How We Rate

Every product page on this site shows a Comparison Score out of 5. Here's exactly how it's calculated, and, just as important, what it isn't.

What it isn't

We don't buy and hands-on test physical units the way outlets like RTINGS or GearLab do, and this isn't an aggregate of customer reviews collected from buyers. It's a comparison score we compute from two things: how complete a product's feature set is within its category, and what real divers say about it in public forum discussion.

The formula

Comparison Score = 60% feature completeness + 40% community sentiment, on a 1–5 scale.

Feature completeness (60%)

Each category has a fixed checklist of attributes that matter for that kind of gear, weighted by how much they affect real-world capability. A product earns the weight for each attribute it has:

• Dive computers: air integration (15%), any wireless sync (10%), color display (10%), digital compass (10%), 3+ gas switching (10%), trimix support (10%), rechargeable battery (10%), open BLE sync via libdivecomputer (15%), CCR capability (10%)
• Regulators: balanced first stage (20%), environmentally sealed (20%), cold-water rated (15%), adjustable second stage (15%), nitrox-ready (10%), octo included (10%), convertible DIN/yoke (10%)
• BCDs: weight-integrated (20%), trim pockets (15%), travel-friendly (15%), metal backplate (15%), 4+ D-rings (15%), multiple sizes offered (10%), fit specified (10%)
• Cameras/housings: stabilization (25%), RAW support (20%), 10m+ native waterproofing (20%), 20MP+ sensor (15%), 4K+ video (20%); housings instead score on depth rating (up to 50%) and documented camera compatibility (20%)

Community sentiment (40%)

Where we found real discussion on Scubaboard, r/scuba, or similar public forums, we synthesize a consensus verdict, which you can read on the product page along with links to the original threads. Positive sentiment scores highest, negative lowest, and products with no forum track record yet (usually because they're brand new) get a neutral score rather than a penalty or a bonus.

Why disclose the formula

We'd rather publish exactly how a number was produced than ask you to trust a black box. If a score looks off to you for a product you own, the community sentiment sources are linked right on that product's page, tell us what we're missing.

This site runs on affiliate commissions, see our affiliate disclosure, we don't accept payment from manufacturers to influence scores, and there's no "sponsored" placement anywhere on the site.