Why this page exists
Most buying guides are assembled from specification sheets and other buying guides. That produces pages that agree with each other and with the manufacturer, and tell you nothing you could not have read on the box. This page explains what we do instead, so you can judge whether our verdicts are worth your time.
How we choose what to test
We start from the question a buyer actually asks — will these stay in my ears on a commute, will this air fryer fit between my sink and my wall — and pick the handful of models that question really applies to. Popularity is a signal, not a criterion: a product does not get tested because it sells well.
How long we live with a product
Nothing gets a verdict on day one. Every product in a group test stays in daily use for at least two weeks before we publish, and the units in a comparison run side by side, in the same room, on the same day, so the differences we report are the products and not the weather. Long-term notes are added at day 30 for anything with a battery or a moving part.
What we measure
- Sound — leak and blocking are measured at one metre, at the position a real listener sits, not at the microphone-friendly angle a spec sheet implies.
- Power — wattage is read at the port with a USB power meter while the device is actually charging, never copied from the label.
- Heat — surface and exhaust temperatures are logged across a full charge or a full cook cycle.
- Size and weight — every product is weighed and measured with a tape, because millimetre claims and centimetre realities are not the same thing.
- Wear — battery behaviour and connector condition are recorded at day 1 and again at day 30.
Instruments are named in the review they were used in. When we cannot measure something with the equipment we have, we say so and leave the claim out rather than repeat the manufacturer’s number.
How we score
Each product is scored out of ten from four weighted parts: measured performance 40%, build and durability 25%, everyday usability 20%, and value at the current street price 15%. The weights are fixed before testing starts, so a product cannot be talked into first place after the fact.
A product can win a category without winning every individual test, and we say which tests it lost. Where two products are effectively tied, the cheaper one is recommended and the tie is stated plainly.
What we refuse to do
- We do not publish a verdict on a product we have not used.
- We do not present manufacturer specifications as test results.
- We do not accept payment to change a conclusion or a ranking.
- We do not leave a recommendation standing for a product we would no longer buy ourselves.
How we make money
Retail links on this site are affiliate links, and we may earn a commission when you buy through them. The commission rate is never an input to a ranking: several products we recommend earn us nothing, and some we do not recommend earn us the most. Affiliate relationships are disclosed at the top of every review, before the content.
Corrections
If a figure turns out to be wrong we correct it and note the change at the bottom of the article with the date. Every review with a live recommendation is re-checked at least once a quarter, and anything we would no longer buy is removed from the recommendation rather than quietly kept online. To flag an error, use our contact page.