How we research

Outside Picks guides are research-based. Unless a guide says otherwise, we have not used the products in it. This page explains where the information comes from and how a product makes the cut.

Where the information comes from

• Specs. Dimensions, weights, capacities, wattages and prices come from the retailer’s or manufacturer’s own product pages and manuals. Every product card shows its price and the date we checked it.
• Owner reports. We read what owners say after buying, in retailer reviews and Q&A, and look for problems that keep coming up: a latch that fails, or a battery that falls short of its rated capacity.

How a product makes the cut

• It fits the guide’s constraint.
• Its published specs hold up against what owners report.
• Commission doesn’t decide it. A retailer that pays us nothing can still be the pick.
• Products we pass on are named in each guide’s “What we’d skip” section, with the reason.

Hands-on testing

We don’t claim to have tested a product unless we did. If a guide includes hands-on testing, it says exactly what was tested, how, and for how long.

Updates and corrections

Each guide shows the date it was last updated, and each product card shows when its price was checked. Prices and stock change often, so check the retailer’s page before buying. If something is wrong, email [email protected]; we’ll fix it and update the date.

Who does the research

Jerry Plankinton researches and writes every guide. More about him.