How we roll
Methodology & editorial standards
Think of this as our bankside promise. If it’s not here, we haven’t earned your trust yet.
How we look at gear
We’ll always tell you how we tested the kit right at the top.
Fished, measured or inspected by us.
A proper look at the specs by someone who knows their gear, but we haven’t fished it yet.
Based on what other anglers are saying on the bank.
Just based on the maker’s numbers. No fishing yet.
Scoring
Scores are category-specific and only appear when the model has been run against real data. Where it has not, the page says not yet scored and explains why. We do not publish a placeholder number.
Carp rod assessment model · 0.1 (draft)
Casting efficiency at range
25%Repeated measured casts with fixed lead weight, same line, same angler.
Fish control & cushioning
20%Recorded landings across stated fish sizes and snag levels.
Build quality & components
20%Guide, reel seat and finish inspection against a fixed checklist.
Durability over a season
20%Logged sessions, failures and warranty outcomes.
Value in its price band
15%Specification and performance versus band peers, price checked at review date.
The final check
A record must clear all of these before it is published or allowed into the search index. Anything short of it stays unpublished or noindex. Volume is never a reason to relax it.
- 01
Complete, reliable specifications
Every field either has a sourced value or is explicitly marked unverified.
- 02
Source provenance logged
URL or publisher, collection date, licence and confidence stored per field.
- 03
Unique decision value
The page tells a buyer something they cannot get from the manufacturer's listing.
- 04
Substantive comparison
The record is placed against real alternatives, not described in isolation.
- 05
Declared classification
Testing status stated up front, chosen by a human, never inflated.
- 06
Imagery and quote rights
Only rights-cleared photography and licensed or attributable quotes.
- 07
Compliant offers
Merchant links follow current programme terms; prices come from the retailer, never our store.
- 08
Human editor approval
A named editor signs off anything commercially important.
Where we use a bit of tech
AI assists with extracting specifications from source documents and producing first drafts of structural copy. Every extracted field is checked against its source, and every draft is rewritten and signed off by a human before publication.
AI never decides a classification, never produces a score, never writes a quote, and never publishes anything. No page is auto-published.
We do not copy other publishers' review text, use unlicensed manufacturer imagery, invent testimonials or metrics, or describe testing that did not happen.
AI Discovery questions remain visible, source-linked text on the canonical product review. AI may group equivalent phrasing, but it cannot turn an unverified comparison into fact, infer search volume, or publish a question without human approval. There are no promised AI-search citations or special FAQ shortcuts.
Prices and availability
We do not store or display merchant prices or stock levels. Where a permitted retailer API is connected, the current price is shown from that live response; otherwise the link simply reads "check latest price". We never quote a competitor's price we have not been licensed to show.
Corrections
Records carry a last-updated date. If a specification is wrong, tell us and we will correct the record and its source log rather than quietly editing the prose.