Methodology
How we test products at The Demo Lab
Every review on this site comes from a product we've actually had in our hands. No press releases. No specs read off a website. But not every review is the same kind of test — some are deep dives, some are first impressions, some are first-time tries. The review itself will tell you which kind it is, and the score reflects that.
What we test
Products in our catalogue are purchased, requested, or accepted as samples under a clear policy: we keep editorial control of every word. Reviews are not paid placements. Affiliate links are how the site stays free for readers — they never change what we say about a product.
The four kinds of reviews you'll see
Not every product gets the same kind of test. We use four review types depending on the product, the question we're trying to answer, and how much time we've spent with it. Every review says at the top how it was made: from our own video, from our own notes, or from research.
Full Review
We've used the product across multiple sessions in the real context it was built for. The pros and cons in a full review are the ones that surfaced over time — not the ones we noticed in the first ten minutes.
First Impressions
A day-one or week-one take. Useful for products you want a fast read on, with the caveat that we may come back and update the post once we've lived with it longer.
First-Time Test
We've never used a product like this before. The review is written from the perspective of someone learning the category from scratch — which often catches friction a power user wouldn't even notice.
Out-of-the-Box Test
How the product fares with zero practice and no manual reading. If something needs a video tutorial before it makes sense, this kind of review surfaces that fast.
What every review has in common
- Hands-on where it says so. A review built from our own video or notes says so at the top, and everything personal in it happened. A post built from the listing, the specs and buyers' questions says that instead, and never claims a test we did not run.
- Specific claims, not vibes. If we say something is loud, we say how loud. If we say it's heavy, we say how heavy or what we struggled to carry.
- Trade-offs called out. No product is perfect. Every review names at least one real downside — and which buyer that downside actually matters to.
- Score reflects the test. A First Impressions 4.5 isn't a promise the product stays a 4.5 forever — it's the score it earned in the test we ran. When deeper use changes the number, we update the post.
How we score
Every review carries a 1–5 score. The label next to the number tells you what the score means in plain English:
Updates & corrections
Reviews are living documents. When a product gets a meaningful update — a software change, a price shift that flips the verdict, or a long-term issue we couldn't see on day one — we revisit the post and bump the “Updated” date you see at the top. If we got something wrong, we mark the correction inline and explain what changed.
Affiliate disclosure
Links to retailers (Amazon, Geniuslink, and others) on this site may earn a small commission when you click through and buy. That's how the site stays free. It never changes our score, our verdict, or which products we recommend.
