<em>Photograph courtesy of <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/myfwcmedia/6892248219/in/photolist-bv3zgR-e549EW-fuAdej-baFjx8-bv3z4x-ogWdGe-ptVtPh-r47Uq6-pRF8Dv-naeuuE-ncgWAz-r1KhEy-xtpoh7-qLsBbb-pj5N8F-pcs2tt-hGB1j2-wQhZj5">Florida Fish & Wildlife/Flickr</a></em>
Photograph courtesy of Florida Fish & Wildlife/Flickr.
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NOTE: You MUST register for our site before you can fill out a Reader Test Panel Application

What is the Test Panel?

Each month we select four applicants as panelists and provide them with new gear to take on hunting and fishing trips. The panelists’ mission is to use it and take note of its durability, function, innovation, and general usefulness. After thoroughly testing the gear, panel members report their findings. And keep the gear. Note that you do not have to be an expert to apply! In fact, we are looking for a broad range of skill levels, from beginner to intermediate to expert.

How We Choose Testers

To find our panelists we sort all applications based on the product we’re testing (we won’t ask readers who only hunt ducks to test new compound bows). Once we have a pool of qualified testers, we sort them based on the number of points they’ve earned by participating in our site. The ones with the most points get asked to test gear first.* It’s that simple.

You earn points by…

  • Posting a comment (50 points)
  • Entering a photo (100 points)
  • Uploading a video (100 points)
  • Answering questions in our Answers tool (100 points)
  • Other readers giving your stuff a thumbs up (10 points for each thumb)

You lose points when…

  • Another reader gives a thumbs down to your comment, photo, etc. (-10)
  • An admin deletes your comment, photo, etc. because it’s offensive (-1000)
  • Your account is deleted by an admin (all points lost)

Click here to read our complete rules for earning points.
Click here to join the test panel.

The bottom line is this: The more stuff you post on our site and the better that stuff is (as rated by the rest of our readers), the more likely we’ll be to send you great gear. So log on and jump in today!

Some test panel members may be chosen due to other criteria, depending on the nature of the test, but preference will always be given to those with the most points.

An applicant may only be selected to test gear once per year.

Fishing Gear
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