On the shortlist

The gear that comes up again and again in our pieces, in one place and grouped by the job it does. Most of it is small, plain and cheap to run: a test kit, a meter, a feeder, a headlamp.

We pick from makers' published specifications and instructions and from the problems owners report again and again, and we drop anything whose listing slips. None of it has been through a lab of ours. Where a free gauge answers the question first, we point to it.

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Radon and air at home

A first radon number, a way to watch it over months, a carbon monoxide alarm for every level, and a purifier for smoky weeks.

  • First Alert RD1 short-term radon test kitA charcoal canister you leave out for a few days and mail to a lab; the lab fee is part of the kit.Details at Amazon ›
  • Airthings Corentium Home radon monitorA battery digital monitor that shows short and long-term radon averages on its screen, no app needed.Details at Amazon ›
  • Ecosense RadonEye RD200 continuous monitorA plug-in continuous monitor with a display and Bluetooth history, quick to show changes after a fix.Details at Amazon ›
  • Kidde battery carbon monoxide alarmA battery CO alarm for the room with the stove and near sleeping areas.Details at Amazon ›
  • Coway Airmega AP-1512HH HEPA purifierA true HEPA room purifier for wood smoke, wildfire haze and pollen, sized for a bedroom or living room.Details at Amazon ›

Work it out first: Radon unit converter. Reading: Radon at home: how to test, what the numbers mean, and how fixes work · What the Air Quality Index actually means on a smoky day

Well and stream water

Screens for a private well, a coliform test, strips that confirm a shock reached its target, and a pen meter that tracks dissolved solids in a well or a creek.

  • Watersafe home water test kitA boxed kit with separate tests for bacteria, lead, pesticides, nitrates, nitrites, chlorine, hardness and pH.Details at Amazon ›
  • 17-in-1 drinking water test stripsDip strips for a first screen of hardness, pH, iron, copper, nitrate, nitrite and other markers.Details at Amazon ›
  • Safe Home bacteria-in-water testA presence or absence test for coliform bacteria, read at home after the incubation time.Details at Amazon ›
  • Chlorine test strips, 0 to 500 ppmHigh-range strips to confirm a well shock reached its target and, later, that the chlorine is gone.Details at Amazon ›
  • Pocket TDS meter (TDS, EC and temperature)A pen meter that reads total dissolved solids, a quick way to track changes in well or filtered water.Details at Amazon ›

Work it out first: Well shock chlorination calculator. Reading: Hellbenders, mudpuppies and other giants of North American streams · Paddling small rivers: how to read a stream gauge before you go · Volunteer stream monitoring: a beginner's guide to your first season

Wood heat

The few things that make a wood stove cleaner and safer to run: a moisture meter, a stove-top thermometer, a heat-powered fan, a carrier for the daily armload, and backup power for the blower.

  • General Tools MMD4E pin moisture meterA pin meter for split firewood: push the pins into a fresh split face for a reading in percent.Details at Amazon ›
  • Magnetic stove-top thermometerA dial thermometer that sits on the stove top so you can keep the fire in its efficient range.Details at Amazon ›
  • Heat-powered stove-top fanA fan that runs on the stove top heat alone and pushes warm air into the room.Details at Amazon ›
  • Waxed canvas log carrierA canvas sling that carries an armful of splits indoors without a trail of bark.Details at Amazon ›
  • EcoFlow portable power stationsBattery power stations with solar input for outages after storms and floods.At EcoFlow ›

Work it out first: Firewood cord calculator.

Winter birds

Feeders that squirrels give up on, a finch tube, a plain suet cage, and heated water for the hard-frost weeks.

  • Squirrel Buster Plus feederA weight-activated seed feeder that closes its ports when a squirrel climbs on; has a cardinal perch ring.Details at Amazon ›
  • Squirrel Buster Standard feederA smaller weight-activated feeder for sunflower and mixed seed.Details at Amazon ›
  • Metal mesh finch feederA mesh tube for Nyjer seed that goldfinches and siskins cling to.Details at Amazon ›
  • Single-cake suet cageA plain wire cage for one suet cake, the simplest way to feed woodpeckers and nuthatches.Details at Amazon ›
  • API heated birdbath bowl (20 in)A thermostatically heated bowl that keeps open water for birds through hard frosts.Details at Amazon ›
  • Deck-mount heated birdbathA heated bath that clamps to a deck rail or sits on a stand.Details at Amazon ›

Weather, snow and storms

Home weather stations from simple to networked, a weather radio that wakes you for a warning, a roof rake for heavy snow, and power for the outage afterward.

  • AcuRite Iris 5-in-1 weather stationAn all-in-one outdoor sensor for rain, wind speed and direction, temperature and humidity, with a color display.Details at Amazon ›
  • AcuRite wireless home weather stationA simpler display with an outdoor temperature and humidity sensor and a forecast icon.Details at Amazon ›
  • Ambient Weather WS-2902 Wi-Fi stationA Wi-Fi station that logs rain, wind, temperature and humidity online and can share to weather networks.Details at Amazon ›
  • Midland WR120B weather alert radioA NOAA weather radio that sounds an alarm for warnings in your county, with battery backup.Details at Amazon ›
  • Telescoping roof rakeA long-reach rake for pulling snow off the lower edge of a roof from the ground.Details at Amazon ›
  • BLUETTI power stationsBattery power stations and solar panels for storm outages: lights, a fridge, phones and a furnace blower.At BLUETTI ›
  • EcoFlow portable power stationsBattery power stations with solar input for outages after storms and floods.At EcoFlow ›

Work it out first: Roof snow load calculator. Reading: Flash floods in steep terrain, explained: rain, rock and runoff

On the trail

A headlamp for short days, bright orange for hunting season, a dry bag for the boat, cleats for icy footing, and boots for wet ground.

  • Black Diamond Spot 400 headlampA AAA headlamp with a red night mode for short winter afternoons and pre-dawn starts on the trail.Details at Amazon ›
  • Carhartt knit watch cap in bright orangeA warm knit cap in bright orange that keeps you easy to see on the trail during hunting season.Details at Amazon ›
  • Earth Pak 10L roll-top dry bagA roll-top bag that keeps a phone, map and spare layer dry in a canoe or kayak.Details at Amazon ›
  • Yaktrax Walk traction cleatsCoil cleats that stretch over shoes for icy driveways, paths and frozen trails.Details at Amazon ›
  • Muck Boot Company bootsWaterproof rubber boots for mud, wet trails, creek banks and barn chores.At Muck Boot ›

Reading: Rail-trails and the small-town comeback along old railroad grades · Paddling small rivers: how to read a stream gauge before you go

Maple sugaring

Enough to tap a handful of backyard maples, keep the sap clean and cold, and finish syrup at the right temperature.

  • Maple tapping kit (10 spiles and tubing)Spiles, drop tubes and a drill bit for tapping a handful of backyard maples into buckets or jugs.Details at Amazon ›
  • Food-grade 5-gallon buckets with lids (6 pack)Lidded food-safe pails for gathering sap and keeping it clean and cold until the boil.Details at Amazon ›
  • Instant-read candy thermometer with pot clipA clip-on probe for finishing syrup at about 7 degrees F above the local boiling point of water.Details at Amazon ›

Work it out first: Sap to syrup calculator.

Lower-waste home

A kitchen bin that makes composting easy, wraps that replace plastic film, and a thermometer that finds the drafts worth sealing first.

  • OXO Good Grips countertop compost binA lidded kitchen bin that holds scraps for a few days on their way to the compost pile.Details at Amazon ›
  • Bee's Wrap cut-to-size beeswax rollA beeswax-coated cotton roll you cut to size to cover bowls and wrap bread or cheese instead of plastic film.Details at Amazon ›
  • Klein Tools IR1 infrared thermometerA point-and-read thermometer for finding cold window frames, outlets and baseboards during a home energy audit.Details at Amazon ›

Reading: Heat pumps in cold mountain valleys: what works and what to watch · Where your recycling actually goes after the truck pulls away · Backyard composting without the smell: what each odor is telling you