CNN Underscored is constantly testing products — be those pillows, budget laptops or standing desks — to find the absolute best in each respective category. Our testing process is rigorous, starting out by spending hours of research to find the top products in each category. Once we create a testing pool of products, we test and retest each product multiple times in real-world settings over several weeks or even months.
This year, we’ve already tested many dozens of products — from the best pillows to budget laptops to standing desks — to find the best products you need to make life better. Here are the winning products from May.
Best pillow overall
The Eden pillow from Coop Home Goods is supportive and plush, and lets you adjust its fill to accommodate your preferences for height and firmness, making it the best, most versatile pillow we tested.
Best clothes steamer overall
With a range of steam settings and attachments that let you take care of any type of clothing, and a stable, simple-to-use design, the Conair Turbo Extreme Steam Handheld Fabric Steamer combines ease of use with maximum functionality.
Best robot mop overall
The compact, inexpensive iRobot Braava Jet 240 is simply the best robot mop for the money. While it doesn’t have the smarts of more expensive models and can’t do double duty as a vacuum, its efficient design and simple pattern-based navigation deliver impressive cleaning.
Best immersion blender overall
This slim, compact hand blender is packed with power, making it a versatile tool that can whip up everything from smoothies to soup to spreads in seconds — and, when you’re done, can be tucked away out of sight easily in a drawer.
Best pour-over coffee maker overall
We found the flat-bottom, three-hole design of the Kalita Wave 185 Pour-Over Coffee Dripper allowed for the most even and consistent brewing of all models tested. The Kalita produced the most robust coffee, maintained spot-on temperature, and the most even saturation of the grounds.
Best hard-shell carry-on overall
The Away Carry-On has everything you want in a suitcase: durability, thoughtful organization, smart features and chic design — at a fair price point to boot.
Best budget laptop overall
The Inspiron 14 has all-day battery life, enough power to chew through schoolwork or office tasks, an excellent keyboard and trackpad and a good (but dim) screen. It even includes nice-to-haves like a webcam cover and a more-useful USB-C port (it supports both charging and video out) than its competition
Best portable charger overall
Where the Anker PowerCore 13000 shone most was in charging capacity. It boasts 13,000mAh, which is enough to fully charge an iPhone 11 two and a half times. Plus, it has two fast-charging USB Type-A ports so you can juice a pair of devices simultaneously.
Standing desks
Best standing desk overall
The Branch Adjustable Standing Desk is a near-perfect desk that can handle multiple monitors, dual laptops and a plethora of knickknacks. It’s also incredibly sturdy, with one of the best builds we’ve encountered.