Nolan Briggs, Senior editor

I'm the senior editor here. In practice that means I'm the one asking "where does it say that?" more often than anyone would like. A listing calls a kayak stable enough to stand in. Fine, but does the manual say so, or is it a photo of someone standing next to a dock? If neither the exact listing nor the manufacturer's spec sheet states it, it stays out of our verdict.

Most of my week is listings, manuals, warranty pages and owner reviews open side by side. I read the low-star reviews first. When several owners describe the same thing (a seat frame that bends, a drain plug that weeps, a hull that arrives dented), it goes into the notes for that kayak and usually into its verdict.

I write the guides on choosing a first fishing kayak, on sit-on-top versus sit-inside hulls and on length and width, and I edit most of the others.

My promise is simple: every number we quote comes from a page you could open and check yourself.