Jimbob, agreed! In terms of spotting 'fake reviews' it's certainly very tough. My general opinion now is that I stick to the products I know - generally when buying from the UK based teams (Montane, Rab, ME, Alpkit etc) I'd pretty much trust all of their kit!
In terms of reviews, I often feel the same frustrations! I think here, UKC and a couple of other places are where I'd generally trust people! As well as independent shops where staff will be very happy to share personal experiences (Needle Sports have been helpful in the past, Climbers Shop, Taunton Leisure, Cairngorms Mountain Sports etc) - plus my local Cotswold are amazing - the staff will be honest about anything to do with kit or their passion for outdoors stuff.
(And to clarify, my comment was just a general one, certainly not towards yourself or anyone as I share the same frustrations!)