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The popular outer gap model of magnetospheric emission from pulsars has beenwidely applied to explain the properties observed in $\gamma$-rays. However,its quantitative predictions rely on a number of approximations and assumptionsthat are usually overlooked. Here we examine them, reviewing the mainingredients entering in the model, evaluating their range of uncertainties.Usually, in the quantitative applications of the model, key parameters like theradius of curvature and the energies of the interacting photons are taken to bea fixed, single value. Instead, here we explore their realistic ranges, and theimpact of these on the consistency of the model itself. We conclude that thepopular evaluation of the trans-field size of the gap as a function of periodand period derivative, is unreliable and affected by a huge dispersion. Last,the exploration of the possible values for the radius of curvature, the localmagnetic field and other quantities deserve more attention for quantitativeapplications of the outer gap model, like the calculation of $\gamma$-rayspectra, which is the subject of an accompanying paper.

An assessment of the pulsar outer gap model. I: Assumptions, uncertainties, and implications for the gap size and the accelerating field