CNN Underscored is constantly testing products — be those mechanical keyboards, ergonomic mice or robot mops — 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 headphones for sleeping to carbon steel pans to water bottles— to find the best products you need to make life better. Here are the winning products from April.
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Robot mops
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.
Kitchen
Carbon steel pans
Best carbon steel pan overall
Heavy construction, a second handle for easy transport from stovetop to oven and a design that’s deep and wide enough to tackle any cooking task make the de Buyer Mineral B our favorite of the carbon steel pans we tested.
Cold brew coffee makers
Best cold brew coffee maker overall
The Hario Mizudashi Cold Brew Coffee Pot scored highest overall: This sleek, sophisticated and streamlined carafe produces 1 liter (about 4¼ cups) of rich, robust brew in just eight hours. It was among the simplest to assemble, it executed an exemplary brew in about the shortest time span, and it looked snazzy doing it. Plus, it rang up as the second most affordable of our inventory.
Personal blenders
Best personal blender overall
The clear standout in our testing, the Ninja Nutri-Blender Pro was easy to use, created smooth blended drinks, and included a travel lid that was both comfortable to use and closed securely.
Water bottles
Best water bottle overall
The Yeti Rambler came out on top during our testing thanks to its stellar thermoregulation, amazing durability and fantastic chug cap that gives you a comfortable and quick drinking experience while maintaining easy access to the superwide mouth.
Work-from-home essentials
Beats headphones
Best Beats headphones overall
There’s a reason we call the Beats Solo 3 our best overall on-ear headphones. With audio performance and battery life that rivals significantly more expensive devices, the Solo 3 also looks fashionable in three different colorways.
Ergonomic mice
Best vertical ergonomic mouse
The best vertical mouse we tested, the Lift is especially ideal if you have wrist, arm or shoulder problems. It’s both cheaper and more compact than the popular MX Vertical, and has the advantage of offering both left- and right-handed variations.
Sleep headphones
Best sleep headphones overall
The Bose Sleepbuds II are the best headphones for sleeping — the most comfortable for all-night wear, they seal out external noise (even snoring) and have 50 different sound and white noise options to help you fall asleep and stay there.
Kids headphones
Best kids headphones overall
The Puro Sound Labs PuroQuiets offer effective noise cancellation and volume limiting for safe long-term listening, our testing panel found them the most comfortable headphones they tried, and everyone appreciated the grown-up styling.
Mechanical keyboards
Best mechanical keyboard overall
Quiet, stable and simple to customize and configure, the Keychron Q1 was the best built and most comfortable to type on out of all the keyboards we tested.
VPNs
Best VPN overall
If you’re looking for privacy — and that’s the most important thing to think about when you’re looking for a VPN in the first place — Mullvad goes the extra mile, even letting you pay anonymously. They don’t have the most servers of the VPNs we tested, but the service is accessible, fast, convenient and affordable.
Qi wireless charging pads
Best Qi wireless charging pad overall
This sleek, understated 10W charging pad looks better than other chargers in its price range and charges just as well. Its 25W wall adapter has a 5-foot cord for easy placement. Our one quibble is that it uses a barrel connector instead of USB.
