Our story
We use products at home before we recommend them.
Terra Hills is about the gear Evan uses around his house, yard and training. He sets it up himself, keeps it in the routine for months and writes once he knows what's good, what's annoying and what has held up.
Why we exist
Why we wait before writing
Product pages make everything look good. After a while the specs blur together, and it's hard to tell which problems will show up once the return window closes.
So we wait. We use things through real seasons, notice what wears out and write down the details we'd want to know before spending our own money.
Who's behind it
Meet the tester
Evan Mercer
Founder & Lead Reviewer
Evan builds software for a living and runs Terra Hills from home. Pool cleaners run laps in his backyard, security sensors line the doors and the kitchen counter sees more espresso machines than any one person should own. He's finished an ultramarathon, a half Ironman and dozens of triathlons and half marathons, so he pays close attention to heart-rate zones, recovery scores and whichever running shoe survives his weekly trail mileage. If he reviews something, he has probably lived with it longer than his family would prefer.
- Ultramarathon & half Ironman finisher
- Software engineer, still in tech
- Tests pool robots in his own backyard
- Unapologetic espresso nerd
What you'll find here
What you can expect from a review
Used where it belongs
Pool gear goes in the pool, kitchen gear makes dinner and running shoes get real miles.
Enough time to find the flaws
We keep products for weeks, months and sometimes years. Durability can't be rushed.
The details behind the score
We tell you how long we used something, what happened and why it got its score.
You help pick what's next
Your questions and projects help us choose what to test next.
How we test
What happens before a review goes live
The details change with the product, but the basic process doesn't.
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01
Choose what to test
We look at the models people ask about, compare what's available and decide what to buy.
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02
Live with it
Products go to work in a real home for weeks or whole seasons, setup headaches and all.
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03
Compare it with the alternatives
We look at performance, durability, ease of use, price and what else you could buy instead.
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04
Write it, then come back later
We publish the good and bad, then update the review if something breaks or a new model changes the recommendation.
Suggest our next long-term test
Tell us what you're shopping for. It may be the next thing we test.