The blog
What we pick up between one test and the next. Buying guides, honest diaries and the small details that decide whether something gets used every day or forgotten in a drawer. Every piece is written by a tester who lives in the UK and used the product at home.
Which espresso machine makes a flat white in 3 minutes? 6 tested before the school run
Seventy-five days, 214 flat whites and a nine-year-old on the stopwatch. Only one of these six machines got a proper flat white into my hand in under three minutes on every school morning.
Five gas barbecues, one windy bank holiday: the steadiest heat we found in Burnley
Seventy-six days, a 29 mph gust on bank holiday Monday and 60 slices of toast. One gas barbecue barely flinched in the wind, and it browned the grate almost evenly from corner to corner.
Automatic cat feeders UK: which one beat a greyhound and never missed a meal?
Sixty meals per feeder, a conservatory full of weighed kibble and a greyhound who learned the sound of a motor in two days. Only one feeder got every meal into the cat.
Which wireless meat thermometer keeps its signal? 5 tested from barbecue to sofa
Thirty-one cooks, two brick walls and one very patient collie. Only one of the five never dropped the signal between the barbecue and the sofa, and it hit the target within 1°C every time.
Do posture correctors actually work? A physio tested 4 on his patients for 59 days
Four of my patients, four posture correctors and 59 days at desks and kitchen tables. Only one stayed comfortable from start to finish and still showed on camera in week 4.
Which running watch is most accurate? 5 tested against a chest strap in Welsh rain
Five watches, one chest strap and 46 days of rain under Bute Park's trees and between Rhondda terraces. One stayed closest on pace and pulse. The runner-up costs a third as much.
Mattress too firm? We tested 4 toppers for 46 nights on my mum's bed
Mum spent £649 on a mattress that felt like the garden path. Before she bought another, four toppers took turns on her bed for 46 nights. One fixed her hips without swallowing her.
iPhone 18 Pro or Pro Max? A week of flights from Manchester settled it
Two new iPhones in one flat, four flights and a train to Leeds. The battery gap between the Pro and the Pro Max turned out much bigger than the £100 between them.
PS5 Pro review: ten months on our sofa, is it worth £789.99 before GTA VI?
We paid £569.99 last Cyber Monday. The same console now costs £789.99. Ten months of evenings later, here's who should pay that and who should wait.
Eight Sleep Pod 5 UK review: 88 nights in a hot bedroom with no air con
No air con, a husband who snores and a back bedroom that hit 27°C. Our sleep tester spent 88 nights on the Eight Sleep Pod 5. Here's what it fixed, and what it didn't.
Dreamland Hygge Days heated throw review: can it keep the heating off until November?
Steve's rule is no heating until the clocks go back. Denise spent 38 cold evenings under the best-known heated throw in Britain to see if that rule can survive.
Roborock Saros 20 review: can a robot hoover cope with a 1930s semi?
Five thresholds, a step down onto quarry tiles and a spaniel who herds anything that moves. After 44 days, Clive knows where the Saros 20 earns its money.
ghd Chronos review: I swore off hot plates, then tried the £299 straightener anyway
After a summer with air-powered styling, I wanted glossy hair for a wedding. So I measured the ghd Chronos with a thermometer, a stopwatch and a very honest second tester.
Meaco Arete One 20L review: a damp Lancashire terrace, a cellar and a lot of washing
Black mould behind the wardrobe, a cellar that smells of wet coats, washing on every radiator. Keith logged seven months with a popular quiet dehumidifier.
Away Carry-On UK review: does it fit Ryanair, easyJet, Jet2 and KLM?
It rolls beautifully and swallows a week of summer clothes. It's also 3 cm too deep for Ryanair's priority bag. Ten weeks with the Away Carry-On, tape measure in hand.
Ninja Double Stack XL review: does the tall air fryer beat the wide one?
It takes 13.5 cm less worktop than the Ninja we already rated. Tracey ran both through the summer holidays to see what going upwards costs you.
Sony WH-1000XM6 review: 31 years of coach engines, then ten weeks of quiet
I drove coaches for 31 years with a diesel humming under my seat. This summer I sat in the back for once, with Sony's best headphones on. Here's what they took away, and what they didn't.
Shark PowerDetect Clean & Empty review: can a £320 Shark keep up with a moulting spaniel?
Same house, same spaniel, same sand test we gave the £750 Dyson. Our old repair engineer on what the self-emptying Shark does better, and where it cuts corners.
Dyson Airwrap Co-anda2x review: worth £580 for hair that's changed with age?
At 55 my hair got finer, frizzier and greyer all at once. Six weeks with the Dyson Airwrap Co-anda2x on my head and on my neighbour's very different one, timed and measured.
Kindle Paperwhite after 34 books abroad: brilliant, with one catch for UK library users
Sandra said I packed more books than shirts. So I read 34 books on a Kindle Paperwhite over 15 months, and found the one thing UK library users should know first.
Google Pixel 11 Pro review: two weeks as my only phone, and one question from my dad
My dad wants a phone that lasts until he's 81. I wanted to know if Google's new Pro is worth £1,079. Fourteen days, one flight and a deer park answered both.
Is the Nespresso Vertuo Pop a good gift? Five weeks, two kitchens and 143 pods
My mum wanted proper coffee without a steam wand. So the little £99 Vertuo Pop spent five weeks in two kitchens, used 143 pods and got one very honest verdict.
PETKIT Pura Max 2 review: a self-cleaning litter box in a house with greyhounds
One tabby, two greyhounds who treated the old tray as a snack bar, and a switch from wood pellets. 40 days with the PETKIT Pura Max 2, and what it really costs in pounds.
Ring Battery Video Doorbell Pro review: the new 4K model on a stone house in Sheffield
A former repair man fits Ring's 4K battery doorbell to a stone doorframe, counts 1,236 alerts in 54 days and works out what it really costs over three years.
Dyson V16 Piston Animal review: is £750 worth it with a dog that moults?
33 days, a springer spaniel who moults all year and a 1930s house full of skirting boards. Our old repair engineer on where the V16 earns its price and where it doesn't.
Garmin Forerunner 570 review: 12 weeks of Cardiff drizzle, a parkrun PB and no maps
Fifty-three runs, a parkrun PB in Bute Park and a rugby club barbecue that wrecked my readiness score. What the Forerunner 570 gets right, and who should save the money.
Oura Ring 4 review: 118 nights, hot flushes and the subscription question
Three in the morning, duvet on the floor, again. I wore the Oura Ring 4 for 118 nights to see if it could explain my sleep, and whether it's worth paying for every month.
Furbo 360 review: a treat-tossing camera meets two retired greyhounds and a cat
Six weeks, 26 times out of the house and one tabby who sat in front of the lens. What the Furbo 360 showed us about an anxious greyhound, and what Dog Nanny really costs.
Ninja Foodi MAX Dual Zone AF400UK review: a month of teas for two hungry lads
54 cooks in 31 days, from fish fingers to a Sunday chicken. Tracey found out why half her street owns this air fryer, and the two things that drove her up the wall.
De'Longhi Magnifica Evo review: did it end my £40-a-month coffee habit?
I was spending over £40 a month on coffees on my office days. So we logged 276 cups from De'Longhi's best-selling bean-to-cup to see if it could stop that.
Are AirPods Pro 3 worth it? What 61 flights from Manchester taught me
A stag party on the 06:40 to Dublin, thirteen hours to Singapore and my dad's first hearing test. Ten months with AirPods Pro 3, and who should keep their Pro 2.
Weber Spirit E-325 review: six weeks of British summer on the sear zone barbecue
Twenty-six cooks, one engagement party in the drizzle and a gas bottle weighed on the allotment onion scale. What the new Weber Spirit E-325 gets right, and where it cuts corners.
Ninja CREAMi Scoop & Swirl review: can it replace the ice cream van?
The van stopped coming down our road three summers ago. So a retired repair engineer spent six weeks and 49 tubs finding out if Ninja's soft serve machine can fill the gap.
Kärcher WV 6 Plus review: 11 windows, a stopwatch and a spaniel's nose prints
The window cleaner comes every fourth Thursday and it rains on the Friday. So Clive timed a £70 window vac against his old bucket and squeegee, pane by pane.
Philips OneBlade Pro 360 review: a physio's verdict on face, legs and strapping
A physio with a rash-prone jaw, a cyclist's shaved legs and a rugby club's worth of ankles to strap. Seven weeks with the Philips OneBlade Pro 360, and how close it really gets.
Galaxy S26 Ultra review: can the stranger on the train still read your screen?
Tilt your phone and ask who else can read it. I used the Galaxy S26 Ultra as my only phone for 38 days to see if its privacy screen, battery and zoom earn £1,249.
Traeger Woodridge Pro review: a pellet smoker through a wet Lancashire spring
Nineteen cooks, 52 kg of pellets and more rain than any barbecue deserves. What the Traeger Woodridge Pro does well in a British back garden, and the one thing it hates.
Thermomix TM7 review: what £1,349 buys a working mum in Leeds
It's sold at demos, not in shops, and it costs more than my first car. Tracey cooked 47 recipes in 40 days to see how much time the TM7 really hands back.
Theragun PRO Plus review: a physio asks if the £599 gun beats the £299 Prime
Two Theraguns, one clinic, one rugby club and a nurse's aching feet. A physio's honest look at what the extra £300 for the PRO Plus actually buys you.