Kit reviews

How we review

Every review on this site is written by us and carries one of two labels. We don't publish customer reviews, we don't buy or sell reviews, and nobody pays for a rating or a place in our lists.

• Researched: we haven't used the product. We check every specification against the maker's own data and at least one retailer listing, weigh owner reports, size it for a US home, and say who shouldn't buy it. These reviews never say “we tested” or “in our use”.
• Used and reviewed by us: we bought the product, or the maker sent it free, and used it at home to a written method for its kind of product. The review shows our own photos and dated measurements, and every figure says whether we measured it or the maker claims it.
• Free samples: if a maker sent it, the review is labelled as an ad at the top. It names the maker and says the product was free, and says so again beside the verdict and wherever we quote it. The maker doesn't see the review before it goes live and has no say over it.
• Good or bad: once we accept a product and use it, we publish what we find, whatever the result.
• Order and ratings: reviews here are sorted by our rating, then by name. Commission rates, affiliate deals and paid advertisement features never change a rating, a verdict or an order.
• Corrections: if a fact in a review is wrong, email hello@preparedbritain.co.uk and we'll check it against the sources and fix it, with the date.

Our written test methods

What a “Used and reviewed by us” review covers, by kind of product:

Jump starters

Clamp and lead checks, usable USB output, recharge time, a cold-morning start on a healthy car outdoors, protections, and standby over 7 and 30 days. Fitted units also get what their app shows recorded, with follow-ups at 3 and 6 months.

Power stations

Usable watt-hours into a known load, surge with household appliances, mains recharge time, fan noise, switch-over in a power outage, weight and what's in the box.

Power banks

Capacity delivered at 5V, phone charges from 10% to full, pass-through charging and weight.

Torches and head torches

Weight, beam photos at a fixed distance, how brightness holds up over time, charging, and use in the dark. We record the IP rating; we don't test it.

Emergency radios

FM and DAB reception against a reference radio, run time to flat, crank-to-play, solar top-up, charge time and USB phone output.

Water filters

Set-up, flow rate, how flow recovers after cleaning, and taste, smell and clarity on mains tap water. Claims about removing bacteria or lead stay the maker's; we don't test them.

Full methodology →How we make money →

Send us a product

Makers and US sellers can send us a product to use and review. It's free, and it doesn't buy anything: not a place in our lists, not a rating, and not a date.

How it works

1. 1

   Tell us about it first. Email hello@preparedbritain.co.uk, with the product, its US price and where US buyers can get it. We may say no before you send anything, for example if it isn't something US households need for outages, storms, wildfires or floods, or if we can't use it safely at home.

2. 2

   If we say yes, we use it at home to the written method for its kind of product, take our own photos and log dated measurements. We aim to publish about 30 to 40 days after it arrives. That's our plan, not a deadline we owe you.

3. 3

   We publish what we find, good or bad. Once we accept a product and use it, the review goes live whatever the result.

4. 4

   The review is labelled as an ad and says you sent it free: at the top, beside the verdict, and anywhere we quote the verdict, including our comparisons, emails and social posts. The FTC treats a free product as a material connection, so it has to be disclosed, and doing it this way also covers your duty as the brand.

5. 5

   You don't see, approve or edit the review, before or after it goes live, and we don't take required wording, images, hashtags or timings. If you spot a factual error, tell us and we'll check it and correct it, with the date. We don't change a verdict on request.

6. 6

   A review doesn't guarantee a place in our comparisons or best-of lists. A product earns a place on the evidence, like any other. We add a buy link through an affiliate programme only if the product earns that place, and the page says we earn a commission.

7. 7

   We keep the product, or give it away, whatever we write, so nothing depends on the verdict. If you need it back, tell us before you send it, and the review will say it was lent.

8. 8

   If you're also one of our affiliate partners, or you later pay for an advertisement feature, we add that to your reviews.

What we won't do

We won't charge for a review or a faster one, sell a rating, a ranking or an “our pick”, bundle a review with a paid article, or hand out badges.

Paid articles are separate

Advertisement features are written by us, labelled “Advertisement feature · paid for by [brand]” at the top, and kept apart from our reviews and comparisons. Buying one doesn't get a product reviewed.