With the improvements in stick-vac performance, we’ve ratcheted up our tests for the category. We’ve made our pet hair tests a bit more challenging, and we now embed dirt in carpeting instead of scattering it on the surface as we used to do. For bare-floor testing, instead of combining all the debris into a messy…
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage Leaf Single-Edge Razor Lately my favorite kind of shaving is the same kind my grandfather would have found familiar: A single very sharp blade. I’ve been lathering shave soap with a brush and bowl—and shaving with an old-fashioned single-blade, single-edge, unmedicated safety razor. Specifically, I’m using the Leaf Thorn (8/10, WIRED Recommends)….
Photograph: Matt Kamen Boot up the C64U, and you’re greeted by a re-creation of the C64’s menu. Here, you can type in operation commands just as you would back in the day, using the BASIC programming language. Problem: I don’t have the first clue about BASIC. However, in what is possibly the greatest throwback of…
Spend any time at all researching outdoor gear, whether it’s a new tent or a new rain jacket, and you’ll quickly find yourself awash in a confusing array of jargon. Silnylon, polyurethane, X-Pac, cuben fiber, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE)—what are these things? What none of them are is perfect. Each has its own weight,…
The CPSC has flagged safety issues with loungers for years. The Boppy infant lounger was recalled in 2021, several lesser-known loungers sold by Amazon and Walmart were all recalled in 2024, and four more baby loungers have been recalled so far in 2025. In 2024, the CPSC passed a new rule to try to make…
Compare Our Picks Others We Tested Photograph: Kat Merck Els Pet Orbitie for $260: This is one of the least expensive lidded automatic litter boxes. It functions much like the more expensive models, with an internal 65-liter-capacity orb that rotates and catches clumps with a plastic grate, depositing them into a bag-lined box below. The…
Growing up in the Sacramento Valley in Northern California doesn’t prepare you for an East Coast winter. Weather that’s 100° F, relentless sunshine, warm days in November? Sure, I can handle it. A snowstorm in April? I don’t think I’ll ever get acclimated to that. An electric blanket is an obvious solution to the misery…
Looking for a juiced-up Bluetooth speaker that can also keep your other devices charged? The JBL Charge 6 is currently marked down to just $130 on Amazon, an impressive $70 off its usual list price. Photograph: Ryan Waniata Photograph: Ryan Waniata Photograph: Ryan Waniata JBL Charge 6 Like other JBL Bluetooth speakers, the Charge 6…
To thank our members for your continued support of Consumer Reports, we’ve partnered with 12 brands whose products excel in our tests, to bring you exclusive offers that are not available to the general public. These member-exclusive deals range from 10 to 35 percent off. Below, CR Digital and All Access members can find the…
You might also consider noise, because a loud machine can be annoying if you’re trying to work or watch TV while you warm up your room. Fortunately, many of the space heaters in CR’s ratings earned a very good or excellent score in our noise test, and those that did worse typically had other shortcomings….