Brandon Foster

I spent the last three months testing freestanding electric fireplaces in my own home, and what started as a curiosity turned into a full-blown project. I dragged eight different models into my living room, bedroom, and even my home office, measuring heat output, judging flame realism, and listening for fan noise at 2 a.m. to … Read more

Your basement doesn’t need to be a swimming pool every time the rain hits. A reliable sump pump is the single most important piece of equipment standing between a dry, usable basement and a flood that costs $5,000 to $25,000 to remediate. After spending three months testing, researching, and comparing feedback from thousands of homeowners … Read more

I spent the last 60 days running eight range hoods through real cooking tests in my own kitchen. I seared steaks, stir-fried vegetables, and yes, made a lot of smoky bacon. What I found surprised me. The most expensive model was not the best performer, and the cheapest one nearly kept up with units costing … Read more

After 90 days of real-world testing across flights, couch sessions, and a six-hour road trip with a brick-obsessed ten-year-old, I can tell you straight: the Steam Deck OLED is the best handheld gaming console you can buy right now. It hits the sweet spot of a gorgeous 7.4-inch OLED screen, full Steam library access, and … Read more

I have spent more hours than I want to admit testing gaming mice. Over the past three months, our team ran 10 popular mice through Valorant, CS2, Baldur’s Gate 3, and about 200 hours of general productivity to find the best gaming mice you can actually buy in . We tracked sensor accuracy, click feel, … Read more

After three months of testing mechanical keyboards in our workshop and shipping them to our team of FPS and MMO players, I have a strong opinion on which ones deserve a spot on your desk. The best mechanical keyboards for gaming in deliver a measurable edge in responsiveness, comfort, and durability compared to standard rubber … Read more

Spending $250 on a headset that muffles footsteps in Counter-Strike is a fast way to ruin a weekend. I have been testing the best gaming headsets for PC for years, and the gap between a $40 workhorse and a $300 audiophile rig is wider than most spec sheets suggest. This guide is built for PC … Read more

The best beginner drone with a camera is the DJI Mini 4K, because it combines a 4K camera with a 3-axis gimbal, rock-solid GPS, and a sub-249g frame that skips FAA registration while still shooting cinematic footage. I have been flying camera drones for years, and I keep coming back to the Mini line when … Read more

Finding the best wood stoves for cabins changed how I spend winter weekends at my own off-grid place. After three years of trial and error, including one winter with a stove that smoked me out twice, I learned that a wood stove isn’t just a heater. It’s your cooking surface, your emergency backup, and the … Read more

The best standby battery backups for homes in aren’t just for tech nerds anymore. After a winter that knocked out power to my neighborhood three times in two months, I went down a serious rabbit hole testing every home battery backup I could get my hands on. I’ve been running equipment through power outages, brownouts, … Read more