How we test, and why we buy everything ourselves

Every product we review is bought at retail with our own money. We do not accept review units, because a free product creates an obligation whether or not anyone intends it to.

Testing runs for a minimum of two weeks of ordinary use. We are more interested in how something holds up than how it feels in the first hour, and most products are fine in the first hour.

We use affiliate links. If you buy through one, we may earn a commission at no cost to you. Those links are added after a verdict is written, never before, and no commission rate has ever changed a recommendation. Where a product is not worth buying, we say so and link nowhere.

When we get something wrong, we update the review and note what changed and when. Corrections stay visible rather than being quietly edited away.

Disclosure: we may earn a commission if you buy through links on this page. That never affects what we recommend.