A duck boot is a waterproof boot with a full rubber lower that wraps up the foot and ankle, paired with a leather, neoprene or textile upper. L.L.Bean introduced the category in 1912 for wet, muddy work, and the design has barely changed since: vulcanized rubber keeps water out below the stitching line while the … Read more
A rolling pet carrier earns its wheels the moment you clear the parking lot. Most of the hard part of flying with a pet is not the flight itself, it is the forty minutes of terminal corridor, the curb, the jet bridge and the long walk to a car on the other side. Our pick … Read more
Are latex pillows worth it? For most side sleepers and hot sleepers, yes. Latex is elastic rather than slow-rebounding foam, so it pushes your head back up the instant you stop moving, it moves air through its open-cell structure all night, and a solid core holds its shape for years instead of a couple of … Read more
Halloween projector lights are the fastest way to turn a plain front porch into a haunted-house scene without a ladder, a stapler, or an afternoon of extension cords. We spent weeks putting ten of them through their paces in to find which ones hold up in real yards, and the short answer is this: the … Read more
A fresh spill on the carpet is one of those problems that looks tiny and turns into a weekend project. Most people reach for a spray bottle, scrub with a brush, blot with a towel, and then watch a brown ring reappear a week later. The problem is that a vacuum lifts dry debris only. … Read more
If you live anywhere that sees real snow, the difference between the right tire and the wrong one is measured in feet, not opinions. Most drivers underestimate how much a cold-weather compound changes braking on packed snow, and how quickly a summer tire turns into a liability once temperatures drop below about 45°F. That is … Read more
The best all season tires for SUVs balance cold-weather grip, wet braking, and enough tread life to survive a 50,000 to 80,000 mile ownership cycle. The Michelin CROSSCLIMATE2 A/W CUV wins for cold and wet grip, and the Michelin Defender2 wins for tread life. Three questions narrow it down fast: which size does your SUV … Read more
Running boards are step surfaces bolted along the rocker panel of a truck or SUV, giving you a foothold to reach the door sill and adding some protection from road debris. If your SUV sits high enough that you brace a hand on the roof to get in, they are the single most useful accessory … Read more
A lift kit changes what your tires throw. On a factory-height truck the body sits close to the road, so rocks, mud and winter grit hit the rocker panels and the paint behind the wheel almost immediately. Raise the suspension and that same debris leaves the tire with more speed and from a higher angle, … Read more
A hood deflector, bug deflector or hood shield is a rigid or semi-rigid panel mounted across the front edge of your hood that redirects bugs, stones and road grit up and over the truck instead of letting them hit the paint. Pickups live on gravel roads, job sites and rural highways, so the leading edge … Read more