Last year Newschoolers unveiled the newly revamped Review Section. The review section has tons of potential, but is greatly underused. In the coming months many people will be wondering about what new equipment to get for the next season, and instead of checking reviews will post in the forums. Sure, it's easier to post in the forums, but generally the answers you get are simply the skis that the poster has or is getting, not really what is best for the original poster. So the hope for this article is to help people use the review section more in the hopes that the first stop for potential buyers is there instead of posting "what skis should I get" in Gear Talk.

First, where do you find this review section. The answer is really easy, under the "Gear" tab on the menu bar you'll find "reviews." With such an easy location, this section should really be used more.

So now that I've found the hidden review section on this site, how do I use it. Well here's where the newly revamped review section excels. It's very easy to find the gear you're looking for. If you know exactly what you want, just search for it. If you just want to browse through some boots, just click on the "boots" link on the left hand side.

Now you can just keep going through pages and pages of boots, or you can use the sorting feature on the left slide to really narrow down what you're looking for.

With such an easy system, this should be the first stop for anyone who is looking for new equipment. However, there is one downfall, the lack of reviews. We all use ski gear, so once you've used it, take the time to let others know how you liked it. It's very simple to do, and can really benefit people who are looking into using the same gear you've already tried out. Whether you've liked it or not, let your opinion be heard. Here's how easy it is.

Step 1: Click on "Review Gear."

You can either access this from the review section itself, or from the "Gear" tab on the menu bar by clicking on "write review"

Step 2: Select the product you want to review.

Some of the products have already been reviewed and can be selected from a drop down list, others you might be the first to review them. Just because a piece of equipment has already been reviewed doesn't mean you shouldn't write one, because it's all combined together to get the most honest reviews out there. The more something has been reviewed the more information someone can get about it. But we'll get into that later.

Step 3: Write your review.

Maybe you're not the greatest writer, or you don't really feel like getting in depth. Just use the slide bars to say how you feel the equipment preformed in each category. If you want to say something extra about the gear, awesome, just write it in the text box.

Step 4: Upload a picture.

You may not need to do this, some of the gear already his photos in the database, but if there isn't one already, just add one real quick to make the review easier to find.

Once you've submitted your review, it's up for everyone to see. And like I said before, the more reviews on a single piece of equipment, the more honest the review is. When you go to look at a review you'll notice a top section that has a photo and the results of the slide bar that you moved when you wrote the review. However, you might notice that sometimes it won't be the same as your review. That's because this top section is the average of all the reviews on the gear, so it gives the reader a quick overview of all the ratings on each category. On the right hand side you'll see the product information. As well as a rating, just like the upvote/downvote system in the forums or for photos and videos, the review section is also rateable in order for people to get an idea about how accurate the review is.

Below the general overview of the equipment you'll see the individual reviews. This shows that individual users slide bar results, as well as any text they've written.

You'll also notice that the individual review is rateable as well. This way you can see if someone is just rating something super high or super low to throw off the overall rating, if something has been downrated a lot, it's probably inaccurate. On top of that, there is a comments section where users can keep each other honest, or possibly even ask questions to the reviewer.

As an added bonus or incentive, writing reviews can help you gain positive karma on newschoolers. So those of you who are looking to increase your e-fame, start reviewing all of your equipment and see how fast it adds up!