Transcending “The Way It’s Always Been Done”
We’ve worked in the fly-fishing industry for years as writers, editors, media consultants, instructors and river guides, and we believe the current state of product reviews woefully under-serves consumers and their decision making.
The product review ecosystem is broken:
- Unorganized—no centralized repository of product categories and reviews, providing consumers trusted and searchable data.
- Lack of rigor—product evaluations lack testing and analysis, category comparisons and transparent ratings and reviews.
- Excessive bias—publishers, affiliates, social media influencers, manufacturers and even retailers have complicated motivations when recommending gear.
All of which disadvantages the consumer, who’s simply looking for in-depth, honest and actionable product information.
How is Flylab Different?
Our editorial perspective and content are intended to be completely transparent, no contracts to serve, no axes to grind, other than meeting the interests of the consumer.
We’ll think deeper, test product harder and tell it like it is.
We’re here to help fly anglers navigate the blizzard of product offerings and facilitate more informed purchasing decisions along the way.
Fly gear has become increasingly technical and expensive and finding the right stuff matters more than ever. Let us take the mystery out of these complex and time-consuming decisions.
Team
Kirk Deeter—Founder. Kirk is the editor of Angling Trade, editor-in-chief for TROUT Magazine, the national publication of Trout Unlimited, and an editor-at-large for Field & Stream. He also is the co-author of The Little Red Book of Fly Fishing, The Little Black Book of Fly Fishing and has been actively evaluating fly-fishing gear for the last two decades.
Tim Romano—Founder. Tim is the founder of Angling Trade, the former managing editor of Fly Fishing Trade and the former photo editor of The Flyfish Journal. He also is a long-time contributor to Field & Stream and has been actively evaluating fly-fishing gear for the last two decades.
Andrew Steketee—Founder. Andrew is the former managing editor of The Flyfish Journal, editor of MidCurrent and has worked as an in-house product consultant for Hardy USA. He also is a technology consultant, former fishing guide and the co-author of two fly-fishing books, Castwork and Tideline.
