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.
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.
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.
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 StairwaySpecial. (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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
After 16 months of pandemic isolation and cabin fever, we’ve planned a summer schedule that’s positively frenzied—fueled by a need to make up for lost time. But our FOMO is tempered by an equally pressing FOGA: The Fear of Going Away.
It was at our mortgage closing, when the seller received an eye-popping $900 final water bill, that I first developed FOGA. Apparently, when they vacated the house, a couple of running toilets and a leaky faucet had gone undetected, draining more than 47,000 gallons in a single month—about eight times more than normal. As with the wisdom about liberty, it seemed the price of home ownership would be eternal vigilance.
The lesson was reaffirmed over a President’s Day trip when I received The Call: Our rental tenant had pulled the battery from a chirping smoke alarm that connected to the boiler and water heater, causing them both to shut down. It was 27 degrees out, and I was a three-hour drive away. My FOGA levels surged.
Such unwelcome discoveries have become the norm. During various trips away we’ve enjoyed visits from porch pirates, who twice nabbed packages, and a bike thief. There’s been a puddle under the dishwasher, and the discovery that the cellar door had been left open during a rainy week.
So one day I finally got it together to go smart. And thus when a frantic call came from guests who couldn’t get our front door to unlock, I was redeemed: brandishing my iPhone, I commanded Siri to trigger a smart lock I had installed. Siri did so instantly, I was a hero, and everything was glorious in the world.
I’ve since outfitted our home with a range of smart home products that have eased if not eliminated my FOGA. Some of these devices keep an eye on our place and send me an alert whenever something seems amiss. Others are automated to make it less evident we’re away. And overall I like being able to remotely drop in from anywhere in the world to have remote control of all my devices—a lock, an array of lights, the thermostat, and more—to make sure all is well.
What I find particularly appealing is that I can pick and choose the devices that work best for my needs, and that I’m not on the hook for yet another monthly fee. Here are several ways you can protect your home while you’re away, from the quick and cheap to the more involved and more costly.
Last-minute quick fixes
Before breaking out tools and tech, the first step in vacation-proofing is to check off the basics. Deputy inspector Jessica Corey, commanding officer of the NYPD’s Crime Prevention Division, says that you have to minimize the appearance that no one is home. “Don’t leave a note on the door for the mailman or deliveries—stop your mail or get someone to pick it up. And if your drapery isn’t normally closed, it shouldn’t be while you’re away either.” For stretches longer than a week, hire someone to mow the yard and put out and collect your garbage cans on schedule. Turn off the water-supply valves to the clothes washer and dishwasher, and even the toilets. Above all, ensure that a neighbor is on board to check on things and has a set of spare keys, including for your cars. As a failsafe, I place a set of keys in a combination lockbox that hangs from a doorknob—in an emergency, anyone with the combination can get in.
For $10 or $15, you can use a smart plug with a lamp plugged into it that will then turn on and off on a set or varied schedule. Better yet, get a three-pack, turn on their Away mode, and your lights will randomly turn on and off to better simulate an occupied home. (Wirecutter recommends several in our guide to plug-in smart switches.)
A smoke alarm is useful only if someone is there to hear it. For our home and also our rental apartment I installed Nest Protect smoke alarms: If smoke or carbon monoxide are detected, I get an instant notification on my phone so I can check up on things or call in the cavalry. (You can find more info in Wirecutter’s guide to smart smoke alarms.)
Better options, with a budget
Conspicuously mounted outdoor cameras, such as the Nest Cam Outdoor, do a great job of dissuading potential burglars (you can read about them in Wirecutter’s guide to outdoor security cameras). I have one set under our front stoop that sends a notification and a video clip if someone approaches the basement door. Mounted on your house, a camera also lets you check on your property after inclement weather, a huge help if you have large trees or suffer from flooding. And as a little pro tip, Corey strongly advises against mounting fake cameras: “If you’re going to mount a camera, get a real one—dummy cameras give you a false sense of security.”
You can install a low-cost motion-sensing camera (you can see our favorite models in Wirecutter’s guide to indoor security cameras) inside your home as well, which will send word whenever anyone—a housesitter, dogwalker, repairperson, or potential burglar—crosses its path. It also lets you see live video and even communicate walkie-talkie style if need be.
Along with wind and hail, water is one of the most common sources of damage for homeowners. Tiny battery-powered moisture detectors such as the Flo by Moen Smart Water Detector, placed near a water heater or sewer drain, connect to your home’s Wi-Fi and send an alert to your phone if they sense a leak or flood. (For more info, read Wirecutter’s guide to smart leak detectors.)
Corey recommends using lighting timers to make it look as if you’re still at home. “Make sure the lights and televisions and other items come on at different times, not always on the same schedule," she notes. I’ve found that smart bulbs, such as Philips Hue or LIFX bulbs, are far easier to program and have “Scenes” that make it so that your bulbs turn on and off randomly instead of on a repeated schedule (you can read about smart bulbs in Wirecutter’s guide). They can also be set up to be triggered by a motion sensor or another smart device such as a lock—an additional burglar-busting feature. “I strongly suggest having motion-sensor-activated lighting around the outside of the house. It’s one of the cheapest forms of security you can have,” Corey said.
The works: A restful vacation
I installed a smart lock, the Ultraloq U-Bolt Pro, because it eliminates the need to copy physical keys and keep track of them (read more about smart locks in Wirecutter's guide). I use an app to create a code anytime for anyone who needs to come by—the housesitter, an Airbnb guest, the flooring person—and get a notification when they come and go. And I can disable access when I get home without needing to collect keys. I also set it to auto-lock if someone forgets. It’s low-profile and attractive, unlike many keypad locks.
A doorbell camera pings my phone whenever someone is at the door, which is great as I can speak to a visitor as if I were home—or ignore them—while still knowing who is gracing my front step. The model I installed, the Nest Hello, sends alerts if it sees motion. (For information on other models, see Wirecutter’s guide to smart doorbells.) It does double-duty as a security camera since it records video 24/7, which I view on my phone. That way I can consult the video if something bad actually does happen, or if I just need to catch the jerk who keeps letting his dog poop on my sidewalk.
To avoid frozen pipes in winter and scorched plants or pets in the summer, a smart thermostat like the Ecobee3 Lite Smart Thermostat adjusts the temperature in preferred ranges while using the outdoor temperature as reference (extreme temperature swings prematurely age your house as well). It also can pair with tiny sensors you place on a shelf to turn things off when people are gone. (For more information on smart thermostats, see Wirecutter’s guide.)
The biggest purchase I made, and the one that has brought the greatest peace of mind, was a Phyn Plus smart water monitor and shut off valve. This device (and there are others like it) attaches to your home’s main water supply and uses AI to detect when a plumbing fixture is stuck on, if there’s a small leak, or if a pipe has burst or even if one is frozen and about to pop. It sends you a notification so you can act, but in the event of a catastrophic leak such as a burst pipe, it automatically shuts off your water (you can turn the water back on with the app or manually with a wrench). While the Phyn cost several hundred bucks plus the cost of a plumber, my homeowner insurance loves these devices and provided a discount equal to the cost of the whole shebang. And it makes sense: The Insurance Institute says that 98 percent of annual claims are from property damage, and although fires account for the highest costs, one in 50 homes suffers water damage—with an average claim over $10,000. Check if your company offers a discount and if so, this one’s a no-brainer.
As an alternative to a whole-home, professionally installed security system, DIY versions such as SimpliSafe, Abode, Ring and Wyze, let you mix and match compatible security sensors—motion, door/window, water—with some popular smart devices like many mentioned here, but without an ongoing service contract (to learn more, see Wirecutter’s guide to security systems). You can get alerts on your phone when you’re home, and when you go away you can pay a modest fee, in some cases as low as $5 a month, for professional monitoring, so you get the best of both worlds.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
