All our test programmes are practical in content and application.
Items under evaluation are worn or used according to the clients intentions for a minimum of
200 hours in the first stage. By this time any potential problems should have been revealed.
Long term work continues after the first report and we cram in several hundreds of hours
- with interim reporting - before we pronounce ourselves satisfied with the
results.
Of course there is no standard format because every test is geared to the product under
review. For example, we will have different test criteria for waterproofing in clothing to
those for footwear. Trekking poles have totally different performance standards to rucksacks.
These are obvious instances, but even in situations where we have been asked to evaluate
similar products it has been to dissimilar parameters, because of the differences in the
intended end use.
A KLETS test programme takes into account the subjectivity of consumer choice by ensuring
that all the products under review are used by as many members of the test team as possible.
We require at least 3 identical test items - one as a control and two for review purposes - and
the latter are used by variety of individuals in widely differing conditions. This ensures that
a selection of potential consumer physiologies goes into every test programme. The feedback is
monitored accordingly and an objective viewpoint is drawn from the whole.
