Don, absolutely read everything you can, good and bad. But it is best to try one out if you can (I couldn't do this, living in Australia, but I researched, decided and have been very pleased - incidentally, my mates were able to try my Black Widows, and all of them own one now). But just know that the bigger a company or identity gets, the more criticism they will attract. This is true of Bear, Howard Hill (the person and the bows), Black Widow, Trad Gang... the list goes on. Get big, and you will attract criticism. Remain small, and you won't. Which is fine, normal, and just how life works. The little one-man band bow companies attract virtually nothing but appreciative comments, on the whole (unless something goes really bad with a deal - but mostly this doesn't happen). If you hang around the internet jungle long enough, you'll see Black Widow copping flak. But the happy customers outweigh the unhappy ones by far. That's my two-bob-worth.