VoltVerdict

The VoltVerdict mission is simple: to create world’s best reviews.

Have you ever wanted to buy an outdoor product and been stumped about which product is best? Or, worse, bought a product only to learn later that you didn’t buy the right one for your needs? I have, and that is why I started VoltVerdict.

We believe the world’s best gear reviews are based on objective, independent testing of each and every product, with ratings, awards, and expert insights that help you select the right products for your specific needs, budget, and interests.

We describe our work as “Reviews You Can Rely On” because of our commitment to creating independent, objective, side-by-side comparative reviews based on extensive hands-on test results.

Here’s how we do it:

1. We select the top products in each category.
2. We buy all the products we review ourselves, at retail just like you, to help assure complete objectivity and independence in our ratings. We will not accept free evaluation units or paid endorsement from manufacturers.
3. Our product testing teams put the top products through detailed side-by-side testing plans, both in the lab and in the field, and carefully assess performance, ease of use, and reliability.
4. We rank the products, explain why, and give awards to the best.
5. After our testing and reviews are finished, we keep many products to keep as a calibration set for future reviews (and sell the rest).

VoltVerdict is a free service that is entirely reader-supported. We select and review products objectively and independently. We only make money when you click on our affiliate links and buy products we’ve reviewed, which helps support our testing work.

If you click on a retailer’s link on our site and make any purchase, the retailer will contribute a portion of the sale to help support this site. It won’t cost you anything extra, and it’s a simple way to help us fund our reviews. Thanks for your support of our work!

Our review process starts with selection: we look at hundreds of products to determine the top contenders in each category. We then purchase ourselves the top contenders for detailed hands-on comparison testing.

In the end, our mission is to help you find the best product for your situation, keeping in mind that each person’s needs are unique. To achieve that goal we publish the scores of each product relative to its competition, both overall and across important attributes for each category. That means you can find the one that best meets your individual needs.

You’ll find that our Editors’ Choice award goes to those products we believe are the very best overall, and you’ll learn why we selected them by reading our detailed reviews.

Our Best Buy award goes to quality products that offer the most bang-for-the-buck.

Our Top Pick award goes to those products that stand out for specific applications, and our review will explain the details of why and what for. All our Top Pick awards have a specific “for something” as part of the award, which describes the specific application we feel the product is especially well suited for.

Our reviews should provide the information you need to select the right gear for your budget and needs, enabling you to buy with confidence.