Hello! Cameron here. So. A few years ago, I kicked off a review series, PK Raves, focusing on running shoes. 4 years on, 10 reviews done and over 3,000 reads between them, I'm firing up the reviews again, and this time, I'm taking it to the next level. Say hello to the new product testing series, 3C Reviews, a collaboration with PowerKnapp and my personal project, Cam'sCamCorder.
When I first did PK Raves (which can be read here) it's aim was to attract organic traffic to PowerKnapp's website and to keep me up to date on some of the latest sports shoes on the market. This worked, bringing (at the time of writing!) over 3,200 unique people to the PowerKnapp website with people reading these reviews all over the world, from the USA to South-East Asia! During Covid, I reflected on how people seemed to appreciate an objective and informative approach to my product reviews, using my own experience and technical knowledge. And so I began to form a plan to reboot the series and come back bigger than ever - enter 3C Reviews.
Whilst the PK Raves series exclusively reviewed Running Shoes, the 3C Review series will, instead, overtime, look to explore a range of sport products. What type of products will be based on what the PowerKnapp Store is looking to stock, and, more importantly, viewer/reader feedback on what you guys would like the series to cover moving forwards. For this first phase, 3C Reviews will be focusing on Knee Length Compression Sports Socks. And this time, it's not just a blog - it will be vlog as well! And you can see this introduction in video format below from my personal channel Cam'sCamCorder!
There will be 10 reviews to enjoy. They will include compression socks from across 5 different compression/sock brands including CEP, 2XU, SKINS, Compressport and Hilly, covering some of the UK's main sports compression specialists. Each review will provide a thorough insight on each pair of socks, something you will find useful whether it be you're looking to replace your old knee length compression socks or if you're buying some for the first time.
The Socks to be Tested
Various factors about the socks will be evaluated, and converted into a score to give each sock a rating out of 100. This keeps it simple and enables everyone whose reading/viewing to easily compare each of products we review.
So what exactly will I be looking at and taking into account when rating/scoring these products? The reviews can be broken down in to two parts:
3C's Tester Feedback
For 3C Reviews, I wanted to make sure I was reviewing these socks fairly and taking into account more than just my own experience. For each sock, I have 4 volunteers who have tried and tested these socks across a variety of activities in addition to providing their personal feedback about:
- Comfort: Were they nice to wear?
- 'Wow' factor: Did they feel exciting or special to have and use?
- Fit: Did they feel big/small, not tight enough or too tight?
- Aesthetics: Do they look good? How well was the style/colour received?
- Quality: Were these socks perceived to be of high or low quality?
- Value: How much would the testers pay for these socks given their experience vs. the actual cost?
- Marketed features: I ask the testers about how much they agree about certain features the brands say/claim the socks do.
-... and any other comments they may have - even down to how the socks survived being washed!
These scores will account for 40% of the scoring.
Desk Research
Here we will discuss a range of factors. These include:
- The range of style and colour options: More variety the better, appealing to a wider audience and looks.
- Marketing and what the Science says; does what the brand says line up with any evidence?
- Price: Does the price reflect the quality? How does it compare to other socks?
- Size Ranges: How small/large does each sock cater for? How broad a range is each individual sock size designed for? How inclusive are they to various body size/shapes?
- Ethical Operations and Manufacturing: Do they use sustainably sourced or recyclable materials in each sock? Are they manufactured in countries with adequate workers rights/pay?
- Online Reviews: The internet has a great wealth of information and feedback, so I will be analysing and going through online reviews of each sock to highlight some of the best and worst bits the internet have to say about each sock.
These factors will account for a total of 60% of the reviews.
A few fantastic people trying the socks (and me too!)
Now, these scores aren't entirely fixed - I like to keep things a little flexible! If I think there are comments about the socks that don't really fit into the above discussion points, whether they be really good, or potentially controversial or negative comments, I'll adjust the scores to reflect these criticisms, if they are deemed fair.
Each review will be released as a blog post, which can be found here on the PowerKnapp blog, and as a video, which can also be found here, but also on Youtube under my personal project Cam'sCamCorder. So if you don't want to miss a blog/post/video, subscribe to both! I wanted to do both formats as some may prefer to listen and watch whilst others may find a blog post more useful/beneficial to skim read through.
Moreover, with each review we do, the PowerKnapp Store will look to do offers and discounts to celebrate the release of each review - including this one! So even more incentive to keep an eye out for each subsequent blog post and video! The PowerKnapp Store will stock some of the socks being reviewed - so we will make their 3C Review Score clear on the website to help you shop.
Use the coupon '3CINTRO' at checkout for 20% off anything on the site! Offer ends - 29/08/2022
If all goes well, we might not only do a second series, but also explore further product types, like nutrition, accessories and shoes! So, comment below or message us a product type you'd like us to review in the future - or even a brand you'd like us to explore. You never know, we may inspired and take on your suggestion!
Excited? If so, subscribe here or take a look at Cam'sCamCorder for uploads in the very near future.
I hope you enjoy them as much as we have testing them!