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The Silver Gear Rating System:
Most of our reviews are rated using our Silver Gear system, a product can earn from 0-5 Silver Gears, in half-gear increments. More gears means we like a product more, and fewer gears mean we didn't like the product as much: In general, we view the ratings in the following way: Our reviews are based on our experience with all aspects of the product and the company, so if a product is nicely made but the people who make it overprice it or don't stand by it, it may score lower. Our reviews are meant to reflect our overall opinion of using the product; quality, experience and all.
- 0 Gears
- 0.5-2 Gears
- 2.5-3.5 Gears
- 4-4.5 Gears
- 5 Gears
In order to get 0 gears, a product would have to have absolutely no redeeming qualities, no single aspect that we liked or thought was good enough for the application. We highly recommend you stay away from these products and find a different choice.
These products are various levels of below average. They may do the job they're made for, but at no point in the process will they really impress you. The company behind the products might not seem that great. We don't quite recommend these products yet, but they aren't complete failures
These products are in the average range, they do what's described and they're pretty decently made. They aren't the most impressive thing, but they'll do what they say. These products may have poor warranties or various flaws, but overall they're average. These products may not be Dirt Road Approved, but they aren't bad products at all.
These are good products, backed by reliable companies. They have room to improve, but we're happy with them. Not super high-end, but they meet all of our expectations and at least mostly meet our approval.
These products truly impress us, we think they do the job above and beyond what they have to. These products are properly designed and smartly made. They do the job better than the average product and these products are largely recommended by us. There may be better options out there, but we're happy with these products and the people behind them.
Golden Gear Award:
Our Golden Gear Award is presented to those products and companies that go above and beyond to bring a product to the market that is well and truly impressive, these products are as close to flawless as you could find. These products do they job they're made for with no issues at all, are fairly priced, and are backed by a company that supports their products and their customers. Every part of these products meets or exceeds the standard presented by both us and the competition, and is well designed and equipped to handle what we could throw at it. Unfortunately no product is perfect, so there may be other products that out perform these in some aspects, but we found these products to be the best overall in quality, price, design and user experience. These products are not only Dirt Road Tested and Dirt Road Approved, they will be specially listed on our Golden Gear Page in recognition of what they've brought to the off-road world.