Disclosures

At Trail Dispatch, honest gear reviews are the foundation of everything we do. This page explains exactly how we operate, how we’re compensated, and what you can trust when you read or watch our reviews.

This policy applies to all Trail Dispatch platforms (website, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Substack).

How We Get the Gear We Review

Most of the products we review are provided to us by brands and their PR representatives at no cost, for testing and evaluation purposes. This is standard industry practice for editorial gear review outlets. Receiving a product for free does not guarantee a positive review, and it does not make our reviews sponsored content.

Brands (and their PR representatives) do not pay us to review their products have no editorial input or control over what we say in our reviews or content that goes into any of our platforms. Our testers evaluate gear in real-world conditions and report their honest findings, positive and negative.

If a product is a paid promotion or sponsored content, we will disclose that up front in our review. 

Affiliate Links

Trail Dispatch participates in affiliate programs, including AvantLink, Impact, and the Amazon Associates Program. Some links shared across our platforms  are affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase — at no additional cost to you.

Affiliate commissions help fund Trail Dispatch. Your support via affiliate links helps us in keeping this project going by covering operating expenses.

Affiliate links and the potential for commissions do not sway our reviews. We recommend products because our testers believe in them, not because of commission rates.

FTC Compliance

This disclosure is provided in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s guidelines concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising (16 CFR Part 255).