Best Back-to-School Sales on Dorm Essentials, Tech Devices, and More

The Primula Burke Cold Brew Coffee Maker PBPBK-5101 aces our convenience test, performs impressively in our cleaning test, and earns a respectable score in our taste test. This Primula comes with a glass carafe, and most of its parts are dishwasher-safe. It’s the only model we tested that calls for a full 24-hour brew time, but you might find the results worth the wait.

The programmable 12-Cup Capresso SG220 is a great choice for those seeking a coffee maker that’s very easy to operate and clean, and Sam’s Club has it for $10 less than any other retailer. It’s a simple machine with a large capacity and a 9-minute brew time, and CR’s testers rate it excellent for convenience. It also does well in terms of brew performance. Though it lacks small-batch settings, it includes brew-strength controls and basic features, such as a drip stop. In our latest survey, CR members gave Capresso drip coffee makers an average score for predicted reliability and owner satisfaction

The unassuming, inexpensive Hamilton Beach 12-Cup Programmable 49465R might be easy to miss, but it can brew a mean cup of joe at a fantastic price. It has all the essentials in a basic black-plastic finish. It’s programmable and has an auto-shutoff. What’s more, it does a superb job in our brewing test and can make a fresh pot in just 10 minutes. This model also performs strongly for convenience and carafe handling in CR’s lab tests. But it’s worth mentioning that this model is more prone to overflow, unlike some other models we’ve tested.

As glass-carafe drip coffee machines go, this Cuisinart drip coffee maker ranks among the best—and it’s back down to the same low price we saw for Black Friday. This machine performs superbly in our brewing tests and really well in our assessments for general handling and convenience. You can program it to brew at a certain time and tailor the brew strength to your desired preferences. An indicator light lets you know when it’s time to clean it. Cuisinart, as a brand, earns high owner-satisfaction and reliability scores for its drip coffee makers.

The Marshall Emberton II is a good-sounding small portable Bluetooth speaker that differentiates itself with its styling. So if you want to avoid the typical cylindrical speaker in Skittles colors, the Emberton II is an elegant option. Channeling the styling of its namesake company, the Emberton II is a nice gift for the guitar geek in your life. Unlike Marshall’s larger models, which sport satisfyingly beefy knobs, the baby Marshall wasn’t particularly easy to use in our lab tests.

The JBL Flip 6 is very similar to the Flip 5 and the Flip 4 before that, and that’s a good thing. This speaker is an under-the-radar classic: It sounds good as long as you don’t play it too loud, and it’s small enough to slip into a bag or even the water bottle pocket on a backpack. JBL claims it has the same up-to-12-hour battery life as the Flip 5, too, plus an IPX67 water-resistance rating, which means it can survive a dunking. It’s also dust-resistant.

The brand-new Apple Watch Series 10 (see our review) comes with a bigger, brighter display and faster charging capabilities, which might make tracking your sleep easier. The model is also equipped for the first time with sleep apnea detection cleared by the Food and Drug Administration.

The Fitbit Inspire 3 has a bright OLED color display instead of the monochrome screen found on the earlier model. The model is lightweight and slim, and it pairs easily with iPhones and Android phones. To access certain features—like a deeper dive on your sleep data—you need Fitbit Premium ($10 per month or $90 a year), but a six-month subscription is included with your purchase. Our testers report that the Fitbit Inspire 3 is easy to use and quite accurate at counting steps and monitoring heart rate. The claimed battery life is more than respectable at 10 days. CR has confirmed Fitbit’s claim that the Inspire 3 is water-resistant to 50 meters (164 feet).

You can grab the sleek Fitbit Charge 6 for under $100 right now. It sports a full-color, 1.1-inch display. In addition to the basics like sleep and step tracking, it offers more advanced health-tracking features, like stress monitoring and an ECG (electrocardiogram) function that can alert you to irregular heart rhythms. The claimed battery life is an impressive seven days.

The Easy-Take Skincare Fridge is the only skincare fridge we evaluated that has an LED mirror on the front door that has three brightness levels, which comes in handy if you’re trying to save space on your vanity. The fridge has one removable shelf, but the height can’t be adjusted. The door closes securely with a magnetic closure, but its capacity is smaller than other models we tried, and it was unable to fit a 13.5-fluid-ounce bottle of micellar water.

If you want an electric toothbrush that won’t cost an arm and a leg, the Sonicare 4100 is a good choice. This is the standard sale price that’s available more often than not, but it’s much cheaper than other options that rate just as highly in our tests. Although this toothbrush is on the simpler side when it comes to extra features, it still performs admirably when it comes to teeth cleaning and ease of use. It offers two cleaning modes, and it comes with two especially helpful features: a timer and a pressure sensor. It doesn’t offer any connectivity to an app.

This Sharper Image massager could be great if you’ve got athletes in the family. One of our evaluators said it was so strong she felt as though her privacy was being invaded. Another could only handle it at its lowest intensity, but she did say that once she got used to it, she found it to really help loosen her shoulder muscles. It is the most expensive model we tried and the heaviest at nearly 5 pounds. But with this discount, if you want an intense massage, it’s definitely worth a look.

While one of our evaluators noted the chef hat-like shape of this bonnet was the least flattering of those we tried, the satin-lined Hairbrella’s elastic band is adjustable and stays put. It also comes in three sizes, allowing you to choose a larger size, which is especially useful if you wear rollers or rods when you sleep.

It’s hard to come by 100 percent cotton sheets at a synthetic fabric price. But this set from California Design Den offers quality and affordability. It excelled in our fit tests, so you’ll never have to worry about the corners rolling up mid-sleep, and our shrinkage assessment proved that multiple washes won’t significantly reduce its size. It’s also one of the softer-feeling fabrics we’ve tested. However, you can expect a fair amount of wrinkling, and the tear resistance is just average.

If your kid sleeps hot, a cooling blanket might be an easy solution, and the Guohaoi Cooling Blanket offers strong cooling performance and features a similar smooth, swimsuit-like feel. It’s made with a nylon-polyester front and a cotton back, and includes a satin border, though the build quality and stitching are less refined than the Elegear. While it stays cool during use and doesn’t retain heat, issues like the loosely attached layers and less comfortable design make it a less compelling option than the Elegear Cooling Blanket, which costs a bit more right now but performs a bit better.

The Bedsure Electric Heated Flannel Blanket Throw could be a great buy if your kid’s dorm is extra cold. This blanket is thin and light. Though it’s cozy, it resembles an inexpensive fleece blanket you’d find at a grocery store. One side is striped flannel and the other is linty fleece. The flannel isn’t the best quality, but it does get hot. And it has the lightest wires of the blankets we evaluated. Prices vary by color, and the option shown here is the lowest price available.

Samsung’s Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 has dropped $50 since the beginning of August. This is a premium 2-in-1 laptop that flips between tablet and clamshell modes with ease. It features a gorgeous OLED touchscreen, a thin-and-light build, and long battery life.

LG’s Gram line of notebooks has consistently scored among the top laptops in our labs since it debuted nearly a decade ago. The 16-inch Gram Pro, which often retails for $2,400, has been on sale for a little while now, but the price dropped an additional $100 recently. It offers very fast performance and a 17-plus-hour battery life. Of course, given that it’s called the Gram, you’d be correct in assuming it’s quite lightweight as well.

Looking for a lightweight tablet your kid can toss in their backpack and use all day at school? This previous-generation Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 has a crisp 11-inch display, a top-notch camera, and a long battery life.

If you want an iPad, this entry-level model is our pick as the best tablet for most people. It has a beautiful 10.9-inch display, 128GB of storage, and the ability to record HD video. And its battery lasts a decently long time in our testing: 14 hours during video playback and 9 hours browsing the web.

If your kid goes for runs after school, the Bose Ultra Opens are a unique option that will allow them to listen to music while still being aware of their surroundings. They hook on your ear, just above the lobe, kind of like a cuff-style earring. Once you get the placement just right, they sound surprisingly good, too. And it’s totally easy to hear things around you with a clarity that the "transparency" mode of most earbuds can’t match.

JBL Tune 510BT headphones feel like they’re built with quality in mind: They’re cheap, but they don’t seem cheap. This Bluetooth model delivers pretty good sound quality, it has a 40-hour advertised battery life, and we’ve seen it selling at remarkably low prices. The 510BT sits on the ears, which some people find more comfortable than being engulfed by the more common over-ear style. As an extra perk, you can also use them with a cable if you forget to charge them.

The Anker Nano is particularly pint-sized, at just 3.6 ounces. It receives solid marks for charging speed, both when it’s charging a device and when it’s being recharged at the wall. And it has two USB-C ports, including a foldable male USB-C port you can plug directly into your phone—no connecting cable needed. The Anker Nano only has enough capacity to fully charge an average smartphone from zero battery about once or to top it off a few times—so this wouldn’t be the charger to take on a days-long trip. But it does have handy LED lights that show you its battery status, so you know when it’s time to plug it back into an outlet.

Dash may not have the same name recognition as Ninja or Cuisinart, but the 2.6-quart Dash Tasti-Crisp Ceramic DCAF26CM air fryer earns solid scores in CR’s tests and comes at a sale price that’s better than we’ve seen so far for this model. With food contact surfaces made of nonstick ceramic, it earns top marks for ease of cleaning even though it’s not dishwasher safe. We found it runs more quietly than many other air fryer models to boot. The DCAF26CM has a small footprint, making it a smart choice for a dorm room or for those with limited counter space.

Kate Spade’s 2-Slice Toaster might be the perfect gift for a college student moving into their first apartment (they’re not typically allowed in dorms). This aesthetically pleasing toaster nabbed an excellent score in our lab tests for color range and toasting time. That means it evenly browns your slices—no matter whether you like ’em light or dark—and it does it quickly, so you’re not drooling into those toaster wells (which happen to be big enough for bagels).

The yellow version was only $36 during early Prime Day sales, but this is the lowest price currently available.

The main thing that the Canon PIXMA TS7720, an all-in-one inkjet, has going for it is its price. The real street price is closer to $100 than the original $150, but you’re still getting a small savings here. Our estimate of ink cost is $68 a year, pretty typical for a cartridge printer. The lab results it turns in are decent, not extraordinary.

This Epson all-in-one color inkjet printer scans and makes copies, too. It’s not a particularly fast printer, but you can expect sharp-looking text, graphics, and photos. And because it’s a tank model that you fill from ink bottles, you’ll spend far less on replacement ink over time—around just $7 annually, per our estimates—than you would buying a model that uses pricey cartridges.

This is a good deal on a wireless router that does quite well in our ratings. It’s not a mesh router, but if a single-unit router is sufficient to envelop your home in WiFi, this one should do a good job. Our testers note high speeds (technically referred to as “throughput”) across near, medium, and far distances, as well as useful features like automatic firmware updating (which helps keep you and your data safe) and the ability to manage everything from a smartphone app.

The Renpho R3 massage gun might be the best all-around device for most average users because it’s small, lightweight, and quieter than other devices. But it’s not the ideal choice for people who want the most intense massage or the best model to massage areas on the back. 

The pistol grip could add some more postural stress than other devices, though its light weight and small form could help alleviate stress for some. As a bonus, this can be charged with a standard USB-C charging cable.

The Abus Granit X-Plus 540 U-Lock is a good option if you want a sturdy lock for your e-bike or your regular bicycle. It scored well in our testing, but it doesn’t include hardware for attaching it to your bike’s frame for easy transport.

At 30.2 pounds, this Schwinn folding bike is heavier than other models we’ve tested and doesn’t fold as easily or as compactly. And the lock that holds the folding handlebar stem upright while you’re riding had some play in it on our tested bike, which can make the Loop feel a little wobbly over bumps. But it’s also relatively inexpensive and comes with a handy carrying bag that keeps folded parts that aren’t secured—such as the handlebar stem and frame half—from swinging around while you’re carrying it. Most models we tested didn’t have a way to secure folding parts that could swing back and forth while moving the bike and could have used a carrying bag.

The Heybike Cityrun performed well in our range, acceleration, braking, hill climb, and unassisted cruising tests. It’s at a decent discount right now, including free front basket and large basket attachments—plus CR members can save even more (see below for details). Even without battery power, it still managed to perform capably when climbing a hill at the lowest gear setting. It also has hydraulic disc brakes and a hub-drive motor, as well as front LED lights and a seven-speed Shimano shifter. The Cityrun is available in three colors: black, green, and orange. At 64 pounds, it’s a bit heavier than some other models, which can make it more difficult to move if you need to put it away or load it into a car.

Digital and All-Access members can save an extra $100 using the code HBCR100. This brings the price down to the best we’ve seen for this e-bike.

Dorm rooms aren’t exactly known for their ample storage space, so these bags can come in handy for the kid with a big wardrobe—or just make it easier to move them in and bring them home. The Cozy Essential Vacuum Storage Bag comes in various combo packs. This set includes 20 bags, with four each of these sizes: jumbo, large, medium, small, and travel roll-up. Our evaluator liked that they were easy to both pump and compress, and the variety of sizes offers a lot of convenience for travel and storage.

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.