Nothing here is reviewed until it has been carried. The standard is published first so you can hold the reviews to it.
Every review answers the same five questions, in the same order, whether the gear was bought or provided:
| Criterion | What it means |
|---|---|
| Weight earned | Actual grams on a scale, against what the item does. Stated in every review. |
| Packability | Whether it fits the bag, or dictates the bag. |
| Failure mode | What happens when it breaks. Fails safe, or ends the day. |
| Salt & sand | Condition after real exposure with realistic maintenance. |
| Back in the bag | Whether it goes on the next leg. The only score that matters. |
Only gear that has actually been fished, on foot, for long enough to have an opinion worth reading. No unboxings, no reviews written from a spec sheet, and no roundups presented as testing — where something is a roundup it says so, and says which items were fished and which weren't.
Provided gear is marked as provided. Every review states plainly whether the item was bought, loaned or given, and provided gear is judged on the same five criteria as anything else. Failures get published.
The first round comes out of the Baja leg in November 2026, once the baseline kit has been carried for two weeks across sand, estuary, cut and rock. Anything written before then would be a spec sheet with adjectives.
Brands wanting product in that round: the trial and the October cut-off.