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.
Art Supplies
A painter's tried-and-true shortlist for 2025: two square sketchbooks, creamy acrylic markers, alcohol markers, blendable pencils, gouache, and heavy body acrylics.
Art Supplies
A curated roundup of the art supplies we kept reaching for all year, from pearlescent acrylic paint to lightfast colored pencils.
Running Shoes
Three daily trainers that cover easy miles, tempo sessions and everything in between, with honest trade-offs for each.
Fountain Pen Inks
A full color-by-color shortlist of fountain pen inks, from a dependable everyday black to a sheening blue that looks like the night sky.
Fountain Pen Inks
Fourteen inks that earn a spot as favorites in their color, from a reliable everyday black to a dual-shimmer sea green, plus what to check before buying.
Fountain Pens & Inks
Two inks and four fountain pens that earned their place on a collector's year-end list, from a Vanness-exclusive brown to an urushi maki-e 3776.
Fountain Pens
Thirteen flagship and favorite fountain pens across Montblanc, Pelikan, Parker, Waterman, Sailor, Platinum, Aurora, and Visconti, with honest reasons why each earns its place.
Fountain Pens
A personal take on Pelikan's M1000 and M800, Montblanc's 146 and 149, and the case for putting smaller pen makers ahead of the big brands for your next purchase.
Fountain Pens
Eleven fountain and rollerball pens that earned their place through beautiful materials, generous ink capacity, and genuinely pleasant writing.
Fountain Pens
From artisan resins and urushi lacquer to clever converters and two limited-edition inks, a year-end roundup of the pens and desk items that stood out most.
Running Gear
From merino apparel to a carbon super shoe, five running products that consistently delivered in training and racing.
Running Shoes
A year of high mileage narrowed down to a short list: three road standouts, two honorable mentions, and three trail shoes that delivered when it counted.
Running Shoes
From daily trainers to marathon racers and end-of-line bargains, these are the running shoes that earned the most wear in the first half of 2024.
Running Shoes
Twelve running shoes that stood out this year across daily training, long runs, trail work, workouts and racing, with honest notes on fit, feel and trade-offs.
Running Shoes
From budget-friendly tempo work to max cushion and super shoes, six models that stand out from a growing shoe collection.
Running Shoes
From a bargain PEBA-blend trainer to a premium do-it-all tempo shoe, five running shoes that earned a spot in a heavy training rotation.
Running Gear
From water-repellent gloves to budget fueling and a windproof gilet, nine running products that earned a place in a month of testing.
Flashlights
A flat wedge-style everyday carry flashlight with dual emitters, UV, a red laser, RGB scene modes, and a 1,600-lumen turbo output.
Everyday Carry
A compact aluminum EDC flashlight with white light, UV, a red laser, and RGB modes, plus honest thoughts on where it shines and where it falls short.
Flashlights
A 3,000-lumen rechargeable flashlight with a 3-in-1 mode customization system, hidden USB-C charging, and a few compromises worth knowing about before you buy.
Flashlights
A close look at the Fenix PD36R and what this established brand gets right, from build quality to unusually transparent manuals.
Fountain Pens
An officially licensed Lord of the Rings fountain pen with lacquer work, engraved iconography, two nibs, and a shimmer ink. Here is what works and what does not.
Fountain Pen Ink
A shimmering fountain pen ink inspired by the Chateau Frontenac, with beautiful presentation and a few bottle quirks worth knowing before you buy.
Fountain Pens
The Ferris Wheel Press Jewel in Luna Celeste combines a brass build, an engraved steampunk-style section, and a firm stainless steel nib for $180.
Running Shoes
Two lightweight, single-density daily trainers go head to head on underfoot feel, fit, stability, and value.
Fitness Trackers
After weeks of testing across running, cycling, swimming, and everyday wear, the Fitbit Air proves to be impressive hardware with a few software growing pains.
Art Supplies
A hands-on look at the 20-count gouache paint set from Five Below, tested against the popular Himi jelly gouache to see how a $5 set actually performs.
Everyday Carry
A flashlights-to-chess look at five everyday carry items that cover survival, livelihood, and fulfillment, plus the convenient alternatives that usually ride in their place.
Everyday Carry
A practical EDC list built around one test: how far would you drive back home to retrieve it? Five items that earned their place, from a stash-capable hat to waterproof notebooks.
Everyday Carry
A magnetic key shackle, a keychain bit driver, affordable tritium fobs, a modular knife mount, and a compact bum bag: five practical EDC additions with honest trade-offs.