Best Early Black Friday Deals Under $25

Tub O’Towel Heavy-Duty Cleaning Wipes are big enough for heavy-duty cleaning and reusing. Dried-up sweet potato, milk, hot sauce, and rice were no match for these wipes. They were also easy to dispense from the tub.

When we tested three of Dawn’s dish soaps against each other, we found that they all cleaned dishes well. Dawn Platinum Plus PowerSuds Liquid Dish Soap boasts “2x the suds,” according to the label. We found that the suds it produced remained rich even after washing eight dirty dishes. It had a pleasant smell, and it was easy to dispense onto our test sponges.

If you love cold coffee but dislike the flavor when ice waters it down, consider this a fix. Fill two of the HyperChiller’s three separate inner chambers with water, freeze, then pour hot coffee into the third for nonwatery cold coffee 60 seconds later.

This budget-friendly butter crock has a retro look, akin to something you’d find in an antique shop. It’s dishwasher-safe and comes in a plethora of colors, including robin’s egg blue, classic red, sapphire blue, and white.

This handy nonslip silicone mat comes with measured markings that can take the guesswork out of baking. The food stylist and cookbook author Jesse Szewczyk loves to use this silicone mat for rolling out dough to specific shapes and doing so much more. “Need a 10-inch circle for a pie? Or an 11-inch square for shortbread?” he says. “Just check the mat! Not only does it help make measuring easy, but it’s nonstick and makes cleanup a breeze.” The best part? You can roll it up and take it to the sink—no need to clean the countertop—and just as easily stash it in a drawer when you’re done.

Blackout curtains can be a total game-changer. The Amazon Basics Room Darkening Blackout Curtains are among the best we evaluated for a number of reasons. Tested in both black and white, they scored a perfect 5 out of 5 for their ability to block light. As for how well the curtains provide insulation against heat loss and gain, we scored it 4 out of 5. Made from polyester/polyurethane, each panel uses loops to attach to a rod. They’re also washable—making them both functional and convenient.

The Elegear Revolutionary Cooling Blanket was CR’s top pick because it kept us the coolest in our tests and was comfortable, soft, and well-made. It features smooth Arc-Chill 3.0 Cool Fabric on one side and Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certified cotton on the other side.

This blanket was a few bucks cheaper during Prime Big Deal Days, but this is still a solid discount.

If you’re looking to store your winter clothes, vacuum storage bags can be a great way to get them out of the way without taking up a ton of space. And this set of three from MagicBag could be a good option, especially for under $10. While these bags did require a big, more physical effort to seal, our evaluator noted that they didn’t have caps on the valves, which made it easier to use them overall. And with the zipper, one side is blue and the other is yellow—it turns green when it’s closed properly.

Much like trackers made by Samsung and Tile, Apple AirTags work best if they’re within Bluetooth range (roughly 30 feet) of your own phone. But, that said, there are millions of iPhones and other Apple devices roaming around out there that can pick up a signal and discreetly convey it to you when you find yourself searching, say, a park or a school campus for the keys you dropped. Is the tracking pinpoint accurate? No. But it’s close enough to give you a huge head start in your search.

This budget stylus is compatible with nearly every iPad made after 2018, and it is the most impressive non-Apple stylus we evaluated. Our tester, a professional illustrator, said it felt like drawing with a real pen on paper, and drawing felt like "a dream." It offers palm rejection and tilt support. It’s easy to turn on—just double-tap the top—and it doesn’t require pairing with your iPad. Plus, it attaches to the iPad magnetically, reducing the chances you’ll lose it.

This pen is actually $3 less than its Prime sale price.

Want to spend even less on a new stylus? This model from Digiroot might be a good option. It’s worth noting that our testers suggest this one is better for simple tasks like note-taking and doodling but not so much for detailed drawing because it lacks pressure sensitivity.

This H2ofloss water flosser has an on-demand mode (short on/off press) and is USB chargeable, but it did not come with a charging brick. It has a flexible suction spout for flossing in any position, and a removable tank that is easy to fill with a larger opening. It comes with a carrying bag, cleaning brush, two standard tips, and five other tips, including a Periodontal Tip (for Plaque and gums) and an Orthodontic Tip (for braces.

This Biore UV Aqua Rich SPF 50 Daily Moisturizer facial sunscreen uses chemical active ingredients and delivers strong broad-spectrum protection, with excellent UVA coverage to help prevent premature aging and long-term skin damage, and very good UVB protection to effectively guard against sunburn. Its high-performing formula makes it well-suited for daily use as well as extended time outdoors, offering reliable defense in a lightweight, comfortable application. It’s a lotion with a citrus and lemongrass aroma, but it is not water-resistant.

This Eucerin Advanced Hydration SPF 50 spray is a solid performer with broad-spectrum protection. Its tested SPF comes close to its labeled SPF 50. Like the sunscreen above, it also has that plastic fragrance-free aroma, and it left a slightly draggy film on the testers’ skin.

The Mzoo typically costs $23, and its sale price tends to hover around $20, making this an exceptionally good time to buy—I’ve never seen it this low. It’s also well-designed and effective at blocking light for most face shapes and head sizes. CR’s team of evaluators had a wide range of preferences and needs, and yet most agreed that the Mzoo mask was a great option.

If you’re looking for a new hair towel that stays put, this might be the one you’ve been waiting for. Our testers found that the YoulerTex hair towels stayed snugly in place. They’re a bit thicker than other towels we evaluated, but this didn’t make them any more absorbent. The testers all said their hair was still damp after about half an hour of wear time, but it might be the perfect choice if you’re the kind of person who sleeps in their hair towel.

This is a great, budget-friendly option if you’re not sure your pets will adapt from a bowl to a fountain. You can try it out without investing too much (and you can always invest more in an upgrade later on if you want). The Veken water fountain, consisting of five parts, was intuitive for our tester to assemble, and the carbon and foam filter replacements are low-cost as well, at $10 for a four-pack or $24 for 16. It was the noisiest option, but that didn’t deter the tester’s pets. And the flower can be removed for a low-profile bubbler effect rather than a raised fountain.

This fountain sold for just $19.99 during the Prime Big Deal Days event, so you may be able to save a few bucks if you wait until Black Friday.

“I have two of these, and they’re great because they encourage the cats to drink more water,” says Amanda Arnold, senior manager of business analytics at CR. “Cats notoriously don’t usually drink enough water, so having these helps keep their water cleaner and the kitties healthier!” The fountain comes with a filter inside and is dishwasher-safe.

Veken Packing Cubes provide great bang for your buck, though they are a few dollars more than we’ve seen recently. This set has the largest capacity among the cubes we tried, and you get eight different ones to stay organized: four small, medium, large, and extra large, a laundry bag, a shoe bag, a toiletries bag, and an accessories bag. The laundry bag, in particular, is on the larger side, which can be a real asset when you’re on a longer trip.