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 (yet)
Our current 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, dimensions, warranties, plan limits and what each tier includes.
- Official policy wording and plan summaries for travel insurance (cancellation, medical, CFAR and similar terms), always with the date we checked them.
- Airline and official size rules for carry-on and personal-item limits, re-checked and dated, because they change.
- Official coverage, fair-use and compatibility pages for eSIMs and carrier roaming plans. We do not invent speed claims.
- Manufacturer spec pages and support documents for luggage and bag specs such as weight, shell material and warranty terms.
- Published tests from named review outlets when we mention a lab or long-term test result. We attribute every such figure to the outlet that measured it and link the source.
- Reputable news reporting for company events such as warranty changes, acquisitions or product shutdowns.
We list every source at the bottom of each article. When an official figure isn’t available (for example, when a price varies by region and is only shown in-app), we say so and label any third-party figure as third-party.
3. Verifying pricing
Each article shows the month we last checked pricing (and, for gear, specs and, for insurance or eSIMs, plan terms) (the date is shown on each page). Prices are in US dollars unless noted; some vendors publish prices only in other currencies or vary them by region, and we flag that. Always confirm the price at checkout, because vendors change plans 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 (“best for a budget airline personal item”, “best if you want a repairable bag”) rather than one overall score, because the right choice depends on what you’re doing.
- We include products with no affiliate program when they’re a good fit, and we note discontinued products instead of quietly recommending them.
5. What we never do
- Claim hands-on testing we didn’t do.
- Make up star ratings, test scores, statistics or user quotes.
- Accept payment to include or rank a product.
6. Updates and corrections
We update articles when pricing or features 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.