The short version

• Our scores are research-based. We read and watch other people's tests and reviews, check the maker's published specs, and boil it down. We use AI tools to help find and summarise sources; every score still follows the rules on this page, and every product page lists its sources.
• Some gear we've also used ourselves on UK trips. Those product pages have a Tested by us section, and our test counts as one of the reviews (see Our own tests). Pages without it are gear we haven't tested ourselves, and they say so.
• Every feature (warmth, weight and so on) gets a score from 1 to 10.
• Where a published measurement exists, the score comes straight from it, using the bands below, so you can check our maths. These figures are the maker's own, except where the maker gives none. We don't test them again.
• Where it's a judgement (comfort, pitching, how long it lasts), we need at least 3 independent sources. With fewer, the score is an estimate from the maker's specs, and the page names the spec it came from. No feature score is left blank; a trip score is left blank only when the maker doesn't publish a fact one of its minimums needs.
• Every product page lists its sources, with links and dates.

What the numbers mean

• 10The best you can buy for this
• 9Among the best you can buy for this
• 8Clearly better than most
• 7Better than most
• 6A bit better than average
• 5Does the job. Average for wild-camping gear
• 4A bit below average
• 3Below average. Fine for some trips, not others
• 2A weak point
• 1A real weak point

Scores compare gear across the whole market, not within a price. A £60 tent can score 3 for weight and still be the right buy. That's what the price filter and the trip scores are for.

There is no single overall score. A tent that's perfect for a summer weekend can be wrong for a winter night on a ridge, so we give a score for each trip instead.

Two kinds of score

Measured: from the spec sheet

These come from the maker's published figures, using the bands below. If a maker doesn't publish the figure, a labelled estimate from its other specs fills the gap. The exception is weight, packed size and waterproofing: if the maker gives none, we use a shop's or an independent tester's figure, and the page says where it came from. If an independent lab finds a different figure, we still band the maker's figure but say so on the page.

• Sleeping bag warmth uses the ISO 23537 comfort temperature: the lowest temperature at which a standard adult woman sleeping relaxed stays comfortable. A maker's own rating that isn't ISO or EN tested runs warm, so it scores 2 points lower and the page says so.
• Sleeping mat warmth uses the ASTM F3340 R-value. Higher is warmer. Older or brand-only R-values don't count.
• Tent rain protection uses the hydrostatic head of the flysheet: how tall a column of water the fabric holds back, in millimetres. We take off 2 points (one band) if the groundsheet is under 2,000 mm or not published.
• Weight, packed size and space come from the published weight, packed size and floor area.

From reviews: judgement scores

For things a spec sheet can't tell you, we read independent tests, reviews and videos and turn what each one says into a score out of 10, in steps of 2:

The product's score is the average of its sources, rounded to a whole number. If it lands exactly on a half, we round down, to be cautious. Three sources scoring 10, 8 and 8 average 8.67, so the product scores 9.

• A review that gives a score out of 5 is doubled first: 4 out of 5 counts as 8.
• At least 3 independent sources, from 3 different publications or channels.
• Independent means not the brand, not a shop's own description, and not paid for by the brand. Free review samples are normal in gear reviewing, so they count, but we say so.
• Shop customer reviews count as one source at most, and only with 20 or more reviews.
• If sources are 4 or more points apart (two rows of the table), the page says Reviewers disagree.
• We write everything in our own words.

Our own tests

Some gear we use ourselves, on real UK trips. Its product page then has a Tested by us section: where we used it (the area only, never the exact pitch), how many nights, when, the worst weather it had, what was good and what wasn't, and our own photos.

• Our test is one source, scored with the same table as any review. It never counts twice, however many of us test it.
• It never makes a score on its own. A judgement score still needs 3 independent sources: ours plus at least 2 others.
• It only counts for what the test really covered:
  • Tent pitching, sleeping bag room and mat comfort and quietness: at least 2 nights.
  • Tent wind stability: at least one night in strong wind (gusts of about 50 km/h or more).
  • Tent condensation: at least one damp night.
  • Stove wind performance: 1 litre timed in still air and in a steady 3–6 km/h breeze (a fan, checked with a wind meter), on the same day.
  • Rucksack comfort: at least one night out carrying full camping kit.
  • Durability: at least 20 nights, or 12 months of regular use.
• It never changes a measured score. If we find a different figure (say the tent weighs more than the maker says), we still band the maker's figure but say so on the page.
• If our score and another source's are 4 or more points apart, the page says Reviewers disagree, as for any source.
• Every test says how we got the gear: bought with our own money, sent free by the brand, or lent by the brand.
• The photos are our own. We remove the location data saved inside them before they go on the site.

The bands

Each band runs up to the start of the next one, and covers two scores out of 10: the better half of the band scores the higher number. So a tent of 1.0 to 1.24 kg scores 8 for weight, and one of 1.25 to 1.49 kg scores 7. The top band's 10 needs a figure well past its edge (a tent under 0.75 kg). Where a band is a list of descriptions rather than a figure, it gives the higher number.

Tents

The printed flysheet figure alone gives 8 at most: most tents print 3,000 mm, so it can't tell a good tent from the best. Wind is a judgement score from reviews. With only 1 or 2 reviews about wind, or none, it is a labelled estimate and never above 8.

Sleeping bags

Room inside is a judgement score from reviews: roomier is comfier, so a tight mummy bag no longer wins on weight alone. With only 1 or 2 reviews about room, or none, it is a labelled estimate from the maker's shoulder girth or the bag's shape, and never above 8.

Sleeping mats

Deeper mats are comfier, above all for side sleepers. Quietness is a judgement score from reviews; foam mats make no noise and score 8.

Trip scores

Only tents, sleeping bags and sleeping mats show season ratings.

Each product also gets a score for each trip: an average of its feature scores, weighted for that trip, rounded to a whole number.

• Summer wild camp: UK, roughly May to September, nights above about 8 °C, sheltered pitches.
• Three-season hills: UK hills in spring and autumn. Wind, rain, and nights near freezing.
• Winter camp: UK winter or high ground. Below freezing, strong wind, possibly snow.

• Each trip has minimums. Miss one and the trip score is capped at 4, and the page says why. If the maker doesn't publish a fact a minimum needs, we don't show that trip score at all. We won't guess that it's safe.
• A 10 copes with worse. A trip score of 10 also needs the minimums of the next harder trip: a Summer 10 meets the Three-season hills minimums, a Three-season 10 meets Winter's. If it doesn't, it shows 9 and the page says what it lacks.
• Warmth figures are always shown next to the trip scores, so you can judge for yourself. Winter nights on Scottish hills can drop well below -5 °C: check the comfort figure, not just the score.

Tent weights

Sleeping bag weights

Sleeping mat weights

Price bands

We group products by the maker's UK recommended price (RRP) when we checked, so you can compare like with like. Shops often sell for less: each product page shows the lowest price we found and when we checked it.

The kit builder

The kit builder suggests a whole kit for one trip, using the trip scores above.

• It only suggests products that have a trip score, meet all of that trip's minimums and are in stock at a shop we checked, and a tent that sleeps everyone going.
• Best all-round picks the kit whose weakest item scores highest for the trip, then the best total of exact (unrounded) trip scores, then the cheapest, then the lightest. So a bigger budget can buy a steadier tent even when both show 8. Lightest and Lowest price pick the lightest or cheapest kit where every item scores 5 or more, where one exists.
• The budget is for the whole kit, at the lowest prices we found. If no safe kit fits it, we show the cheapest safe kit and say so.
• The safety items (tent, sleeping bag, mat, waterproof jacket, waterproof trousers and warm layer) get the budget first, so the extras (rucksack, stove-and-pot system, water, torch, dry bag, poles) never lower the kit's score. We keep money back for the cheapest extras that suit the trip only if the safety items can keep their weakest score and the kit score for less. If they can't, we add the extras anyway and say how far over budget the kit goes. Choose "I have my own" to take an item out. Each person carries their own rucksack, so its price is never split between two of you.
• Packed size is split into what goes inside the rucksack and what rides on the outside. A foam mat counts as outside when the rucksack has straps for it; everything else counts inside. We show how many litres the rucksack holds and whether it has those straps. We never say a kit "fits": brands measure litres differently, and stuff sacks don't add up to pack space.
• A kit's score is out of 10: the average of its safety items (tent, sleeping bag, mat, waterproof jacket, waterproof trousers and warm layer, whichever are in the kit), never more than 2 above the weakest of them, rounded. So better gear scores higher, but a great tent can't make up for a bag that's too cold: a bag that scores 3 holds the kit to 5/10. Your own gear counts towards the weight, but not the score: we haven't checked it.
• A kit gets a score only with a tent, a sleeping bag and a mat in it. If one is unticked under What to include, or we have none that's safe for the trip, the page says so instead of showing a score.
• Weights are the maker's packed weight, or its minimum weight where that's all it gives (we say which). Base weight is everything you carry except food, water, fuel and the clothes you wear. Until every item has a weight, the page shows "Base weight so far" and how many items are not weighed yet, and gives no class. The class (super ultralight under 2.3 kg, ultralight under 4.5 kg, lightweight under 9 kg, traditional above that) is a hikers' convention, not a standard.
• Shop commission never changes a pick.

How sure we are

Every product shows a confidence level. We count the problems: each feature that is an estimate from the maker's specs, each feature with no score yet, and each feature where reviewers disagree. High means none, Medium one, Low two or more.

Keeping it fair

• Before a product goes live, a separate AI check goes over it (links work, measured scores match the bands, every judgement score has its 3 sources, and the scores from our own test match our notes), and then one of the Fellkit team reads and approves it.
• We re-check shop prices weekly (each page shows the date), and links and new reviews at least every 6 months and when a model changes.
• If we change these bands or weights, we change the version number at the top and re-score everything.
• Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we'll check it and fix it.

How we make money

Links marked Ad are affiliate links: if you buy through one, the shop pays us a small commission at no extra cost to you. Commission never changes a score. More about how we make money

Free samples and loans

Brands sometimes offer gear for us to test. Free gear is a benefit to us, so these rules apply every time:

• Brands get no say. They don't see the review before it goes live, can't change a word or a score, and can't have a bad review taken down.
• We say so, plainly. A product we were sent free or lent says "Sent free by" or "Lent by" and the brand's name at the top of its Tested by us section, and again in its sources.
• Samples never change what we cover. We only take gear we'd cover anyway. The guides, lists and kit builder follow the same rules for every product, sampled or bought.
• We don't keep them. After the test we send the gear back if the brand wants it. If not, we give it to a charity or a youth group. We never sell samples.
• We never take payment for a review, and we don't write sponsored reviews.

This is general guidance from published information and our own use, not personal advice. Conditions in the hills change fast. Check the forecast, know your own limits, and read the maker's instructions.