The only hammock I've ever seen up close or slept in is the first one I bought 3 months ago, which is part of the reason I bought the onewind cheapo. Out of curiosity, a point of comparison and having a backup. For me... $45... any one of them with the same dimensions, kit inclusions and decent reviews would have been just as good as any other... for all I know.
Not everyone "knows" you and what your motivations might be in the recommendations you make. Being a "good guy" by requesting a discount code to, "share with memebers here" sounds great. I didn't watch the review video, but I "did" see that you also share that discount code with everyone and anyone via your YT channel. I would hazard a guess that HF and YT aren't the only places it's been posted.
You stated yourself that you actively solicit companies to provide you with free gear in exchange for YT reviews. What a cynic might see is... it's great for onewind to sell more and get their branding out. Highly cost effective advertising. It's great for you because you not only get free gear, but can encourage more sales in a short period of time with a discount code so you make a little bank, on top of free gear, from your affiliate link. It's not exactly in your best interest to "bite the hand that feeds you"... especially if you want a free UQ out of the deal too. Right?
Also, limiting your reviews/recommendations only to those companies willing to provide you with free gear, at least in my mind, doesn't necessarily give you an unbiased or qualitative comparitive view against competing products. Perceptually, anyway.
You have to be aware that there are vast numbers of people that create accounts and share recommendations "solely" on those products that give them the biggest kickbacks. They may not actually even "use" or have a personal vested interest in those products... they're just cashing in on the unboxing/first impressions video market and converting free gear to cash on eBay while earning a little pocket change from affiliate links. In the minds of others, there is no denying that makes their recommendations highly suspect.
That doesn't make you a bad guy and shouldn't be taken as a personal attack, but I don't think you can blame people for considering that pretty much the very definition of "shilling".
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