The Best Pizza Oven

A pizza oven is not an essential item, but it sure is fun to use. It can also do something your home oven cannot: Reach the blistering-hot temperatures required to bake up the perfect pie. If you’re really into making the best possible pizza at home, the Ooni Koda 16 Gas Powered Pizza Oven is a great portable pizza oven that can help you reach that goal. After baking 70 pizzas in four outdoor pizza ovens and one indoor countertop oven, we like the Ooni Koda 16 best because it has the biggest baking surface of all the models we tested, as well as superior heat distribution.

from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-pizza-oven/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=RSS%20Feed

The Best Soundbar

The ability to enjoy a theatrical movie experience at home is more desirable than ever. The low-quality speakers built into most TVs can’t approach the performance of a theatrical sound system—but a good soundbar can. We think the Vizio Elevate offers the best way to create a truly immersive, high-quality surround-sound experience, and it has just about every feature and connection option you could want.

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The Best Hair Dryer

Most hair dryers are effective at blowing hot air toward your head—sometimes quite fast—in order to speed along your hair styling from showering to whatever’s next. It’s the small differences between models that can make a big difference overall, particularly in daily use. After putting in 20 hours of research and spending nearly 30 hours testing 23 dryers, we found that some dryers are far more pleasant to hold and use than others. Because it provides an excellent experience for the price, we think the Rusk W8less is the best choice for most people.

from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/the-best-hair-dryer/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=RSS%20Feed

The Best Baby Gate

After talking to four childproofing professionals and then installing and testing 20 baby gates, we have determined that the best one for most situations is the Cardinal Gates SS-30 Stairway Special. (And it's the best for dogs as well.) We have additional suggestions for wide openings, retractable gates, and freestanding enclosures—but we don’t recommend pressure-fit gates, a popular option that is less secure than our picks, not much easier to install, and actually likely to do more damage to your walls.

from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-baby-gate/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=RSS%20Feed

We Hate Ticks, Too. Here’s How to Protect Yourself and Prevent Bites.

The mere thought of ticks makes our skin crawl. These vile little creatures transmit diseases such as Lyme, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and the rare (but disconcertingly quaintly named) Heartland virus. Symptoms of tick-borne illnesses can range from swollen joints to meat allergies. There are about 50,000 cases of tick-borne illnesses reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention every year. Lyme, the most prevalent tick-borne disease in the US, is potentially debilitating and can be difficult to diagnose—just ask the trifecta of pop stars, Justin Bieber, Avril Lavigne, and Shania Twain, all of whom are Canadians living in the US (weird!) who have dealt with the aftereffects of undiagnosed Lyme.

from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/prevent-ticks-lyme-disease/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=RSS%20Feed

Our Favorite Plant Pots and Stands

A gorgeous plant pot can complement the look and feel of your home, adding a dash of color or an interesting silhouette—and it can be the perfect solution for that empty spot on your bookcase. A good plant pot also needs to be functional so that your plants thrive.

Drainage holes in the bottom help keep your leafy beloveds from becoming waterlogged (if your favorite pot doesn’t have any, drilling some yourself could be an option). It’s also important to buy the right-size pot. If a pot is too big for your plant, it could drain water slowly and damage the roots. If a pot is too small, your plant might not get enough water, or its roots won’t have the space they need to grow.

from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/guides/our-favorite-plant-pots/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=RSS%20Feed

The Best Tripod for iPhones and Other Smartphones

If you’ve ever compared who has the longest arms to take a group selfie or struggled to keep your smartphone stable while shooting video, a tripod and mount made specifically for phones might make your life easier. We recommend using the Joby GorillaPod 1K Kit and the Square Jellyfish Metal Spring Tripod Mount together as the best smartphone tripod and mount, after testing dozens of options along the trails of the Pacific Northwest, in the urban forests of Minnesota, and on the streets of Seattle.

from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-tripod-for-iphones-smartphones/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=RSS%20Feed

How to Move Your Home Office Outside—And Make the Most of It

If you’re working from home and lucky enough to have space where you can work on your computer outdoors, sunlight and fresh air could do wonders for your energy levels and mood. An outdoor workspace—whether it’s on a balcony, on a porch, in a yard, or even perched on a fire escape—expands your living and working space and can provide the respite you need after spending weeks in tight quarters with roommates or family members.

from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/work-outdoor-office/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=RSS%20Feed

The Best Yoga Mats

A yoga mat should be comfortable and supportive, provide sufficient grip to keep you from slipping, and be no-fuss enough to clean and carry (whether from home to the park or back to in-person classes at your beloved gym or studio). Our hatha and hot-yoga instructors Downward-Dogged, Ashtanga vinyasa-flowed, and Savasanaed on 38 of the best yoga mats (and one mat alternative), and the one that came out on top is Lululemon’s The Reversible Mat 5mm. Its dual-textured sides, firm-yet-cushiony rubber construction, and ample size will have you covered, no matter what style of yoga you practice.

from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-yoga-mats/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=RSS%20Feed

The Best Surge Protector

Any power strip will work in a pinch to add a few extra outlets to a room, but it’s important to find one that won’t let harmful power surges fry your electronic devices or start a house fire. We’ve spent more than 150 hours researching and testing surge protectors, and we’re confident that the Tripp Lite Protect It 12-Outlet Surge Protector offers the best combination of protection and outlet quantity at a reasonable price. It absorbs common household surges—up to thousands of volts—before they reach your electronics, preventing damage and fires. And you don’t have to wonder whether it’s still doing its job, because once its protection has worn out, it safely cuts the power so you know it’s time to get a replacement.

from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-surge-protector/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=RSS%20Feed

The Best Travel Backpack

Although the global pandemic is far from over, travel restrictions in many places are starting to ease. If the trips you’re planning involve endless terminal corridors, busy subway platforms, cobblestone alleys, and fourth-floor walk-ups—all in a single day—we prescribe a travel backpack. And after carrying multiple packs across thousands of miles for more than three years, we recommend the REI Co-op Ruckpack 60+ Recycled Travel Pack - Men’s and the REI Co-op Ruckpack 60+ Recycled Travel Pack - Women’s for travelers who don’t mind checking a bag. The Ruckpack has it all: a rugged exterior, a capacious interior, comfortable and adjustable straps, and a removable daypack.

from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-travel-backpack/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=RSS%20Feed

Why You Don’t Need to Ditch Your Gas Stove (Yet)

If you’ve been spooked by the stories urging you to “kill your gas stove” because it poses “hidden dangers” that are “bad for you and the planet,” you don’t actually need to freak out.

from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/dont-need-ditch-your-gas-stove-yet/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=RSS%20Feed

The Best Vibrators

Shopping for sex toys can be intimidating, especially for people who have never bought one before. After putting in 110 cumulative hours of research and testing—interviewing sex researchers, crowdsourcing opinions from enthusiasts, and analyzing data from 10 volunteers who have tried more than 20 different models since 2014—we’ve concluded that the cordless Magic Wand Rechargeable is the best vibrator for clitoral stimulation.

from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-vibrators/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=RSS%20Feed

Why I Douse My Whole Body With Cold Water Every Night

No matter where you live, whether you love or loathe the heat, it’s helpful to have a few strategies for cooling down that are not dependent on air conditioning—they can be literal life-savers. And they can be especially helpful in areas that don’t normally rely on air conditioning, like the Pacific Northwest, which is currently experiencing a record-breaking heat wave. Extreme heat can be physically dangerous, and it affects our minds and moods, too. I’m one of the heat loathers, but I’ve lived most of my life without central air. I now live in Southern California, where summer blackouts due to an overburdened electrical grid are a constant worry. Because of all this, I’ve developed a nightly ritual of dousing myself in cold water, with the aid of a bath pail that I keep by my shower solely for this purpose.

from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/douse-whole-body-with-cold-water/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=RSS%20Feed

Windows Surface vs. Apple iPad: The Best Pro Tablets

If you want a device that combines the portability of a tablet with the power, flexibility, and full-size keyboard of a laptop, there’s no perfect solution. Apple’s 11-inch iPad Pro (3rd generation) is the best choice for most creative work, but it’s not as versatile as a laptop. And the Lenovo ThinkPad X12 Detachable—which we like more than Microsoft’s current Surface Pro—is a better choice if you tend to work with documents, spreadsheets, and databases, or if you want to hook up an extra monitor, but it has fewer finger- and stylus-friendly tablet apps.

from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/can-pro-tablets-replace-your-laptop/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=RSS%20Feed

The Best Turntable

There’s something refreshing about listening to a physical record versus streaming your music. The relative inconvenience of it forces you to focus more on the music, rather than just have it provide background noise to your day. A good turntable should make this process more enjoyable by being easy to use while also delivering sound quality that brings the music to life. We recommend the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Evo because it includes all of the qualities required to create the most enjoyable listening experience.

from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-turntable/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=RSS%20Feed

How a Burner Identity Protects Your Inbox, Phone, and Credit Cards

Between vaccine appointment notifications, store pickups, online food ordering, and a general increase in online ordering, I feel like I’ve created three times as many online accounts in the past 18 months than I did in all previous years combined.

Handing out any sort of personal information, whether it’s an email address or a phone number, can lead to spam, data breaches, or harassment. More abstractly, it can also enable tracking by data brokers—companies that take identifiable bits of data, including phone numbers, email addresses, and device-specific identifiers (such as a browser fingerprint or device ID that’s linked to a phone or computer) and then aggregate that data into a marketing profile. One way to protect your personal details from both individuals and corporations is to use alternate details, which you can generate through a number of tools. These “burner” identity tools create disposable email addresses, credit card numbers, and phone numbers, all of which can help protect your main accounts while you do just about anything online.

from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/how-to-disposable-email-phone-numbers-credit-cards/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=RSS%20Feed

The Best Laptop Under $500

Lots of laptops cost less than $500, but it’s hard to find a cheap one that doesn’t totally suck. We’ve researched and tested hundreds of cheap Windows laptops and Chromebooks over the years to find decent models, and we also have advice to help you shop smart when prices fluctuate and our picks go out of stock.

from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-laptop-under-500/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=RSS%20Feed

The Best Slippers for Women and Men

Cold feet are a misery. When the weather gets chilly, almost nothing feels better than putting on a pair of cozy slippers to warm your body from the bottom up. After more than 110 hours of research and wearing 35 different styles, we still love our five-time pick, L.L.Bean’s durable and warm Wicked Good Moccasins for women and men.

from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-slippers/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=RSS%20Feed

The Best Security Cameras for Your Home

Wi-Fi security cameras let you keep tabs on your home from anywhere in the world. We’ve done hundreds of hours of research and testing on indoor, outdoor, hardwired, wireless, and doorbell Wi-Fi cameras, searching for the best ones to fit a variety of homes, budgets, and security needs. If you want to know what’s going on when you’re away, one of our camera recommendations will do the job.

from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-security-cameras-for-your-home/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=RSS%20Feed

The Best Collapsible Folding Wagons

Folding wagons can be useful tools for families, beachgoers, or really anybody who needs to tote a lot of gear from one place to another. After researching dozens of wagons and testing 10, we picked the Mac Sports Collapsible Folding Outdoor Utility Wagon as our favorite all-around wagon for basic toting.

from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-folding-wagons/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=RSS%20Feed

The Best Car Phone Mount

We’ve driven for hundreds of hours with more than 50 phone mounts in multiple cars—including 20 hours as a Lyft driver, picking up and dropping off passengers on unfamiliar roads—and we’re sure the iOttie iTap Magnetic 2 has the best combination of safety, convenience, and stability for holding your phone on the road.

from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-smartphone-car-mount/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=RSS%20Feed

The Best Drawing Tablets for Beginners

After interviewing five professional artists, researching 23 drawing tablets, and testing 11, we’ve found the Wacom Intuos S to be the best drawing tablet for beginners. The Intuos works on Windows and macOS with most popular art programs, and it offers the most precision and control of any tablet under $100. The Intuos S’s pen and tablet buttons are among the most customizable we found thanks to excellent software.

from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-drawing-tablets-for-beginners/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=RSS%20Feed

Why We Love the Game Sushi Go

Sushi Go is easy to learn but hard to master. It’s as fun to play at family game night as it is out at a bar with friends.

As the person in my friend group who is usually the one introducing and explaining new games to the others, I appreciate a game that is light on setup and simple to learn. Sushi Go nails this. It requires a measure of luck and memorization that keeps new and experienced players coming back for more.

from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/sushi-go-review/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=RSS%20Feed

The Best OLED TV

If you want the best-looking TV image that money can buy, choose an OLED TV. With perfect blacks, superior viewing angles, infinite contrast ratios, and better motion quality than you can find on other TVs, OLED displays outperform even the best LCD options—but they usually cost more (though the difference is shrinking). We recommend the LG C1 because it strikes a great balance between price and performance and is loaded with all the latest features.

from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-oled-tv/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=RSS%20Feed

The Best Hair Clippers for Home Use

For roughly the cost of a professional haircut, you can buy a long-lasting tool to create and maintain your own short, buzzed, or shaved hairstyles at home. After dozens of real-world tests of 11 highly rated hair clippers—involving professional barbers and stylists, plus a panel of DIY-haircutting volunteers—we’ve determined that the Wahl Elite Pro High Performance Hair Clipper Kit is the best clipper for home use for most people. Its sharp steel blades easily slice through fine, thick, smooth, and coarse hair without slowing down or clogging. And this clipper isn’t annoyingly loud. The Wahl Elite’s 10 included guide combs—the snap-on plastic teeth that control how closely the clipper cuts, letting you trim hair to a desired length or get creative with styling—are the best of those we’ve tried over five years of testing.

from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-hair-clippers-for-home-use/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=RSS%20Feed

The Best Smart Doorbell Camera

A smart doorbell camera allows you to see who’s on the other side of your door, even when you aren’t home, so you can weed out guests who don’t come bearing Girl Scout cookies. We recommend the Arlo Essential Video Doorbell Wired because it delivers fewer false alerts than any video doorbell we tested and offers a subscription plan that allows it to distinguish among people, animals, cars, and packages. If you don’t have existing doorbell wiring, the Eufy Security Video Doorbell 2K (Battery-Powered) is an easy-to-use option with a great image and a battery that can deliver about four months of service on a full charge.

from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-smart-doorbell-camera/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=RSS%20Feed

The Best Water Shoes

Don’t let one slippery rock interrupt your day of white-water rafting, trekking across a riverbed, or strolling a pebbly beach. Choose the right water shoes to prevent a dangerous fall or a nasty cut. Although they’ve historically been known more for their function than style, we found several pairs that are nice-looking enough to also wear on dry land.

The five great pairs we recommend all come in men’s and women’s sizes. Choose from a durable, classic sock-style water shoe; a surprisingly affordable pair; a sporty water sneaker; a tougher shoe with a grippier sole for more-intense activities; and a water-safe shoe that doubles as a stylish espadrille.

from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-water-shoes/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=RSS%20Feed

The Best Indoor Security Camera

It’s said you can’t put a price on peace of mind. Well, we’re doing it anyway—and it’s pretty reasonable! An indoor security camera lets you keep tabs on the things at home that matter most, whether that’s your kids, pets, or prized vinyl collection. We recommend the $40 Eufy Solo IndoorCam C24. It provides sharp 2K video, has four options for video storage, can distinguish between people and pets, and even detects the sound of crying. If you want to integrate it with other smart devices, it includes support for Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit.

from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-wi-fi-home-security-camera/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=RSS%20Feed

The Best Blood Pressure Monitors for Home Use

A dependable home blood pressure monitor can be a vital health management tool. After interviewing medical professionals, spending 30 hours researching more than 60 monitors since 2017, and testing 18 of them with the help of nursing students, we think the Beurer BM55 is the best machine for monitoring blood pressure at home. We found it consistent, easy to use and read, and comfortable on all arm sizes.

from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-blood-pressure-monitors-for-home-use/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=RSS%20Feed

The Best 4K Monitors

When shopping for a TV, a high-resolution 4K screen is practically a given. But 4K computer monitors are still a luxury that you don’t really need unless you’re editing photos or videos professionally, or if you want to maximize your usable desktop space. The Dell UltraSharp U2720Q is the best 4K monitor that we've tested because it has plenty of ports, it can charge your laptop while you use it, it has a flexible stand, and it’s extremely color-accurate. But if you don’t need those things, you can find all kinds of great monitors for significantly less money

from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-4k-monitors/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=RSS%20Feed