[ghaff]

I think the closest thing to shopping guides is review sites like Wirecutter or magazines/blogs that run end of year Best of... issues. I do have to some go to sources for gear in particular categories. And for some specific electronics that I need, I find that Wirecutter won’t steer me far wrong.

[parametrek]

Those are still pretty spammy and often full of misinformation. Wirecutter's flashlight recommendations have always been terrible and so I have no faith in them at all.

[Zak]

They came up with surprisingly good recommendations for lights: Thrunite Archer 2A, Manker E12, Mini Maglite Pro. Their general advice was also reasonable: adjustable focus is overrated, use rechargeable batteries.

It's not perfect. I'd have liked to see a recommendation for something more powerful with an 18650 battery and USB charging and perhaps something more pocket-friendly. They only mention color temperature briefly, while I consider it important (most people prefer neutral white after trying it outdoors). 2xAA is not a battery configuration I'm fond of. All that aside, these aren't bad recommendations. Maybe the Maglite is a little questionable, but you could do worse.

https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-flashlight/

Outdoor Gear Lab on the other hand did a terrible job - so bad that they pulled their article after it got an extremely negative reaction on /r/flashlight.

[ghaff]

In general I think that people with very specific perspectives and points of view on a narrow category don't care for general review sites. I never liked Consumer Reports for high-end camera reviews. But I've generally found Wirecutter to do a good job and they provide enough rationale for their choices to help me decide if they're making their decisions using the same criteria that I would.

Review sites mostly have various conflicts of interest but the best ones seem to manage them reasonably.