The Best Travel Power Strips and Surge Protectors With USB Charging

Wall outlets are in short supply on planes and busses and in airports and hotels, so packing a portable power strip is a must for frequent travelers. After researching dozens of models and testing the top contenders, we think the best power strip for North American travel is a product sold under two different brands: You can find it as either the Accell Home or Away Surge Protector or Tripp Lite Protect It 3-Outlet Surge Protector. They’re functionally identical, so just pick the one that’s cheaper when you’re ready to order. Both sell for about $20, have three outlets and two USB-A charging ports with adequate spacing for bulkier plugs, and are smaller and lighter than any other travel model we’ve tested.

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Essential Tools to Ride Out a Winter Storm

Winter storms often possess a mesmerizing beauty, but can do plenty of harm via extended power outages, icy roads, and frozen pipes, which can severely damage a home. To get through an extreme whiteout unscathed, you need to be prepared.

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The Best Budget Digital Piano for Beginners

My 38-year musical journey began the first time I sat down at my cousin’s piano. My parents were able to foster this newfound passion by picking up a cheap, upright acoustic piano for me to practice on, but due to its age it had issues that made playing challenging. This is why Wirecutter recommends a good, affordable digital piano for beginners. If you’re looking to begin your (or your child’s) journey with music, the Casio CDP-S150 is an excellent choice because it suitably replicates the feel of an acoustic piano but costs less and requires less space.

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13 Valentine’s Day Gifts for a New Relationship

Conventional wisdom says you should give a romantic gift for Valentine’s Day. But that’s tricky if you’re in a new relationship—especially if you don’t want to appear overly ooey-gooey in love. Sometimes it’s better to give something that shows you’ve picked up on your new partner’s interests or recognized something they actually need. The gifts here will show your special someone that you’ve been paying attention.

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The Best Pizza Stone and Baking Steel

A pizza stone is the best tool for baking up crispy pies that’ll rival those made by your favorite restaurant, but it can also do so much more. After making more than 50 pizzas, 24 flaky croissants, and 10 loaves of rustic bread on four stones and two baking steels, we think the FibraMent-D Home Oven Baking Stone is the best all-purpose stone for preparing crisp pizza, crusty bread, and golden pastries.

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Ask Wirecutter: How Should I Clear the Piles of Dangerous Snow Off My Car?

Ask Wirecutter, an advice column written by Annemarie Conte, explores the best approaches to buying, using, and maintaining stuff. Email your biggest product-related problems to askwirecutter@wirecutter.com.

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The Best Platform Bed Frames Under $600

You don’t have to spend big bucks to boost the ambiance in your bedroom—adding a simple platform bed frame can be a game changer. It’s an easy and affordable way to support your mattress, and it will make your bed comfier to climb into and prevent mold from forming underneath. We spent weeks researching and testing bed frames to find our three favorites—each is easy to assemble, sturdy, stylish, and costs less than $600.

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The Best Cheap Mattresses (Under $500)

Sometimes, splurging on a mattress just doesn’t make sense. Most foam, innerspring, and hybrid mattresses (part coil and part foam) cost more than $1,000, which is out of reach for a lot of people. If you’re furnishing a child’s room or a guest bedroom, moving frequently, or simply working with a tight budget, a decent cheap mattress can be a good compromise that doesn’t hurt your wallet—or your back. But wading through the abundance of cheap mattresses online can be intimidating. Many are uncomfortable and saggy, and they could wind up being a waste of money and effort in the end.

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These 6 Gadgets Make Life Easier and More Energy Efficient

Smart-home devices make life more convenient, more secure, and even a little more fun, but when used right they excel at making your home more energy and resource efficient, too. Without much fuss or money, you can install any one of these devices and quickly experience the benefits. And if you install a few, not only can they work together, but your savings can compound, as well. The efficiency and savings come from smart devices’ ability to do things automatically, such as adjusting the thermostat at night or turning off the lights when you’re not home. The following collection draws from the top picks in our various guides to smart-home devices. Our guides are great resources for a deeper understanding of how these devices work, how to use them, and how to take advantage of the features you might enjoy the most.

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The Best USB-C Laptop and Tablet Chargers

There was once a time when buying a new laptop charger was difficult and expensive, but computers with USB-C charging have made replacements easier to get and more affordable than ever. The best choice for almost any modern tablet or laptop is Nekteck’s 60W USB-C GaN Charger. This adapter is just as powerful and reliable as a replacement from your laptop’s manufacturer, and it’s smaller than almost any other we’ve seen. It’s safety-tested and certified, and it comes with its own USB-C charging cable, making it a particularly great value at its very low price.

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Ask Wirecutter: My Family Uses Scratched Nonstick Pans. Is That Bad?

Ask Wirecutter, an advice column written by Annemarie Conte, explores the best approaches to buying, using, and maintaining stuff. Email your biggest product-related problems to askwirecutter@wirecutter.com.

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The Best Hybrid Mattresses

Mattress companies pitch hybrids (which are part coil and part foam) as being the Goldilocks of beds: not too springy, not too foamy. But that middle range is vast. A few coils sandwiched between thick cuts of foam won’t add much resilience. A sliver of memory foam deep below the surface can’t tame the jiggle of a thousand springs.

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Most Gift Baskets Are Terrible. These Are Great.

Gift baskets get a bad rap, and many deserve it for their uninspired or mismatched components: stale crackers, gritty chocolate, Red Delicious apples that are anything but. We wanted to find the standout choices, gift baskets that would be delicious, beautiful, delightful, and comforting any time of year.

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Sofa Buying Guide

When you buy something online, sight unseen, you’re taking a leap of faith. And this is especially true with sofas, which often cost hundreds or thousands of your hard-earned dollars and can be a hassle to return. There are so many styles, types, and sizes of sofa—from buttoned-up Chesterfields to the Dalì-inspired Bocca—that “best” is often a matter of personal taste. After years of research and testing, we’re ready to admit that we can’t tell you which sofa model is the best one for you. But we can walk you through the process and help you balance quality, budget, and space constraints with your unique needs and tastes.

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10 Cheap(ish) Laundry Aids to Help Your Clothes Look Better and Last Longer

All clothes wear out—but you can breathe new life into tired duds and keep beloved staples looking better for longer with the right supplies and a little know-how. We consulted Patric Richardson, a textile care expert and author of Laundry Love, and Madeline Miller, a product specialist at The Laundress, for some advice. Ahead: the best gear and tips for washing, drying, and maintaining your clothes so you can wear and wear them for years to come.

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The Best Showerhead

Swapping out an old, dribbly showerhead for a new model is one of the simplest improvements a person can make to their home—and to their overall quality of life. After we took more than 150 showers with 18 showerheads, we found the one we’d be happiest using every day: the Kohler 22169-G-CP Forte Multifunction Showerhead. We think this is a worthwhile splurge—the satisfaction-to-effort ratio of a showerhead upgrade is off the charts, and completing the job is surprisingly easy.

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The Best Portable Power Station

If you’re going off the grid or prepping for an emergency, the Jackery Explorer 1000 can keep your electronic gear running for hours—or even days—at a time. It’s roughly the same size and weight as a small microwave, and it provides a steady stream of power without the noise or exhaust of a gas-powered portable generator. After 73 hours spent testing 16 portable power stations, we found that the Explorer 1000’s impressive max output, wide array of ports, easy-to-use interface, and rugged exterior helped it stand out from the competition.

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The Best Chef’s Knife

A great chef’s knife can revolutionize your daily meal prep. If your knife is comfortable to use and razor sharp, you can chop ingredients faster and with more control (and therefore more safely). Even for those who find cooking to be a chore, a quality chef’s knife might make the task feel easier. After putting in over 150 hours of research—and chopping more than 70 pounds of produce with 23 knives—we recommend the Mac Mighty MTH-80. It’s been our pick since 2013, and over the years it has proved to be dependable, sharp, comfortable to use, and a crowd favorite in our tests.

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I Paid Less Than $50 Total for My 57 Houseplants. Here’s How.

Taking care of houseplants is my favorite pastime; my second favorite is not spending my hard-earned cash when I don’t absolutely have to. Fortunately, I’ve discovered that it’s almost ridiculously easy to cultivate a huge population of houseplants for virtually no money.

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The Best Laser Printer

Printers are annoying. All of them. But if you want to keep your annoyance to a minimum, we recommend a laser printer: Not only do laser models print sharp text and crisp graphics, but they also run more reliably than inkjets and won’t clog if they sit unused for weeks between jobs. The best laser printer is the powerful, versatile HP Color LaserJet Pro M255dw. It’s easy to set up and simple to use, and it produces great-looking results, both in color and in black and white.

Global supply chain issues have made it more difficult to find some of our printer picks, and have caused the price of others to jump. If you’re considering other printers in this series, just be aware that the letters after the number indicate key features: D for duplex printing, F for faxing, and W for wireless printing. Some models drop one or the other, so be sure to check before buying.

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When Is the Best Time to Buy a TV?

You don’t have to spend a fortune to get a quality TV that lasts. Besides Black Friday, there are a couple of key times throughout the year when you can save on buying a fancy TV to watch all the touchdowns, fumbles, and Rihanna performances in stunning high definition. Here’s what you should know.

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The Best Rechargeable Battery Charger (for AA and AAA Batteries)

Today’s rechargeable AA and AAA batteries are much more efficient and reliable than those you may remember from years past. If you’re making the switch to rechargeables, you’ll need a charger to keep them powered. We spent 11 hours researching and 45 hours testing AA and AAA battery chargers, and we found that the Panasonic Eneloop BQ-CC55 is the best for most people. It’s compact, has a fold-out AC plug, and charges up to four batteries at a time. And it has lights to tell you when each battery is dead, half-full, or fully charged.

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The 24 Best Valentine’s Day Gifts for Her

Whatever you celebrate on February 14th—Valentine’s Day, Galentine’s Day, or illustrious suffragette Anna Howard Shaw’s birthday—it’s an opportunity to show the lady in your life some love. We’ve gathered our favorite gifts for women here, so you can focus less on shopping and more on celebrating your relationship, whether it’s romantic, platonic, or something in between.

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How to Clean Stainless Steel Appliances

Even stainless steel appliances that are treated to prevent smudges should be cleaned periodically to maintain that buffed, industrial sheen. If you’ve washed stainless steel before (or attempted to), you may have had the annoying experience of the surface looking sloppier than when you started. That’s because not all cleaning products perform well on it, whether they streak, emit strong chemical odors—or clean other surfaces perfectly fine but leave stainless steel a mess. We studied manuals and spoke with experts to find the most efficient and effective method for cleaning stainless steel appliances. Here’s how to do it.

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The Best Sleep Headphones (But We Hoped for Better)

Unless you are a motionless back-sleeper, most earbuds and headphones are far too bulky to wear comfortably overnight. Even the smallest pair of true wireless earbuds can fall out, become lost, or cause other problems. Sleep headphones are supposed to be the solution for people who want to block out sounds, fall asleep to music, or mask issues such as tinnitus—but when we set out to find the best sleep headphones, our dreams were dashed. Every pair we tested let us down in some way. We still have recommendations to address specific needs, but you should be prepared to accept a number of compromises.

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Our Favorite Kids Pajamas

No matter your age, changing into pajamas can anchor a bedtime routine, and soft, cozy PJs make easing into evening a pleasure. The best sleepwear for babies and kids will keep them comfortable through the night. And it will also hold up through years of washing, remaining in good shape so it can be handed down to a younger sibling or friend. Below, we list a wide variety of jammies for kids—and a snuggly robe, too—that have been a hit with our own little ones.

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