How we rate
Every number on this site traces to a gear database, a documented load model, and documented weights. This page is the documentation.
The RigScore
RigScore is a 0–100 editorial score across five weighted axes, applied identically to all 14 pieces of gear in the database:
- Capability30%
- Does it do the job in the field — shelter, cold food, traction, shade — and how well, relative to its class?
- Build quality25%
- Materials, hardware, fabric, and the track record of surviving washboard roads and weather. Gear that needs babying loses points.
- Weight honesty20%
- How the published weight serves real fitment: gear that is light for its class (or whose maker publishes clear, configuration-specific weights) rates higher. A tent that eats an entire rack rating costs points.
- Value15%
- Capability per dollar at typical street price — judged against what the gear does, never against its marketing tier.
- Support10%
- Warranty, parts availability, mounting hardware ecosystem, and whether the maker publishes the specs (including load figures) buyers need.
The load model
The load checker and every fitment table on this site run the same two checks:
- Dynamic check (driving): tent weight must not exceed your rack’s dynamic rating. We stamp CAUTION inside 10% of the limit, because the rack’s own weight and accessories ride on the same number.
- Static check (parked & sleeping): tent weight plus occupants at 175 lbs average each must not exceed the rack’s static capacity. When you don’t know the static figure, we estimate it at ~3× the dynamic rating — a commonly cited rule of thumb for quality racks, not a guarantee: verify the published figure with your rack maker.
The governing limit is always the lowest applicable number: your vehicle’s roof-load figure, then the rack rating for the relevant condition.
The no-fabricated-numbers rule
We do not publish per-vehicle OEM roof-load numbers, ever. Those figures vary by model year, trim, rail package, and market — a copied or guessed number is not just bad SEO, it is a safety hazard. The load checker takes your rack ratings as input, and our platform guides are qualitative: how each vehicle class typically mounts gear, plus the check-your-manual method for finding your real figure. Any site that prints a roof-load number for “the” Subaru Outback without asking your year and trim is guessing.
Where the numbers come from
Weights are manufacturer-published figures; prices are typical street pricing, not live quotes — they drift with sales, and we correct them when they drift materially. Spot a stale number? Tell us — a correction recomputes every check, table, and ranking site-wide.
Commissions and the firewall
RigFitment earns affiliate commissions — including from Amazon — when you buy through our links. Scores and load checks are computed from the database before any link is attached; no brand sees, sponsors, or edits a rating. A tent that fails your load check fails it no matter how well its links convert.
Corrections
Weight and spec corrections get priority over everything else — the database is the product. Contact us.