Everyone wants value, which is why you’re here – you want to find the best waterproof gear for your money. To help you do that, here’s our system:
- Research. After becoming aware of a waterproof product – maybe it popped up on our feed, we saw someone else with it, or we were tipped off to a product through a user submission (which you can do by clicking here) – we comb through all the information we can find about it. This entails checking the company’s own website, looking at various reviews and social content, reviewing news/PR articles, or checking out marketing campaigns that highlight its features. And if there’s any video on it, we’ll watch it on YouTube.
- Testing. Whether through company-provided samples, our own purchases, or reviewing tests that others have done and posted to YouTube, we ensure all products have been tested and verified on their waterproof claims. Examples of tests that we perform include:
- Kayaking for 1 hour (sweat and splash test, headphones)
- Cycling for 1 hour (sweat test, headphones)
- Submersion in 1 meter of water for 30+ minutes (IP67/IP68 submersion test, backpacks)
- “Rain test” spraying with hose (IPX5/IPX6 test, backpacks, shoes, and first aid)
- “Puddle test” (shoes)
- Saltwater Corrosion test (backpacks, headphones)
- Reviewing and Rating. When our research and testing is complete, we write a thorough review, highlighting pros and cons. We assess capabilities and value, then rate it on a scale of 1-5, with 5 being best.
- Ranking. Time to stack ’em up! Since we know you come to this site to break a tie between different products, we go the extra length to list them in order, with our Top Pick in the first spot.