The Recommender team spends a lot of time testing gadgets—devices designed to make our lives easier, smarter, better, or simply more enjoyable. For the holidays, we rounded up some of our favorite gear, from a thermoregulating wearable made by engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to a barista-grade espresso maker that puts most home systems to shame.
Solo Stove Bonfire
Solo Stove offered soothing respite during the pandemic lockdowns with its well-designed, easy-to-maintain fire pits. The midsize stainless-steel Bonfire model provides consistent, low-smoke flames and minimal cleanup, for a cozy but still impressive fire that’s safe for backyards and campsites. The product—and its two other sizes, the 15-inch Ranger and 27-inch Yukon—uses an innovative ventilation system, funneling out heat and mitigating smoke as it burns. While our story on Solo Stove looks back to 2020, the most impressive elements of the product—its ingenious method of putting out heat and eliminating messy cleanup—remains the same.
Loftie Alarm Clock
In the spirit of breaking up with your phone before bedtime, Loftie’s sleek alarm clock has plenty of clever features in the service of sleep hygiene. From built-in bedtime stories and sound baths to a gentle, glowy nightlight, the device brings all the digital “musts” to your bedside table, without the outside chatter of social media and other to-dos. From our review: “Since I moved house just a few weeks ago, my Loftie alarm clock is currently lost in a sea of boxes. I hadn’t realized how dependent on it I had become. I’m now back to mindlessly scrolling through TikTok before bed and waking up groggier than ever. I’m just waiting until I get to that fateful box and my Loftie and I can be reunited.”
Therabody Wave Duo
Premium percussion massagers were everywhere in 2020—but the new line of vibrating rollers from Therabody, the maker of Theragun, were a slightly different take on muscle maintenance. The Wave Duo’s unique peanut shape allows it to cradle your spine and midback: “We created it to treat muscles on either side, and then you melt into the center,” Therabody’s director of human performance, Lissa Bankston, told Recommender. Still, despite its distinct shape, this compact device can also be used elsewhere on the body, cradling muscles to give users an effective, all-around massage. When reviewing, we found the product to be lightweight and nimble, giving our carpal tunnel syndrome a run for its money.
Opte Precision System, $599
Opte—a P&G Ventures gadget—provides what CEO Matt Petersen calls “the world’s smallest inkjet printer.” The catch? It’s for your skin. The product uses a hypersensitive camera and blue LED lights to detect hyperpigmentation and other discoloration to place small amounts of color product for a smooth, even, glowy finish. The brand aims to own a category it deemed “precision skincare,” with the market message that you need only the smallest fraction of product to address skin ailments, rather than a cookie-cutter amount
