I first encountered the ideas of ultralight backpacking in 1994, in an article in now-defunct (and much-missed) Backpacker magazine. It was titled “Less is More,” by Mark Jenkins. (I still have a PDF copy I scanned years ago.) Jenkins wrote about a long trip across Europe and Africa. By the end, he and his traveling…
Apple launched a slate of new iPhones on Tuesday loaded with the company’s new A19 and A19 Pro chips. Along with an ultra-thin iPhone Air and other redesigns, the new phones come with a less flashy upgrade that could turn out to be the true killer feature. A security improvement called “Memory Integrity Enforcement” combines…
It’s common knowledge that a Prime membership gets you free two-day shipping. But there are Amazon Prime perks that make the service more worthwhile—and considering the cost of a yearly membership, you’re doing yourself a disservice if you aren’t taking advantage of all of them. Below, we’ve listed some of the perks you should be…
We have reliability ratings for 11 major brands of gas snow blowers: Ariens, Briggs & Stratton, Craftsman, Cub Cadet, Honda, Husqvarna, Power Smart, Simplicity, Toro, Troy-Bilt, and Yardmax. We also have reliability ratings for five major brands of corded electric and battery-powered snow blowers: Ego, Greenworks, Ryobi, Snow Joe, and Toro. CR members can read…
The new era of Silicon Valley runs on networking—and not the kind you find on LinkedIn. As the tech industry funnels billions into AI data centers, chip makers both big and small are ramping up innovation around the technology that connects chips to other chips, and server racks to other server racks. Networking technology has…
Paul Hope Paul Hope is a Home & DIY Editor at Consumer Reports and a trained chef. He covers ranges, cooktops, and wall ovens, as well as grills, drills, outdoor power tools, decking, and wood stains. Before joining CR in 2016, he tested kitchen products at Good Housekeeping and covered tools and remodeling for This…
Underneath flashy brand names or packaging, most ice melts feature blends of the same ingredients: sodium chloride, calcium chloride, or magnesium chloride. “They’re all salts,” says David P. Orr, director and senior engineer of the Cornell Local Roads Program. And any salt will seep into porous pavement, potentially causing problems. We spoke with Orr, veterinarians,…
The models below are the ones we would recommend to our friends and family. The most reliable vehicle is highlighted, with other highly rated models listed beneath it in order of their reliability ratings. Each has standard electronic stability control, an important safety feature. Many are also available with active safety features such as forward…
Seventy-five percent of Americans who belong to a membership-based retailer said they buy paper towels there. Name-brand: We found Bounty paper towels at all five stores.• The cheapest picks were Costco ($28.49 for 12 rolls, or 4 cents per square foot), BJ’s ($24.49 for 12 rolls, or 4 cents per square foot), and Sam’s Club…
“Developing a tire specifically for electric vehicles requires a number of considerations you do not encounter when working with internal combustion engines,” said Ian Coke, chief technical officer at Pirelli North America. “Electric vehicles are heavier, have more powerful and faster acceleration off the line, and require lower rolling resistance.” Rolling resistance refers to the…