Our Favorite Fourth of July Deals
The summer sales continue after Prime Day, bringing deals on grills, appliances, mattresses, and more
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Fourth of July weekend is here, and if you’ve been waiting for a holiday to save on a big purchase, this is your chance. This is always a great time for big-ticket purchases like a new mattress and large appliances, and there are other opportunities to get big discounts as well. With the summer season in full swing, retailers are offering discounts on items you may need for the backyard, such as lawn care tools, grills, and more. And you can often find better-than-normal prices for non-seasonal items, from kitchen appliances to vacuums, fitness gear, and more.
Consumer Reports has been tracking prices on the best products we’ve tested in our labs or tried in our homes to help you find what you want and need. These are just some of the highlights of what’s on sale for the Fourth of July. If you don’t see what you want here, check our Deals hub.
Grills
The Coleman RoadTrip 285 has everything you need (sans propane) for an all-in-one grilling experience,, no matter where you are. Even better, it’s $60 less than its Memorial Day price. This toteable gas grill’s integrated stand folds up like an ironing board with wheels, so you can roll it to your ideal cooking location with ease. There are also collapsible side tables to keep tools and condiments within reach. All these factors add to its unbeatable convenience. As for grill performance, it heats evenly enough in CR tests for a competent cooking experience, and with three burners (20,000 BTU overall), you can dial in the perfect temperature with more than acceptable accuracy.
Weber is best known for its iconic kettle charcoal grill, but this flat-top grill is worth a serious look. It earns a spot near the top of our ratings for its even heating and broad temperature range. It features three burners instead of two, a second side shelf, and a lid. It also has some stainless steel accents.
The three-burner Napoleon Freestyle 365 F365DPGT delivers strong all-around performance. The grill earns top scores for indirect cooking. The wide temperature range and ability to preheat quickly and cook evenly are impressive as well. Our members like their Napoleon grills, too. As a brand, Napoleon receives strong ratings for reliability and owner satisfaction for its gas grills in CR’s latest member surveys.
The Kamado Joe Classic is on sale for $50 less than it was for Memorial Day, making this an opportune time to hit that buy button. It’s our top-rated ceramic kamado and comes packed with features, including a few that make it a stellar smoker. It comes with an elevated rack and a heat deflector for smoking meats, both of which make it easy to slow-cook, say, a brisket without drying it out. It also has adjustable dampers and a locking lid, which help control the flow of air so that you can maintain a low and slow smoke for hours on end. It excelled at slow-cooking a pork shoulder in our tests and at cooking a thin-crust pizza over high heat, earning it an Excellent rating for cooking performance.
Sunscreen
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 testers’ skin.
This Neutrogena spray is very good in overall performance across the board, with excellent UVA protection and very good protection from sunburn-producing rays. It does not meet its labeled SPF 50 in CR’s tests, but the protection is still adequate. It has a moderately strong tropical, fruity aroma and leaves a slightly greasy film and a notable sheen on the skin.
Outdoor Essentials
The Grand Patio umbrella is one of the more expensive patio umbrellas we tested and one of the larger options in our ratings. It got above-average scores in CR’s tests for ease of use and assembly, but it’s a little less rigid than higher-scoring models.
Lawn Care
The Ego LB7654, now $25 less than it was during Memorial Day sales, delivers all-star performance across the board, adept at loosening and sweeping, all in an easy-to-handle package despite weighing 9.9 pounds. In addition, this electric blower comes with a generous five-year warranty. As a brand, Ego battery handheld leaf blowers are very reliable and earn a top mark for owner satisfaction in our latest member surveys.
The Makita XUX02SM1X1 has a 13-inch cutting swath and gets excellent marks for trimming, edging, and tackling tall grass and weeds. It gets a very good score for handling, but only a midrange score for battery run time. It’s a bit heavier, weighing just over 10 pounds. The Makita XUX02SM1X1 is also part of Makita’s 18-volt battery platform. For most users, the model above is the better bet, but it’s not always in stock—plus the prices for each model can fluctuate.
This Greenworks pressure washer gets solid ratings in CR’s tests, especially when it comes to ease of use, where it got top marks. It also scored above average for cleaning and noise. It gets a middling score for power. Our testers also noted that it has a manual trigger lock, a small spray angle, and a shorter hose than most models, all of which are less than ideal. On the flip side, we found that it’s very effective at removing stains, and it’s easy to move and operate.
Kitchen Tools
Oxo Good Grips Classic Swipe Ice Cream Scoop
This lever-style ice cream scoop is relatively lightweight and has a dishwasher-safe stainless steel round scooper and a plastic handle with grips. It’s incredibly comfortable to hold, and its spring-loaded lever pushed inward with ease, released without getting jammed in our tests
The large Cuisinart AIR-200 has a window and a light so you can see your food cooking, and its large six-quart capacity means there’s enough room to cook for a crowd or to air fry an entire meal. Touchscreen controls come with five cooking pre-sets, including one for frozen snacks and one for leftovers, and a toss reminder alerts you when it’s time to flip your food. The AIR-200 also comes with a generous three-year warranty.
TempPro’s SmartBT Meat Thermometer TP920 is one of the lower-priced leave-in two-probe wireless thermometers. It sends instant temperature readings to your smartphone via Bluetooth, offering excellent response time and accuracy. The easy-to-use app estimates the remaining cooking time for nearly all cuts and varieties of meat based on guidelines from the Department of Agriculture.
This thermometer has gone up by $5 since Prime Day, but it’s still a good price.
Salt & Pepper Grinder
Ogednac Electric Salt and Pepper Grinder Set
The Ogednac Electric Salt and Pepper Grinder Set is less powerful than many of the other grinders we tried, with a 20-second lag between starting the mill and dispensing the product. The grind is very smooth, and the finest setting creates fine powder. It’s also quiet and easy to handle, especially for kids. And the LED lights show how charged the battery is and illuminate where the salt and pepper landed. But it’s hard to clean because the reservoir doesn’t detach from the mill.
Mattresses
The Casper The One wowed testers, earning top marks for its support of average and petite back sleepers. It also provided strong support for large and tall back sleepers and side sleepers of all sizes. This highly durable mattress receives a 6 on our 10-point firmness scale, so you can expect a medium-soft feel. You can also anticipate a pretty sound sleep regardless of your partner’s movements because it receives a very good score for stabilization. Casper foam mattresses tend to please their owners in terms of both comfort and owner satisfaction in our member surveys.
The Layla Essential foam mattress, which is 9 inches thick, is a great lower-cost option if you’re in the market for a firm mattress. It’s $50 more than the best price we’ve seen so far, so you may be able to save more soon, but if you order now, you’re not leaving too much money on the table. It earns CR’s top ratings for petite and average back sleepers and near-perfect scores for large back sleepers and petite side sleepers. Average and large side sleepers would find better support elsewhere, though. The mattress receives a firmness rating of 7 out of 10 in our tests. You may feel some vibrations from a fellow sleeper’s shifts; the model earns only a middling stability score. It also doesn’t retain heat. In our member surveys, Layla mattresses earn solid scores for comfort and owner satisfaction.
Back sleepers of all sizes will find superior support with this Sleep Number mattress. Side sleeper support isn’t shabby either. In addition to being solid, stable, and sturdy, it’s also an adjustable mattress in multiple ways. You can customize the firmness of this top performer, adjust its positioning if you opt for an adjustable frame, and modify its temperature settings. Say goodbye to night sweats and restless sleep, and hello to a breathable surface with top-tier comfort, according to CR members.
For more discounts: Best Fourth of July Mattress Sales
Vacuums and Floor Care
For a less expensive option than other robovacs, the Eufy C10 T2292 is a great choice if you don’t have too many carpeted areas in your home. While it’s only middling at cleaning dust and debris from carpets, it’s excellent at cleaning bare laminate floors in our lab tests. The vacuum is also impressive at cleaning up pet hair, making it ideal for pet owners.
This vacuum’s body is slimmer than those of the other vacuums we’ve tested, and its low clearance means it’s less likely to get caught under furniture. Although the vacuum’s dustbin is on the smaller side, that might not be much of a problem, because the vacuum automatically deposits debris into a self-emptying station.
The Shark PowerDetect IP1251 comes with lots of bells and whistles, including a dirt detection feature and a floor detect mode that adjusts the brush roll speed based on the surface it’s vacuuming. It’s very good at sucking up debris from carpets and is even more impressive at picking up pet hair. The vacuum can be converted into a hand vac and folded for storage.
The Shark PowerDetect HZ4002 does an admirable job of cleaning bare floors and does almost as well on carpet. It features an auto-detect mode that adjusts the brush roll speed to the surface, transitioning efficiently between the two. It can be pulled apart for compact storage, allowing it to stand on its own and take up minimal space. This model even delivers powerful suction in reverse for more efficient cleaning in both a forward and backward motion. We’ve seen it sell at lower prices this year, but this is still a pretty good discount.
If you’re in the market for a vacuum that can mop as well, but you don’t want to spend too much, this Eureka model could be a good fit. It’s the lowest-cost model we’ve tested, and you can get it at a great discount right now. The Eureka combo vac-mop scored very well (though not exceptionally) in wet and dry pickup and stain removal. It received only middling scores for ease of use and run time, but it may be worth dealing with a shorter battery life if it means staying under budget.
The GorFanty 10-in-1 MultiPurpose, which typically retails for $100, has hit an all-time low price on Prime Day and has stayed at that price. It is an excellent cleaner with a decent steam rate. It takes only 20 seconds for the steam mop to produce steam, and its steam can last for around 10 minutes on its maximum setting. We like that you can adjust the length of the mop to accommodate people of different heights. The mop comes with plenty of accessories, including attachments for cleaning tile grout, clothes, furniture, windows, and carpets.
Large Appliances
While technically 32 inches wide, the budget Whirlpool WRS321SDHZ will fit perfectly in a 33-inch space. Equipped with an external water/ice dispenser, digital temperature controls, and gallon-sized storage bins on the doors, this low-priced Whirlpool hit our thermostat performance test out of the park. This side-by-side refrigerator also earns a solid rating for temperature uniformity and midlevel ratings for noise output and ease of use. But it receives unfavorable ratings for energy efficiency and icemaker performance, and a poor rating for crisper drawer performance. In our latest surveys, Whirlpool side-by-sides receive a midlevel rating for predicted reliability but a poor rating for owner satisfaction.
The LG LREL6321S single oven is an exceptionally strong performer at a great price, especially since it’s $50 less than it was during the last big sale. It heats fast and simmers steadily on top of the stove, earning an excellent performance rating in our cooktop high and low tests. It also bakes and broils evenly. There’s no convection mode, but you’ll find a warming element, along with two high-powered burners on the cooktop. LG earned high reliability ratings for its electric ovens based on our member surveys.
One of the most budget-friendly top-load agitators in our tests, the LG WT7005CW is now the best price we’ve seen in nearly a year. This eco-friendly Green Choice washer isn’t the gentlest on clothes, but it conserves energy and water. It’s among the quietest models in our tests and causes little to no vibration, meaning it won’t disturb you with rumbling. The cycle time is 70 minutes using the normal-wash, heavy-soil setting. Shorten it by using the normal soil setting whenever possible.
For more discounts: Best July Fourth Sales on Large Appliances
Beauty Tools
The Laifen is our second-most budget-friendly hair dryer, even when it’s not on sale, after the Rusk W8less. It’s similar in appearance to the Dyson Supersonic: T-shaped, with a compact head that makes it easier to hold. Its concentrator attaches magnetically and can be rotated without taking it off entirely. Our testers found the buttons well-designed and easy to use, and the icons easy to read. Plus, it’s not too loud, reaching 79 decibels in our tests. The Laifen comes with only one attachment (a concentrator), and lacks a one-touch cool shot. It’s the least hot of all the hair dryers we tested, reaching 108° F in our tests on its highest setting. And at 71 inches, the Laifen’s cable is the shortest of all our recommended dryers.
Fitness
Each dumbbell in the Core Home Fitness Adjustable Dumbbell Set is automatically balanced because of the easy, one-handed adjustment of simply twisting the handle. Like the NordicTrack and PowerBlock sets below, the Core Home dumbbell comes with a good handgrip, and each dumbbell is shorter at lighter weights. Still, we found that each can be harder to replace in the cradle in some settings. At heavier settings, the dumbbells didn’t come out of their cradle without holding the cradle down.
This rugged-looking (and high-performing) Samsung smartwatch is aimed at outdoors enthusiasts—and anyone who wants the latest premium health- and fitness-tracking features. Just note that Galaxy Watches work only with Android devices. The price has been falling steadily.
If you want a way to do cardio at home, an elliptical gives you an aerobic workout without the impact of running. The NordicTrack Air Glide 14i is CR Recommended for its performance in our lab tests. It did fall short in heart rate accuracy, but you can always wear a smartwatch or fitness tracker for more accurate readings if you want to track it.
The NordicTrack Commercial 2450 treadmill performs very well in testing across ergonomics and user safety, and its wide range of exercises supports both low- and high-intensity workouts. A subscription is required to access any preset programs, though. Its frame comes with a 10-year warranty; its parts and repairs, a 1-year warranty.
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