I've been sitting on this for a while. As usually things came up and it had to be shelved for a while. (Several months) So here goes. A few months back I was sent from magazines from Low-Range to check out. They actually sent me every issue from the beginning. This was great since I was able to read and compare them.
First thoughts. The first issue was HARD to read. I ended up skimming through it and trying to read it a few times. The problem was the writing. (Copy Editor not editing perhaps.) Reading the articles was like reading them on a forum. For instance there was an article about a trail ride. Well, there was very little about the trail itself. The writer ended up writing about the his ride in someone elses truck. The other little thing that was a bit annoying was the over use of 'I'. I did this, I saw that...it gets a bit annoying when every sentence started off like that. It's more difficult to write that way but makes it a lot more interesting since the focus isn't on one person.
Then article on the rides; They used a Q&A format with the owner. The thing I would of liked to see id more specs on their ride. None of the pictures showed neat or interesting aspecs of their ride. They were all taken from the trail ride which isn't bad but some posed pictures would be nice to see.
Another problem I noticed but it's an easy mistake was to pimp their sponser. Every chance they got , it was named. They did have an article dedicated to the shop but it wasn't localized to the one article. Perhaps it was more noticable because it was all in one issue and not spread over several issues.
The other thing I really don't like is how some of the pictures are stretched to fit a block. It would be better to either crop the the picture closer so it fits or use a different picture. The other thing I noticed was how one Jeep would appear multiple times at one event so you only see 3 different Jeeps for the whole event. It would be nice to see more variety.
Ok, so what's good. The pictures are pretty good. The
Memorial Day Tribute was the most interesting thing in the issue. It could have used some editing but overall was pretty interesting. Now, it had little to do with Jeeps BUT it was nice to read. The old pictures were nice too.
Now lets fast forward a few issues. Doug Updyke, was a good addition to the staff. He uses 'I' a lot less. Overall, the pictures are more varied so you don't see the same things over and over again. The text when from a huge font size a blind many could read to something a bit more normal. There are more articles from different subject matter so it isn't one trip and a bunch of rides from that same trip. I was happy to see the continuing of the old vs. new. They've added specs to most of the rides they cover. Still not close up's of interesting stuff they might have done to the Jeep.
They still stretch pictures though. In some cases it looks alright if it's a portrate of a vehicle but when you have people, it just looks weird. That goes for squishing the picture too.
So what's the verdict. I really like how it shows what's going on on the other coast. Most magazines focus on rockcrawling, which is cool but, it's nice to see what others are doing who don't live out west. Low-Range is a small, family run magazine and still feels like it. It's always a problem when a magazine gets large and then starts to kiss up to their sponsers to the point where any article becomes a infomerical. The format seems to work but could still use some fine tuning. I'd like to see some close ups too. It looks like everyone might be using a Point & Shoot digital camera. This isn't a bad thing since most magazines also use them. But having a DSLR would make for some more interesting pictures. But then they would need a more dedicated photographer which would be good for stadic pictures for rides, features and cover shots.
In any case, if you haven't already, check it out.
Anyone else read Low-Range or subscribe to it?
On a side note, I think the smaller magazines are more interesting, Crawl, Low-Range, 4x4Builder, etc... Although there is one mainstream magazine I'll continue to read, 4WD &SU. They have stayed true to what they do. I've been reading this since the mid-80's.
I do like Rick Pewe and what he's done to Peterson's but it's a bit too general for my taste. Fourwheeler Magazine will always put a bad taste in my mouth since I actually went down there to visit with John Thompson. This was right before he left. They had already lost their Technical Editor and for a few months was running with a two-person staff, if you can call it that. Fourwheeler is a bit more mainsteam then all of the other magazines. It's also the oldest. They had some interesting articles in the past but I haven't bought an issue in a LONG time. I haven't bothered with JP since Pewe left. After the whole
POR: JP Magazine vs. Extreme 4x4 TV[/url, I don't how they carry themselves online.
I hate magazines where everything is good. 
