Our 2020 year in review

2020 did not go the way we’d planned. [Wirecutter logo]( Sarah MacReading 2020 did not go the way we’d planned. In 2019, we opened a beautiful new flagship office, which sat dormant for most of 2020 due to the pandemic. We prepared a special “How to Work From Home Week” series for April, and then that “week” became tens of millions of people’s day-to-day reality. Conversations about systemic racism were amplified in every area of people’s lives, which showed us the importance of both resolving to do better and then following through. And this year Prime Day was in October instead of July, causing the holiday deals season to last nearly three months. It’s hard to believe 2020 was only 12 months long, but here’s a look at what we accomplished. — The Wirecutter Staff When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. [Learn more]( → Our top 5 guides Rozette Rago These were the most-read Wirecutter reviews in 2020: [The Best Air Purifier]( We’ve been [testing air purifiers]( since 2013, and we have always judged them not just by how well they perform but also by how easily you’ll be able to live with them running constantly in your bedroom, living room, or office. [The Best Office Chair]( If you’re spending a third of your life in [an office chair]( it should support your well being and not break your back. [What to Know Before You Buy a Peloton]( The [Peloton indoor bike]( offers unique live, at-home classes for a monthly membership fee. Here’s how it stacks up against six alternatives. [The Best Thermometer for Kids and Adults]( Most fever [thermometers]( will read your temperature accurately. But some are speedier and easier to use than others. [The Best Robot Vacuums]( If you’re short on time or just hate vacuuming, [a robot vacuum]( will probably make your life easier. Our top picks Sarah Kobos These were the picks our readers purchased most: The best air purifier: [Coway AP-1512HH Mighty]( Perfect for bedrooms, playrooms, and living rooms, the Mighty is one of the best-performing, most durable, and most economical air purifiers we’ve tested. The best humidifier: [Honeywell HCM-350 Germ Free Cool Mist Humidifier]( Simple, quiet, effective, and easier to clean than any other option, the HCM-350 has consistently come out on top in several years of humidifier testing. The best nonstick pan: [Tramontina 10-Inch Professional Restaurant Fry Pan]( With its classic flared-lip pan shape, slick nonstick coating, and comfortable handle, this is a quality pan that will last for years. The best resistance bands: [Bodylastics Stackable Tube Resistance Bands]( Each tube in this handled, user-friendly, five-band kit is reinforced with an inner rope meant to increase safety. These bands are also in high demand—and often out of stock. Deals by the numbers Michael Hession We’re discriminating in the deals we share. Indeed, we post less than 1% of the deals we review daily—but we still managed to surface thousands of [Wirecutter-approved deals]( this year. In 2020, Amazon Prime Day was in October instead of the usual July. During that event, we scanned 47,112 deals but posted only 342. Then during Cyber Week (the flurry of sales around Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday), we scanned 77,012 deals and posted only 740. Most requested Every year, without fail, the lion’s share of messages we get from readers are requests to review more things. This year, the most popular requests fell into four categories, none of which should come as a huge surprise: - [Home office gear]( As a company with a largely remote workforce, we’ve covered home office gear for years. But in 2020, with so many people newly and unexpectedly working from home, the appetite for this coverage grew. The most popular things you asked for were [small desks]( ring lights, and more [lighting for video calls](. - [Home exercise equipment]( Pandemic-era necessity forced many readers to move their workouts from the gym to their homes. As a result, we received a number of requests to cover gear like [massage guns]( rowing machines, stationary bikes (beyond those we cover in our [Peloton guide]( e-bikes, and e-bike accessories. - [Comfortable clothing]( This year we branched out with more [apparel]( coverage, and so far you’ve been happy to let us know what else you’d like to see. Sweatpants, sweatshirts, and T-shirts were especially popular requests. Good news—guides to leggings and white tees are in the works, and our guides to [the best cashmere sweaters]( and [wearable sleeping bags]( are already live. - Third-party replacements: Folks who already have an [air purifier]( or a [laser printer]( have been wondering and asking whether third-party filters or toner will perform as well as the name-brand stuff. How did we do on your 2019 requests? Some of the popular reader asks we fulfilled in 2020 include [solar outdoor lighting]( [wallets]( and [trail cameras](. Meanwhile, e-bikes and grocery carts remain on our to-do list. We’ll do our best to get to them soon. Comment highlights In 2020, more than 20,000 comments were posted across our site. (This number would have been a bit higher, but since Wirecutter’s move onto the New York Times domain back in May, some readers have been unable to access our comments sections. We’re working on a long-term fix for the issue, which we address in more depth [in this post]( Our community team tries to read every comment that comes in. (You can read more about our process [here]( Our most-commented-on review of the year was [How to Choose the Best Cloth Face Mask for You](. The majority of your comments were requests for us to review brands we haven’t yet covered, along with testimonials about your experiences with the brands we have covered. Comments of this nature are tremendously helpful, so please keep them coming! This review actually came to be in part thanks to you. Early on in the pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the US Surgeon General, and several independent epidemiologists we interviewed insisted that most people didn’t need to wear face masks unless they were sick or caring for someone who was. Our coverage in March and April reflected that guidance. We urged people not to stockpile medical-grade personal protective equipment (PPE), and we did not recommend cloth face coverings for individuals. Throughout that time, many readers urged us to cover the growing variety of cloth face masks. Eventually, official guidance changed. We [removed all coverage not meeting those new guidelines]( and got to work on [the guide you see today](. Thank you for always keeping us on our toes, and for urging us to do more and better work for you. [See our full 2020 in review here](. By the way, we are taking a break next Sunday, so we will be back in your inbox on January 10. Copyright © 2020 Wirecutter, Inc., all rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you signed up for Wirecutter's newsletter. [Forward this email to a friend](. [View this email in your browser](. To stop receiving all our emails, [unsubscribe here](. Our mailing address is: Wirecutter, Inc. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018‌ [Privacy Policy]( | [California Notices]( | [Terms of Service]( | [Contact Us](