We do not accept guest posts from freelance writers, PR people, brands, or manufacturers.

Do you have a product you would like a Gear Diary Team Member to review? If so, then this is the process:

First, contact us via email.

Once your email has been received, we will consider whether your product fits Gear Diary’s scope. Your email will then be forwarded to the team or a specific reviewer if your product is their forté.

The team loves to review all types of gear, and as you’ve probably noticed – we cover just about everything on Gear Diary – so don’t worry if your product seems a little different or totally offbeat. Chances are that the more original your product is, the more we will enjoy doing its review!

Once your product has been approved, you will be supplied with a shipping address; we will assign the appropriate reviewer who may contact you for additional information. If your product is software, you can either ship a retail package to the address supplied or provide download and registration details.

If you happen to have one of our physical addresses (perhaps because we have previously done a review for you), and you send a product without prior approval, then please understand that there will be no guarantees your product will be reviewed or posted on, but we may add it to a future gift guide.

Please click here to see example s of our reviews.

As you will no doubt see, each reviewer has their own style; if there is a particular writer that you are interested in for your product’s review, you are welcome to request them in your initial email, but it will be up to the team member or editor to accept. If they cannot accommodate your request, we will let you know if another writer is available.

1. Review Terms:

When you send a review item to a team member or editor, you acknowledge that Gear Diary will be writing an unbiased review of your product for publication on the Gear Diary site.
You can not buy a positive review by sending a non-returnable product, sponsoring a post, or purchasing advertising on Gear Diary. We also do not cross-post reviews to seller sites such as Walmart, Best Buy, or Amazon; please don’t ask.
All reviews include the source of the product reviewed in their summary: They will mention whether the product has been supplied to us by the manufacturer (or their representative, e.g., a PR agency or other representative) or if the item was a personal purchase.
We publish both positive and negative reviews: We will not neglect to mention a submitted review product just because we didn’t like it; the only exception is when a serious fault has been found by us during the review process, acknowledged by the manufacturer, and the product has been removed from selling channels while the glitch is worked out. In other words, if a product is available for sale in its current version or design, our obligation to potential customers is to let them know about our experience with your product — good or bad — and what they can reasonably expect by using it.
You will be contacted if the item received appears to be defective, as it is only fair that a working item is reviewed.
We are consumers, and we write from a consumer’s perspective: If your publicly available product is good, we want to let people know about it and our experience while using it. If we find that your product does not perform as claimed, we will also let people know about that, even if the experience was negative.
If the product you are submitting is a health or fitness device, be aware that the review will reflect the writer’s experience with the product. If you are making medically-based claims about a product, and we cannot receive or prove the benefits your product claims, our review will reflect that fact.
Manufacturer, Developer, and Supplier comments are welcome and encouraged in the comments section. However, the actual review text, minus any clearly marked quotes, will always be the reviewer’s own.
You will not be given the chance to “approve” any review before publication, nor will you be given any editorial authority of any kind before or after the review is published. Our readers count on us to provide reviews based on our experience using your products; we may include your claims about the product in quotes in our reviews, but the conclusions we reach are always our own.
Once an article is published on Gear Diary, we will issue updates as appropriate, adding “UPDATED:” to the title and then amending any factual errors that have been brought to our attention and verified by us or adding more insight to the review after longer use of the product. We will not, however, remove published posts because a manufacturer or PR person doesn’t like or agree with our conclusions.
If a vendor or manufacturer requests it, we will review updated products when they are supplied to us. If a second, updated review is posted, we will mention the previous review in the latter, and we will add a link to the latest review in the original review.
Gear Diary will not review vaporware or non-released hardware and software. While we will be happy to talk about your future product in a News or Gear Bits post or with the item specifically tagged as a preview, it is not fair to Gear Diary’s readers to publish an “official” review for an item that is not yet available to the public, or that may never be available to the public.
Items sent will be used during the review process; for this reason, we generally do not return the review items provided.
- We never return wearables such as headphones or fitness trackers; we will also not review headphones or other wearables that someone else has already used.
- We never return any personal care products.
- We never return products such as memory devices or drives. Because we actually use them during testing, for security reasons, we will not send back a product that has held any of our data.
The following may occur with items after their review:
- The reviewer may keep the item for further use and long-term testing.
- The item may be used in a future giveaway on Gear Diary.
- The item may be given away at the reviewer’s discretion to family, friends, other reviewers, etc.
- The item may be traded (i.e., a gadget-swap situation with another reviewer on Gear Diary or elsewhere).
If a particular product’s return is required, then it is the vendor’s responsibility to discuss this with the reviewer before the item is sent; a postage-paid return label with tracking is required and must be sent with the item that will be reviewed and returned. Otherwise, the review item will be considered non-returnable.
You may be given a tentative date upon which the review will appear; while we strive for 2 – 8 weeks after receipt of the item, that is not always possible. It is your responsibility to accept that we need time to discover all of the ins and outs of your product; this is especially important when reviewing any product that promises health benefits or requires longer-term use to determine if it functions as billed.
Some reviews may necessitate multiple installments and/or videos at the reviewer’s discretion; when this happens, each installment will be linked in the body of all review installments as they are published, with prior posts updated as newer installments are published.
Our reviews may quote from press releases or reviewer’s guides, but they will not make claims about the product that we haven’t been able to verify independently. It is possible that, for various reasons, there might be product features that we are unable to test; when that happens, we will mention that particular feature and disclose that we were unable to test it.
Actual publish dates will depend on the complexity of the review item and the size of the Gear Diary team member’s existing review queue. If you need a product published by a specific embargo date, it is up to you to communicate clearly with the reviewer to ensure that it will be possible.
A link to the manufacturer’s site will be included in the review, along with the regular retail price and wrap-up comments. To keep our review pricing as evergreen as possible, we do not list current sale prices, but we may mention in the review when an item is on sale at the time of posting.
If there is a particular retailer that you would like the product linked to, we are happy to accommodate that. If, during the review process, we find your exact product available on other sites, we may link to those as well, especially in cases where it is less expensive from other retailers.
While manufacturers are welcome to mention and link to our reviews on their site, the use of the Gear Diary logo, quotes from a review, the full text of the review, and photos taken by the writer for the review are the copyrighted property of Gear Diary; to use them, you must email [email protected] to discuss associated licensing fees.

What People Say About Gear Diary Reviews:

JUDIE, Holy moly. This review is incredible.I appreciate the research, effort, thoroughness and balanced commentary you provided….and I learned something too! I didn’t realize that the water output could be adjusted like you did. Thank you so very much for this! – Kristina (Tchibo Bean-to-Brew Coffee Machine)

Um. WOW! Probably the best product review I have ever read from our product line. I wish more were like this. Well worth the wait. I actually learned some new things about our product from you. Bravo! – Sloane (L’ange Thinning Therapy System)

Thank you so much for the updates and for your awesome work on the UGREEN 300W GaN Charger review. I’m happy to see your love for our 300W desk charging station. – Roger (Ugreen Nexode 300W USB-C GaN Desktop Charger)

This is a very well-written review and provides a lot of good notes for our marketing efforts and for consumers to make an informed choice. – Cody (Swagtron EB11 Electric Cruiser Bicycle)

This article is outstanding and so thorough!! Thank you for such a kind, thoughtful endorsement and I am so genuinely glad to hear you’re enjoying the Luno mattress! – Allie (Luno Air Mattress)

Thanks so much for your positive review. It is extremely comprehensive, well-written, and it’s our best review yet! – Jessica (Oreck Air Response Air Purifier)

Just wanted to reach-out to let you know that I’ve been searching for reviews on the Vertu Constellation Quest, and yours is unprecedented; professional, playful and real. – Paul (reader)

Thanks again, you guys! This is the best review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! – Megan (Blazy Susan)

Thanks again for another amazing review, the team was thrilled. – Cody (Rockport)

I just finished reading the Blu-ray Sonar Advanced Violet Laser review. This is probably one of the most informative ones we’ve ever received. It was definitely worth the wait. Thank you so much, it’s awesome! – John (Wicked Lasers)

Thank you very much for your in-depth review. “The Maserati of Fans” is going to become our new catchphrase. – Josh (Big Ass Fans)

WOW, amazing review! We absolutely love it! Unexpected femininity, pointers on how easy resizing is, quality and comfort, we couldn’t have asked for more; thank you so much, Judie! (Monowear)

Saw the review – This is great! You are the first to actually touch on the XLR portion of the mic, which is great! I’ll definitely be using this in our social outlets. Also, really like that you point out the specifics about using it on a board, can’t use simultaneously and the sound clips. Our first FULL Yeti Pro review, love it! – Hilary (BlueMic)

Thanks so much for your detailed review, Judie! HTC really values all of your feedback when you review our devices. Glad you enjoyed the Sprint HTC Touch Diamond – and can’t wait to send more good stuff your way! – Jessika (Waggener Edstrom)

Dan – your article “Rediscovering The Music of My Youth With Slacker Radio” is probably Slacker’s all-time favorite piece ever … it still comes up every once in a while.

I love your site. A perfect mix (and balanced perspective) of the important mobile devices, their accessories, and the fun (dinosaurs, etc.). Keep it up. 🙂 It’s always cheery to read. – David (Reader)

Hi Judie, You and your colleagues have done a few product reviews for my clients and I’m always impressed by them. In fact, I love how you incorporate video into your reviews as well and was inspired to post about the future of product reviews on my company’s small blog. I added the awesome video you guys did of a robot wearing carpet skates (another client of mine). Thanks and great job!! – Katie Wagner (BLASToutdoors)

This is really fantastic and we very much appreciate how detailed this review was and the thoroughness — really impressive. – Tanya (Kensington)

Daniel, Thanks man…Awesome!! My client loves your site, and he will be pumped about this. Love the picture with the Pepto bottle, fantastic. I appreciate the time you put it in to a product that is so simple, really made a great review. Thanks, great work as usual. – Brad Hobbs (MaxBorges Agency)

What an excellent article! Besides the fact that I’m elated that it was about my invention, it is so well written-informative and funny. The product photo is beautiful. It’s a true sign of professionalism being able to write like that despite the nausea. – Scott (Flexisnake)

Visiting Gear Diary to see if there are any new product reviews and unboxings is one of the things I enjoy doing daily because the Gear Diary team has made it a pleasure to do so. – Randius (reader)

Joel, I saw this and have to say your review was above and beyond what I expected – thank you! Since you are the camping guru and I just started representing Coghlan’s, I would love to keep you in mind for future products. I look forward to working with you in the future. -Katie (Coghlan’s)

We are the makers of the iMainGo and we want to thank you so much for the incredible and honest review of the iMainGo. – Ryan (iMainGo)

Awesome. We really appreciate your reviews because you are so thorough and honest. At the moment we are designing new small laptop cases and Doug’s comments about the pockets and weatherproofing on the Skivvy and are very helpful. – Bianca (Crumpler)

Hey, thanks for your thorough review, Judie! Actually I can hardly remember any other so thoroughly made review. And the fun part with cold war spies kicks right. I want to be grateful enough as to offer you another opportunity to review some of our other software later. Thanks for your work! – Konstantin (VITO Technology)

Thanks for the great review, I’m glad you like the G5 reader! – George (Atech)

Thank you for the wonderful review of the Aluminum Desktop Stand. As you can imagine, we love it. The tablet application may be one worth pursuing. And by the way, the 20+ photos definitely enhance your overall review. It would be difficult for anyone not to understand what the Stand is all about. – Bill (PR for LapWorks, Inc.)

Judie, Wow, it’s a great review and as always very thorough. Thank you! – Brad (BeNetSafe)

Thank you VERY much once again for your splendid and generous review. Sometimes I feel your explanations are much clearer than ours and we’re the ones who produce it! For a small start-up company like ours, you have been a great supporter of our products and we appreciate your time. – Phil (Lumaray)

Thank you for your time and effort into reviewing our products, I like the pictures. Some people don’t include many pictures in reviews and it is nice to see you show the products in use. – Pat (Gomadic)

Just a quick note to thank you for such an excellent review of Art Dealer! You are the first to provide a completely independent review of the game so all of us at Minds Refined were really pleased that you liked it. And I think your sense of how the game helps improve memory–by encouraging one to focus on the details of events–is bang on! – Jeff (Minds Refined)

Wow, you’re really thorough. I love it! – Leah (Presto)

Thanks so much Judie. It looks great and the team is stoked! – Valorie (Skullcandy)

Thank you again. It is apparent that you spent some time with the Attaché Laptop Stand. We are very appreciative of the favorable review and glad you like it. I didn’t know you were such a shutterbug. Images definitely enhance any coverage of a product as they have done here. Bill (PR for LapWorks, Inc.)

I read it and enjoyed, I appreciate also your feedbacks, and we will take a look a them. – Oren (Golan Tech / VKB)

We know that there are many review sites on the web, and we appreciate you considering sending your products to ours!

2. Sponsored Posts

We occasionally publish news posts and reviews that are sponsored by manufacturers and written by Gear Diary Team Members and Editors: These posts will always clearly show that they are Sponsored, both at the beginning of the review and in the category tag. This is both for FTC reasons and to maintain the site’s integrity.

If your company requests that we publish a sponsored news post or review with or without “Do Follow” links without the post clearly stating that the posted piece is sponsored, we will not accommodate your request.

3. Paid-Link Insertion Requests

We do not sell links or accept payment of any kind to insert any links into published reviews. Don’t bother asking; the answer will always be no.

4. Logo, Photos, and Quote Requests

Are you interested in using our logo, quotes, photos, or content somewhere in your media materials?

Licensing, permission, re-use of content: For all content licensing, permissions, reprints, or any other re-use, including using quotes (with or without the Gear Diary logo), please contact Judie and Dan at [email protected]. Please note that Gear Diary, LLC is the only authorized company to license our materials.

5. Some Gear Diary Policies of which you should be aware:

• Please read our full Terms of Use here.

• By sending an email to Judie, Dan, Admin, or any other Gear Diary writer, you are giving your explicit permission for it to be reposted in part or in full — along with your name, company, and website — unless Judie and/or Dan agree to keep your name private in writing.

6. Sweepstakes (AKA Giveaways) Official Rules:

• No purchase or payment of any kind is necessary to enter or win.

• We will list the sponsors who have provided the prizes for our sweepstakes.

• The value of the sweepstakes prizes will be listed.

• Our sweepstakes are only open to anyone in the United States who is age 18 and up.

• Unless otherwise explicitly stated, sweepstakes are open only to people with a continental USA mailing address; if your address shows as out of the country, we will pick a new winner.

• When there are multiple prizes listed, unless otherwise explicitly stated, we will give one prize to each winner; prizes and winners will be chosen randomly through Rafflecopter.

• Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received during the sweepstakes entry period.

• The starting and ending dates for entry in our sweepstakes will be explicitly stated.

• Winners will receive an email from [email protected], generally on the day after a sweepstake ends. Please be sure that you have that email address whitelisted in your email settings.

• If you are chosen as the winner, you will have two weeks to respond to the winning announcement email. If you do not respond, on the 15th day, we will pick a new winner. It is not our responsibility to notify you more than once that your entry has been chosen, so be sure to check your spam folder.

• All sweepstakes winners will be posted on Gear Diary in the Rafflecopter box where entries were accepted. We will leave this list in place for three months after the sweepstakes has closed.

• Each sweepstakes winner is responsible for all federal, state, and local sales taxes and income taxes related to their particular prize. Any other incidental expenses on the prize not specified herein are the sole responsibility of the winner.

• By entering any sweepstakes on Gear Diary, you agree to receive exclusive offers from Gear Diary. You can unsubscribe at any time.

• We retain the right to revoke prizes for contest winners whose profiles appear to use multiple usernames, email addresses, or other potentially fraudulent credentials.

• By participating in this sweepstakes, you (i) agree to be bound by these Official Rules, including all eligibility requirements, and (ii) agree to be bound by the decisions of Gear Diary, LLC., which are final and binding in all matters relating to the sweepstakes. Failure to comply with these Official Rules may result in disqualification from the sweepstakes.

7. Disclosure Policy:

This policy is valid from August 19, 2011.

Gear Diary is a collaborative blog written by a group of individuals managed by Judie Stanford and Dan Cohen. For questions about this site, please contact us.

Gear Diary accepts forms of advertising, affiliate sales, sponsorship, and other forms of compensation.

Gear Diary abides by word-of-mouth marketing standards. We believe in the honesty of relationships and opinions. The compensation received may influence the advertising content or the inclusion of any sponsored topics or sponsored posts on this blog. That content, advertising space, or post will be clearly identified as paid or sponsored content.

Our strict policy prohibits any of our writers — whether editors, team members, or contributors — from accepting payment of any kind in exchange for coverage unless the post is clearly marked as Sponsored.

Using Gear Diary contributors to self-publish paid content violates our terms of use. Anyone we discover engaging in such abuse will have their post/s removed from the site, and they will be banned from future publication.

We do not accept any pre-written posts from PR companies or brands.

The owners, editors, and team members of Gear Diary are compensated to provide our opinions on products, services, websites, and various other topics; most often, this compensation is in the form of the item reviewed.

Even though this blog’s owner, editors, and team members may receive product compensation for our posts, we will always give our honest opinions, findings, and experiences on those topics or from using those products.

The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely each blogger’s own. While we strive for accuracy in our reporting, any product claim, statistic, quote, or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider, or party in question.

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Gear Diary does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.

8. Privacy Policy Regarding Third-Party Ad Servers

We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our Web Site. A list of these ad-serving companies is available here. These companies may use information (generally, not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this website and other websites to provide targeted advertisements about goods and services that may interest you.

These companies may employ cookies and clear GIFs to measure advertising effectiveness.

Any information these third parties collect via cookies and clear GIFs is generally not personally identifiable (unless, for example, you provide personally identifiable information to them through an ad or email message).

We encourage you to read these businesses’ privacy policies if you have any concerns about how they will care for your personal information.

If you would like more information about this practice and your choices about not having this information used by these companies, see the Network Advertising Initiative’s consumer website.