Gear of the Year Awards

Each year I like to do a wrap up on what was released and what was upgraded.  Here were the awards for 2012 and here they are for 2013.  In the past its been just me, writing in isolation.  I have tried to take points of view from around the community, but I have never actually reached out to folks.  This year I did something different.  I got a wide mix of folks to respond.  None were manufacturers, but I did that on purpose.  I want these awards to come from the community, not businesses.

A few rules: 1) only new stuff--emitter upgrades and new handle materials don't count (this is not a strict rule); and 2) things can only win once (this IS a strict rule).  Without the second rule the overall product of the year would dominate its specific category too.  The purpose is to highlight the good stuff out there and this second rule allows for more stuff to be included.

Here are the voters: 

The Gear Geeks Live crew:


Everyday Commentary Contributor:

Ben Schwartz

Knife Thursday Empresario:


Knowledgeable Folks in the Community:

Grayson Parker
Mike Rixman

Utility Talk Front Man:


The Funniest Guy on the USN:

Justin Laffer

Each was sent a ballot of categories and each filled out the ballot.  Here are the categories:

Overall Product of the Year
Company of the Year
Best Value
Most Innovative Tool

Best Production Knife
Best Custom Knife

Best Production Light
Best Custom Light

Best Pack
Best Pen
Best Multitool
Best Accessory

Best EDC-related Crowd Funded Project
Best Website/YouTube/Podcast/Instagram
Community Leader

I will publish a group of ballots on Friday, Tuesday, and then I will release my ballot on the following Friday.  

I think you will be impressed with the overall quality of responses, the depth of the answers, and just how varied folks are.  Feel free to chime in in the comments section.  The best ballot in the comments, as chosen by me, will win the Kizer Ki3404-3 I reviewed last month.  You can comment on any of the articles listing a ballot or on this article.