Independent reviews
From everyday tech and home products to lifestyle and specialist gear, each review focuses on practical use, strengths, limitations, and who the product suits.
Kitchen Knives
A handmade gyuto from Australian bladesmith Jez at Oblivion Blades, with self-made copper Damascus laminate, a 52100 core, and a story worth knowing before you buy.
Kitchen Ingredients
We put Ocado's chopped frozen garlic head to head with fresh garlic in an identical blind taste test. Here's how it performed on flavour, price, and practicality.
Food & Drink
Five famous Indian food chains go up against their copycat rivals, from burgers and subs to coffee and fried chicken, with a clear winner in each round.
Food & Snacks
From jam biscuits and choco pies to masala noodles, colas, and choco lava cakes, we compare iconic originals with their cheaper lookalike rivals to see which ones are actually worth buying.
Outdoor Cooking
Three Ooni pizza ovens side by side: fuel options, real-world cook times, and what to know before you spend.
Kitchen Knives
Handmade Japanese craftsmanship, R2 powdered stainless core and a beautiful bog oak handle, with two flaws worth knowing about before you spend $556.
Cookware
We compare the Our Place Always Pan against five winning pieces of dedicated cookware to see if one pan really can replace them all.
Cookware
A textured pure-titanium cooking surface promises non-stick cooking without coatings. Here is how it performs in real cooking, and where the design falls short.
Outdoor Cooking
A solar cooker, a compact brew kit, a handmade rocket stove and a foldable camping toaster, tested in real alpine conditions.
Drinkware Reviews
We put Owala's two most popular water bottles and its SmoothSip Slider travel mug through insulation, leak, flow, and drop tests against 16 other top-rated brands.
Kitchen Knife Storage
A closer look at P. de Bear's small-batch magnetic knife strips and knife block, from craftsmanship to full-length earth magnets and installation experience.
Food & Pantry
We compare budget and premium versions of soy sauce, smoked paprika, ricotta and kimchi to find out where spending more actually changes the dish.
Kitchen Accessories
Seven boards, two lines, two colors. A hands-on look at Parker Asahi's synthetic rubber cutting boards and which three are worth keeping.
Kitchen
An extra-large 600 x 300 x 20 mm synthetic rubber cutting board from Fukaya City, Japan, that earns a permanent spot on the prep counter.
Kitchen Knives
These lightweight laser-engraved synthetic rubber wa handles bring the qualities of Parker Asahi cutting boards to Japanese knife handles, with a few fit considerations to know first.
Baking Tools
From tin-stored graduated shapes to comfort grip holiday cutters and double-sided fluted rounds, a look at what Pastry Tec cookie cutter sets offer home bakers and decorators.
Cookbooks
We cooked 19 recipes from Helena and Vicki's Greek cookbook over six days. Here is what worked, what frustrated us, and who this book is really for.
Cookbooks
We cooked 12 recipes from Persian Easy over six days. Here is how the book performed on accessibility, flavor, and overall value.
Cookbooks
We cooked 16 recipes from Persiana over five days. Here is how the mezze, stews, kebabs, and rice dishes held up in a real kitchen.
Food & Grocery
Four everyday supermarket staples, each paired with a premium rival, cooked side by side to see where the extra money actually shows up in the pan.
Food & Drink
Puff pastry, Parmigiano Reggiano, beef mince and Kalamata olives, tested in identical dishes to find out which upgrades are worth the money.
Advent Calendars
From toasted marshmallows and luxury chocolates to lebkuchen, licorice, hot sauce and fine whiskey: six premium advent calendars tested, compared and ranked.
Food & Drink
Peanut butter, feta, chickpeas and tinned tuna went head to head in a blind taste test. Here is where spending more genuinely pays off, and where it does not.
Food & Drink
Two home cooks, identical dishes, one swapped ingredient. Six familiar products, from sesame oil to Granny Smith apples, tested to see if the premium pick is actually worth it.
Food & Drink
We compare a premium and a budget version of four everyday ingredients to find out which upgrades justify their price.
Food & Drink
A pink pineapple, aged Italian rice, a celebrity wine box, and a Noma flavour pack face a simple question: luxury worth paying for, or Instagram tax?
Food & Drink
Cray Cray Gin, Dorset Spice Shed Baconizer Dust, and Hattingley English sparkling wine taste-tested to find out which indulgences earn their price tag.
Food & Drink
Fermented pasta, sparkling cocktail dust, designer pistachio cream, and a rare Tabasco. We taste four premium ingredients to see which earn their price tags.
Gourmet Ingredients
Bottarga, Kanzuri aged chilli paste, and premium Cantabrian anchovies reviewed for flavour, craft, and whether the price makes sense.
Kitchen Gadgets
A handleless peeler, a portable soda maker, sculptural trivets and a champagne saber, put through real use to see which ones earn their keep.