The Field Bureau
How we test.
Every number on this site is a number we measured. We started this bureau because every other AU camping site quotes spec sheets. We don't.
About the Bureau
An independent Australian field-test desk for 12V camping & touring gear.
Camp Gear Rated isn't a content farm. Every product we recommend is tested by hand against the same protocol — pull-down time, ambient-stress draw, vibration on-track, real-world cycle counts. We publish the numbers. We publish the failures. We don't review what we haven't owned.
“Every other AU camping site quotes spec sheets. We don't. Every number on this site is a number we measured, in real heat, on real rigs.”
Read how we test & score 39tested Products through
the full protocol
the full protocol
0fridges 12V fridges on
the bench
the bench
0power Power stations
load-tested
load-tested
59guides Field reports
published & live
published & live
The Rig 
The Field Logger interval
1 Hz / 1 sec
Test bank
200 Ah LiFePO4
Ambient range
11°C – 47°C
Total field hours
672 hrs
The protocol
- Bench setup. Each fridge runs against a calibrated 200 Ah LiFePO4 bank with a Victron BMV-712 shunt, logging current at 1 Hz.
- Ambient run. A HOBO MX2202 logger records ambient temp at fridge height. We run baseline at 25°C, hot-day at 41°C, and an extreme run at 47°C peak.
- Field run. Fridges live in a real 4WD across NSW, SA and QLD weekends. Corrugations, dust, real cab heat. Failures get photographed.
- Power-out test. We pull the supply, log how long the fridge holds 4°C internally with the lid closed.
- Publish. Runtime curves, average draw, peak draw, hold-time. Raw CSVs available on request.