts a long time.” Our dedication is evident in our four-year, four-pair review of Iron Heart jeans, where we explore just how “the world’s toughest jeans” stand up to serious wear.
- Iron Heart Review: 4 Years in 4 Pairs of the World’s Toughest Jeans
We apply the same meticulous standards to accessories and outerwear, as seen in our decade-plus reviews of Saddleback leather bags and Barbour Bedale jackets.
- Saddleback Leather Bag Review: 11-Year-Old Ultimate Leather Bag
We’ve tested an eyewatering amount of briefcases, learning what makes the best leather briefcase and creating the ultimate guide to buying a leather briefcase. (As a rule, we like to keep everything we review casual, but we’re not averse to a tweed-and-briefcase office outing.)
- Barbour Bedale Review: A 10-Year Review of the World’s Most British Jacket
Our Method: The Madness to Our Methodology
- Research a shortlist of contenders
- Select the best product or products from the shortlist
- Use the product extensively
- Write unbiased reviews with journalistic standards
- Expert’s review and fact check.
Our process involves elaborate comparisons and research using spreadsheets and data accumulated over nearly a decade of searching for the highest quality apparel, boots, and accessories.
We compare, contrast, and color-code, delving into dozens of variables for each product, from performance under various conditions to the subtleties of style and construction.
This isn’t just about finding the best; it’s about understanding why it’s the best and for whom it’s suited. When we review work boots, we get guys who work to wear them.
Here are the stages of everything we review:
- Initial Research: We go all over. We’ll ask our 90,000 YouTube subscribers for recommendations and stories, pester brands with incessant questions about their sourcing and construction, and trawl Reddit and forums for user reviews and recommendations. We spend more time on r/goodyearwelt, r/frugalmalefashion, r/buyitforlife, and The Fedora Lounge than is healthy.
- Select a Product: We review from the buying process all the way to the wear in. How transparent is the product page? Why doesn’t it say which tannery makes the leather? How easy is the ordering process? (That answer varies wildly; most Indonesian boot brands don’t have websites and need you to order over Whatsapp!)
- Wear the Heck Out of It: Whether it’s boots or gear, we stomp around in them long enough that every comments section has someone yelling at us to clean our boots. (This is even more common when reviewing white sneakers.) Most other online reviewers just take a product out of the box and post a review of their impressions, but the stuff we like at Stridewise is designed to improve with wear and use, so we always make sure to use them long past the break in period.
- Do Actual Journalism: When we’re satisfied with how much we’ve used something, we strap ourselves to the beast and write as much as we can without Google penalizing our article for being too verbose. (It’s true, Big G has word limits we gotta work with.) But we don’t just post our opinions: we balance our thoughts with what other reviewers and Redditors are saying online, and we speak to the brands themselves to get answers that go past the product page and address (or refuse to address) common concerns.
Our obsessiveness isn’t that healthy for our interpersonal relationships, but it’s great for building a site like this. The analytics back us up: people like to read a lot of in depth information before making a “buy it for life” kind of purchase, and we’re proud to say we deliver all the facts and on-the-ground reporting that any customer requires to make a purchase.
When we recommend a product, it’s not because it’s good enough. It’s because, in our overeducated opinion, it’s the best option available. We overthink so our readers can enjoy the simplicity of confidently making an informed choice.
Stridewise isn’t just about reviews; it’s a deep dive into the benefits, history, community, and culture of quality of boots, bags, and apparel that are built to last, guided by a commitment to honesty, detail, and the belief that our readers deserve nothing less. But most importantly, it’s about helping people save time and find the best products possible.
