How we research & choose
This page explains exactly how our articles are put together, so you can judge how much weight to give them.
1. Research-based, not hands-on
Our articles are research-based. We haven’t run lab tests or long-term hands-on trials of the products on this site, and we say so on every article in a “How this page was made” note. If we add hands-on testing in the future, we’ll say clearly which pages it applies to and what we did.
2. Sources we use
- Official pricing and product pages for prices, current models and what each product includes.
- Manufacturer spec sheets and support documents for weights, dimensions, capacity, motor ratings, stack heights, drop heights and similar facts.
- Published measurements or long-term notes from named review outlets when we mention performance such as cushioning lab data or measured noise. We attribute every such figure to the outlet that published it and link the source.
- Authoritative health sources on supplement pages only — for example the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, the FDA, and independent testing-seal programs. Retailer pages are for price and label text, not for health claims.
We list every source at the bottom of each article. We cite only URLs we actually fetched. When an official figure isn’t available, we say so and label any third-party figure as third-party.
3. Verifying pricing
Each article shows the month we last checked pricing (currently November 2026). Prices are in US dollars unless noted. Always confirm the price at checkout, because sellers change prices often.
4. How we choose what to include
- The product must be actively sold and supported when we publish.
- We organize picks by use case rather than one overall score, because the right choice depends on your space, budget and training.
- We include products with no affiliate program when they’re a good fit, and we note discontinued products instead of quietly recommending them.
- Every article should meet the quality bar in our rollout notes: at least five fetched sources, current prices, a short direct answer at the top, clean tables, a “who should skip this” section, dated checks, and two-way internal links. If a draft can’t meet that bar, we hold it or drop it rather than publish a thin page.
5. What we never do
- Claim hands-on testing we didn’t do.
- Make up star ratings, test scores, statistics or user quotes.
- Invent retailer product identifiers or product-detail URLs; Amazon links, when used, are search links.
- Give medical advice, or make disease or treatment claims about supplements.
- Accept payment to include or rank a product.
6. Updates and corrections
We update articles when pricing or models change and show the last-updated date at the top. Found an error? See our Corrections policy or use the contact page.
Also read our Editorial policy and How we make money.