9 Products on Deep Discount in January
CR's lab tests and shopping tips will help you find what you want and let you know what you might want to avoid
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With a little planning and patience, you may never have to pay full price for anything. Sales take place throughout the year, but some months and holidays are better for finding deep discounts on certain items. Coming on the heels of the holiday season, January tends to be a great time to find a good price on fitness equipment, from big investments like treadmills and ellipticals to fitness accessories like smartwatches and fitness trackers.
And if you happen to be in the market for new sheets, a soundbar, a wireless router, or a humidifier, January is the perfect time to keep an eye out for the lowest prices. You may also see more sales around Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend, especially when it comes to bigger purchases, such as mattresses and large appliances. But because January follows two months of heavy holiday sales, discounts tend to be a bit sparser overall. So if you’re looking for big savings on something other than what’s on this list, it may be better to hold off until a later date if you can. If you want to learn more about the best time to buy other products, check out our calendar of deals.
Smartwatches
January is often a good time to start shopping around for a smartwatch, according to our data. Look for New Year’s resolution-related sales that are likely to crop up at many online retailers, and you can finally take the plunge on some high-tech jewelry without overspending.
You’ll want to make sure the smartwatch you choose is going to fit your lifestyle. First and foremost, it should be compatible with your smartphone. But do you want one that has its own network connectivity? How about a heart rate monitor? Or the ability to pay for purchases? You should also take into account things like size, battery life, and replacement bands.
Read CR’s buying guide to learn more, then check out our ratings to find the best smartwatch for you.
This isn’t the new Apple Watch Series 9, but the Series 8 GPS performed well in our labs, delivering the ease of use and functionality consumers have come to expect from Apple watches. It features body temperature sensors for retrospective estimates of ovulation and a high-g-force sensor for car crash detection. It also has an ECG function designed to detect unusual heart rhythms.
The Fossil Gen 6 may be a good choice whether you’re an Android or iPhone user because it plays well with both. It has stand-alone GPS to help track your outdoor workouts, and its blood oxygen sensor provides enhanced sleep tracking. The advertised battery life of one day is on the shorter side, however.
Fitness Trackers
Much like smartwatches, fitness trackers are often discounted in January as retailers target shoppers with New Year’s resolutions that focus on health and wellness. Fitness trackers range from simple to sophisticated, with corresponding prices. Some simply count your steps while others use GPS to map your workouts, and many also measure your heart rate and can even monitor your sleeping patterns.
With so many different options, there’s sure to be a fitness tracker that fits your new lifestyle and your budget, especially if you find one on sale. Take a look at CR’s buying guide if you want a little more guidance to find the right tracker for you.
The waterproof Casio G-Squad GBD-H2000 combines smart fitness features with the classic rugged look Casio is known for. You can use the 1-inch LCD display to view the time and date, of course, but it also offers real-time heart rate monitoring, step counting, and sleep tracking, plus it shows your calories burned. It can even measure your swimming efficiency and uses solar-assisted charging in addition to traditional charging. There’s stand-alone GPS support, too, and it aces almost all CR tests but falls just shy of a perfect score for step count accuracy.
Bathroom Scales
Today’s digital scales track more than just your weight; they also offer additional information, such as your body fat percentage or body mass index (BMI). Some even connect to your phone, fitness tracker, and other smart devices for easier data tracking. You’ll often pay more for such features, so it’s important to decide what you want before you start shopping.
Check out our buying guide to see whether extra features are worth the added cost. According to our testers, weight measurements are consistent and accurate across most digital scales, but body-fat measurements aren’t.
The Escali HC225W is the highest-capacity digital scale we’ve tested. It can handle 560 pounds and earns excellent ratings across all our tests. Its slip-resistant surface and backlit display make it easy to use. Unlike some other scales, this model doesn’t have connectivity to share readings through a smartphone app.
The glass-top 400-pound-capacity Fitbit Aria Air earns stellar ratings for accuracy, consistency, and unbalanced weighing, and measures weight in 0.2-pound increments. Our tester found it a little hard to set up, but it still earns a very good rating for ease of use. It can be used with Bluetooth or WiFi to connect to the Fitbit smartphone app so that you can upload weight readings to track your progress digitally. Up to eight users can create a profile via the scale’s app for weighing themselves, provided they have their own smartphone with the Fitbit app installed and logged in.
The moderately priced Weight Watchers WW26 bathroom scale earns excellent ratings across the board in CR’s tests. It can measure up to 400 pounds and shows weight in 0.1-pound increments. It doesn’t have the bells and whistles of Bluetooth or WiFi connectivity that some other scales have, but our tester found it very simple to use.
Ellipticals
Elliptical exercisers are part stair climber, part cross-country ski machine. Unlike a treadmill, which allows you to move free-form, an elliptical limits your movement. That’s why it’s especially important to test out machines in a store before you buy one.
High-end ellipticals cost upward of $3,000, but you can get a good machine for less than half that price. More expensive machines are often heavier and have a larger footprint because of their beefier frames. The number of features also tends to increase with the price.
Our elliptical buying guide and elliptical ratings will help you select a machine with the quality and features you want. Once you’ve selected a model, you can shop around for the best discounts. As with treadmills, you’ll have the most luck scoring a deal at major retailers or buying directly from manufacturers.
The Schwinn 470 elliptical is one of the best CR has tested, especially because it includes an electronic incline feature that’s not often seen at this price. The display shows a comprehensive list of exercise statistics, and there’s a low-cost option to add heart rate-controlled programs that automatically adjust the workout intensity.
Treadmills
Treadmills are the most popular workout machines in the U.S., and there’s an option for almost every budget and fitness goal. That can make choosing one complicated. While a top-of-the-line treadmill can cost $4,000 or more—our highest-rated machine comes in at $2,700—our recommended models start at just $1,500. If you’re looking to save a bit more, you can get a reasonably well-rated foldable treadmill for $1,000.
The key is to find a machine that’s durable, comfortable, and easy to use. Try one out in a store before making a purchase, and read our treadmill buying guide to familiarize yourself with the available options. To learn more about the ones we consider top-notch, check out our treadmill ratings.
Look to online and big-box retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart and sporting goods stores like Dick’s Sporting Goods for sales on fitness equipment. And be sure to see whether manufacturers are offering other ways to save as well.
Humidifiers
As the temperatures drop and we crank up the heat at home, the air we breathe becomes drier, which can lead to chapped skin, nosebleeds, and sore throats. Thankfully, this is a good time of year to find a humidifier at a deep discount.
When shopping for a humidifier, you can choose between two types: warm mist and cool mist. Warm-mist humidifiers essentially boil water and emit a warm vapor into the air. Cool-mist humidifiers use a variety of methods to create a cool vapor without boiling water.
In addition to deciding on the type of humidifier to buy, there are a few other things to consider. For instance, you’ll probably want to look for a model that’s easy to move and clean. And if you want to run the unit for long periods, you might need one with a shutoff timer or a humidistat that turns it off if the humidity gets too high (otherwise, your windows could fog up).
Make sure to check our buying guide, ratings, and recommendations before you start shopping so that you have the information you need to make the best choice.
Sheets
The new year is a chance to start fresh, and many retailers will hold white sales where they offer big discounts on bedding, including sheets and pillows. These winter sales, made famous by the department store owner John Wanamaker, have been used since the turn of the last century as a way to boost sales.
These sales provide a great chance to replace worn-out bedding. Check out our sheet buying guide to determine what material and thread count you should look for.
If you’re looking for a solid budget pick, this lightweight set from Amazon Basics could be just the right fit. This microfiber set earns midrange scores in our ratings for fit, strength, and wrinkling, but they really stand out when it comes to maintaining their fit, acing CR’s shrinkage tests.
The sale price is actually a few dollars lower than we saw for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the cheapest these sheets have ever been.
Brushed microfiber isn’t as breathable as cotton, but for those who don’t find synthetic fibers to be a hang-up, this Mellanni sheet set is a top-notch pick. It offers a softer feel than most cotton options and is pretty resistant to wrinkling, and you can expect a great fit even after a year of laundering. You can also expect to have this set in rotation for a while because it does pretty well in our strength test. The one area where these bedsheets miss the mark a bit is in our fit test. Though the packaging claims “deep pockets,” this set is best suited for mattresses with a depth of 10 inches or less.
Soundbars
Whether you’re buying a new TV or you want to make the one you have sound better, soundbars offer a great upgrade option. They’re much easier to set up than traditional surround-sound systems with three or more speakers, and you can add more speakers to many models if you want to expand later.
January is a great time to save on these increasingly popular devices as retailers make room for new inventory. You may be able to find discounts at major retailers like Amazon, Target, and Walmart or member-exclusive deals at BJ’s, Costco, and Sam’s Club.
Most soundbars are long, thin enclosures that are mounted on a wall or placed on a shelf above or below the TV. There are also pedestal-style devices called sound bases that can serve as a base for a TV.
To help you decide which is the right one for you, check out our soundbar buying guide and see which models we recommend.
The Bose Smart Soundbar 900 is a 5.0.2-channel Dolby Atmos model with a lot of features and decent all-around sound. The main bar has a sleek, premium-looking enclosure, with a metal grille and upfiring drivers at the top of the unit. It comes in a choice of either a white or black color scheme, and you can add a wireless subwoofer and wireless rear surround speakers for a true surround-sound experience.
The sale price for this soundbar dropped a whopping $90 since the holidays. This is the best price we’ve seen for this Bose model.
The Denon DHT-S217 is a compact all-in-one soundbar that has built-in downfiring subwoofers. (It also has a subwoofer output for adding an external sub.) This model supports Dolby Atmos audio, though it lacks upfiring speakers. It has built-in Bluetooth for streaming audio from a portable device and includes both HDMI inputs and outputs (so you can pass through 4K HDR video signals), as well as an optical digital audio connection.
The Roku Streambar is an inexpensive, versatile two-in-one solution that combines built-in Roku 4K HDR (HDR10) streaming with a compact soundbar speaker that can be added to any TV. However, its sound is only fair, so it’s not the best choice for those looking for a higher-quality speaker for playing music and soundtracks.
Wireless Routers
A good wireless router can help boost your WiFi signal, eliminate any dead spots in your home, and ensure that everyone in the family can stream, play, and otherwise spend time online uninterrupted. January can be a great month to find a new router for less, according to Consumer Reports data.
There’s a lot to consider when choosing a new router, including the size of your home and cybersecurity protections. Start with CR’s buying guide, which walks you through all the factors to consider.
The Eero Pro 6E takes advantage of the latest WiFi standard, known as WiFi 6E, to improve performance by expanding into the 6-gigahertz band. In plain English, that means compatible devices have more “room,” somewhat like a multilane highway, to maneuver and thus can go faster. As you might expect, this model scored well in our tests and is particularly useful if you live in an environment like an apartment building with many devices vying for WiFi access.
This WiFi 6 wireless router from Asus scores quite well in our throughput (speed) tests, it’s easy to set up via smartphone app, and it has automatic firmware updates. But the throughput lagged a bit in our near-distance tests, so you might want to put a little space between the router and any devices that require top speed.
This is a good deal for a mesh router three-pack from Nest that did well in our ratings, providing fast speeds even across long distances inside larger homes. There are useful features like automatic firmware updates and app-based management. It’s a WiFi 5 model, which, yes, is the older standard, but it should still provide years of reliable service. And this is very close to the best price we’ve seen in months, which is about $13 lower.
This is a pretty good deal on one of the better-rated wireless routers that we’ve tested. The Asus ZenWiFi router uses the current WiFi standard known as WiFi 6, which improves performance relative to WiFi 5 as you add more and more devices to your WiFi network. Like many modern routers, it has a mobile app that you can use to set up and manage everything and has a feature known as QoS that helps ensure that, say, your Zoom calls stay rock solid even if someone else on the network is watching Netflix or gaming on their Xbox.
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