[Lil' Lavery]

What type of products would you be unboxing and reviewing? Electronics? Tools? COTS components?


I'm a little confused as to the value here. For something like computer components, I get a lot of value seeing a video of a motherboard or CPU cooler (or whatever) outside of the box. I can learn about its fit into cases, accessibility of mounting holes, the experience of the YouTuber while installing the components, etc.

For FRC components, I'm less sure there's utility from unboxing and cursory reviews. There's not a whole lot of value added by seeing you unbox some new extrusion. I might be able to gain a bit while following along with a video reviewer assembling a new COTS gearbox per instructions. However, the type of reviews I really want for a COTS gearbox is how it held up to competition use. Seeing the form factor and mounting arrangement for a speed controller provides some moderate value, but once again, the real knowledge comes from teams really putting a speed controller through its paces in the heat of a build season and subsequent competition.

That's the problem with virtually every new FRC product. Until it's been tested in the shop and then on the field, reviews need to be taken with a grain of salt. That's why many teams shy away from being "early adopters" of technology, and why FIRST has "beta teams" for control system updates.