Affiliate disclosure, in plain language.

Living the Board Life is an affiliate-funded publication. When you click an outbound retailer link on our site and buy something, we may earn a small commission. You pay the same price you would otherwise. We only link to retailers we've personally bought from, and we've structured the whole thing to keep our editorial independent.

01Programs we're in

As of the last-updated date above, we participate in:

• Amazon Associates — general gear, smaller accessories.
• AvantLink — Evo, The-House, Backcountry and others in the outdoor space.
• ShareASale — MACkite and smaller specialist retailers.
• Direct programs— a small number of brands run their own affiliate programs that we participate in only when we've already bought and reviewed the gear.

02What we will do

• Disclose the relationship on every article that contains affiliate links, above the fold, via the clickable pill in the header.
• Mark every affiliate link with rel="sponsored nofollow" as required by search-engine guidelines.
• Link to the retailer we'd actually buy from first, even when another program pays more.
• Name flaws in products even when we stand to earn on the sale. This is non-negotiable — it's the whole point.

03What we will never do

• Accept direct payment from a brand in exchange for a review — no paid editorial, ever.
• Take gifted gear with an expectation of coverage. We occasionally accept loaner gear for review periods and always disclose it.
• Write a recommendation we don't personally stand behind.
• Insert affiliate links into essays, diaries or opinion pieces where they don't belong.

04The honest numbers

Commission rates vary by retailer and category, typically between 3% and 9%. For a €1,500 kite, that means €45 to €135 to us — shared with everyone involved in producing the review (writer, editor, tester). It is not enough to buy anyone a car. It is enough to keep the lights on and the site independent.

05Questions

We welcome them. The contact form is the best place — pick “Something else” and ask whatever you want.