How we test
Most gear sites let you assume everything was tested. This page exists so you never have to assume anything here.
What the name means
Guide Tested describes the standard the gear is held to, not a claim that every item was worn on a trail. The person behind this site is a licensed tour guide who works in hot, dry, high-sun conditions, and every product is judged against the criteria that matter there: how it handles heat, how it handles sun, how it handles dust, and whether it survives being used hard rather than owned carefully.
Some of that judgement comes from equipment used in the field. Most of it comes from research. Each article tells you which, at the top of the page and on each individual product, using the three tiers below.
The three tiers
| Tier | What it means | What we will and won’t say |
|---|---|---|
| Tested | Used personally on guided trips, in real conditions. | First-person experience, with the dates and conditions it applies to. Never generalised beyond what was actually done. |
| Owned | Owned and handled, but not put through field use. | Build, materials, fit and finish. No claims about long-term durability or performance under load. |
| Researched | Not owned. Assessed from manufacturer specifications, independent published tests, and patterns across real customer reviews. | What the evidence supports and where it is thin. Never a description of using it. |
Most articles here are Researched. That is a deliberate choice, and saying so is the point of this page.
What research actually means here
A research-based assessment is not a rewrite of a manufacturer’s marketing copy. For each product we read the specification against the requirement, look for independent testing where it exists, and read through customer reviews looking for the failures that repeat — the seam that goes, the sole that delaminates, the zip that jams with dust in it. Patterns across hundreds of real buyers are evidence. A single glowing review is not.
Where the evidence is thin or contradictory, the article says so rather than filling the gap with confident prose.
What we will never do
- Invent a testing session, a date, a temperature, or a location.
- Write in the first person about a product nobody here has used.
- Publish a review, testimonial, or quote from a person who does not exist.
- Quote a price. We link to the retailer so you see the live one.
- Recommend something purely because it pays a higher commission.
The first three are prohibited by the US Federal Trade Commission’s rule on fake reviews and testimonials (16 CFR Part 465), which carries penalties per violation. They are also just dishonest. Both reasons are sufficient.
How this is enforced
Not by good intentions. Every article carries a machine-readable evidence tier, and the site refuses to build if the text makes a first-person use claim on a product whose tier does not support it, if a price appears anywhere, or if an affiliate link is missing its disclosure. A person reviews and approves every article before it publishes.
How this is paid for
Affiliate commissions. If you buy through a link here, the retailer pays a percentage at no extra cost to you. It does not change what gets recommended, and every such link is marked (paid link) where it appears. Full detail on the affiliate disclosure page.
Corrections
If something here is wrong, tell us and it gets fixed, with the change noted on the page. Review dates are shown so you can see how current an assessment is.