(introduction music) - This is James White
with Freakin Reviews. And this is my fourth annual
best of the year where I countdown my top 10 picks for the 10 best items
that I reviewed in 2020. I had to sift through
over 150 items that I reviewed this year to come up
with my choices for the best products of the year. Now not everything
on this list are new in 2020. They're just new to me
and items I reviewed in the calendar year of 2020. Without further delay,
let's get right to my top 10 best of 2020. Number 10 on my list
is the WowBacon. This is a device that actually
goes in the microwave and allows you to make bacon
completely splatter-free. It's kind of an ingenious design. And I thought that it was
actually quite successful. Here's some scenes
from my original WowBacon review. All right. So what caught
my attention in the WowBacon is the fact that it's
a strange looking gadget and that's what I like
to do. So... There really is not much to it. And then, you have this rack
which allows you to hold six pieces
of bacon that they hang off there. So, there's really three parts—
rack, lid, cup. Very simple. Just kind of drape it
on there like that. It almost looks like
you're decorating some sort of like bacon Christmas tree. If a bacon Christmas tree
doesn't exist, it probably should. It's a rack of bacon. All right. Now, lower it
into the cup. How strange. It's already
making some crackling sounds in there, so I guess
that's a good sign. Let me see. Lift it out. Oh, wow. Oh, it's steaming. Oh. And there's a lot
of grease in there. All right. And here,
here is the final product. You can throw it in the microwave
for five minutes, and then forget about it. There's no splatter.
The grease is all in the cup. I definitely like the WowBacon.
I think that it works as it's supposed to. I never thought I would
have a trash can on one of my top 10 list, but here it is. Number nine, this is the
Townew trash can. This is a trash can that actually not only automatically opens up
and closes, but it also changes
the bag for you. It has a slightly high price tag, but it's a gadget lover's dream. It's a great conversation piece. Here's some scenes
from my original Townew review. This is the Townew trash can.
Next generation trash can. It has an infrared sensor. There is an overload feature
that when it's full, it automatically detects it. And it self seals and refills
the bag automatically. Let's just try
the motion detection. Oh. Well, that worked. Oh. And there is
a light inside there. Well, that's kind of cool. Oh, oh. Look at this. Oh, look at this. Woah! Woah! Now, that is pretty cool.
Oh. And it's doing something else. It's doing something else. What did it just do? Oh. It's got a new bag. That is pretty cool. And look at this. Totally sealed. I have to admit,
that actually worked. The fact that it sealed that up
and then basically put a new bag in there,
is actually pretty cool. I'm impressed about that. My pick for number eight
in 2020 is this retractable stool. I actually found
a lot of uses for this over the past year. I've used it sometimes
when my son Brandon comes in my room, he sits on it. Put my feet up on it. It seems to have a lot
of uses. It's durable. But I've actually found
a lot of uses for this retractable tool
over this year. Not to mention, it folds up very compact. Here's some scenes
from my original folding stool video. You're supposed
to put your fingers in this holes, and pull. Woah! It feels sturdy.
I think it can hold 300lbs. Also with this one,
you can adjust at different height. It's just a matter of twisting it and locking it in place
when you get the height you want. So, this is the secret
right here, all these little hooks. And then when you twist it... It's almost fun to play with it. But, this is not a toy. This is not a toy. Do not play with this. If it can hold 330,
it should definitely hold me. I hope I don't hurt myself. Woah! Number one, it was
very simple to set up. Number two, it worked
as advertised. Number three, it seems like
it's pretty sturdy. So overall, I think
I'm pretty happy with it. It's lightweight,
it works as advertised. It's pretty good. Number seven
is the GraniteStone Pro Pan. This is actually an updated version
of the original Granite Rock Pan
I did a couple years ago. That was already a good pan,
and they actually made some improvements to it. The non-stick surface
is, is really good. It's held up over time. It's just a great pan. Let's take a look
at some original scenes from that video. The Pro is a little bit deeper. On the bottom, you can tell
I use and abuse this thing. I use a lot. But, the Pro can be used
with induction cooking. The original, you cannot. As with the original,
it's not sticking at all. With no butter/oil, look at that. Slides around the pan. Oh, yeah. Came right off. We're getting some meltage here. Getting some marshmallow meltage. But I'm going to let it
get nice and burnt, nice and melted
before I pour it out of there. Let's see what we got. Woah! And this is cooled considerably,
so let's try it out. Oh, yeah. Woah! I'm going to melt these caramels
and let them sit for 24 hours. Oh. Oh! It just came off.
Did you see that? It came right off. Oh.
It's sticky too. Wow. So that means
this will come off too. Oh, wow! The GraniteStone just...
It feels like they've already been... Even the ones
that I haven't moved, I feel like they've already
been dislodged, because it's just so non-stick. I think you're going
to like the Pro series of the GraniteStone. This is number six on my list,
no knot shoes. These are Lock Laces
which are next gen shoe laces. So, back on August
I did a bunch of products that were under $15
including the Lock Laces. What's funny is that I didn't rank
Lock Laces at the top of that list at the time. But after using it
for a few months, I do realize that Lock Laces
is probably the one that's going to have
the widest appeal. My number one pick
on that list was some soap sheet which I've already gone through. But the Lock Laces still persist. So to me, the Lock Laces
belong in the best of 2020. Here's some scenes
from my Lock Laces review. These are supposed to be
the original no tie elastic shoelaces. Two elastic bands. Two of these, two of these. These are definitely stretchy. I'm not used to that. Because my old laces
are not stretchy. After they're laced up,
you got to lock them. It seems like I push this down
and push it through there. Wow. That's... That was... That was shockingly easy. So these ends go through here. And there it is. This is the black Nike. This part's pretty easy. All you do is push this down
and put thread it through there. Very simple. Hold it down. All right. Here they are. If I was going
to leave it on these, I'd probably make this
a little bit shorter. I think it definitely works better
on the tennis shoes. Certainly works though. Let me walk around a little bit
and I'll check back into the end of the video,
let you know how it's going. What I'm going to do
is take the Lock Laces from the dress shoe
and put it on my other tennis shoe. I think it works better for those. For those I know,
there's a lot of fans out there. Now, I've joined the bandwagon
and I can see why. All right. Time out for a second. There's a couple things
I want to point out before we get to the top five. Over the years,
people have asked me why I do these best
and worst of the years in late November, early December, instead of the end of the year. And the reason being
is because this is early in the holiday shopping season. There's a lot of people
out there that are trying to decide on a gift
they should or shouldn't buy, so hopefully these videos
help you with that. So, hopefully you understand
that that's the timing of the video. Also, there's a link
in the description below that will have all the information
for the products in this video. Where to buy them,
the original videos, and also a giveaway
I'm doing that goes to the end of the year related to the products
in this video. So, be sure to click on that link. Now, let's get back
to the top five. Number five is the
Aurora A3 flashlight. Now, in October,
I did a comparison of six tiny flashlights. And when all was said and done,
the Aurora A3 was my top pick. So I think it definitely deserves
a place in the top 10. The A3 is moderately priced. It's compact. It's bright. Here's some scenes
from my original Aurora A3 flashlight review. Only 2.2 inches. You have four modes—
moonlight, two lumens, low which is 20 lumens, medium which starts at 360
and goes down to 100 after 100 seconds, and high which is 650
which goes down to 100 lumens after 100 seconds. So, they call the first mode
moonlight, which is a whopping two lumens. Can barely see it. The next mode,
they call that low at 20. Definitely can see that. Medium is 360,
but it steps down too 100 lumens after 100 seconds. And high is 650 lumens, steps down to 100 lumens
after 100 seconds. Woah! (giggles) Wow. Is that bright. All right. On the lowest mode,
it actually is quite pleasant up here. Has a nice balance
between compactness and brightness. It's rechargeable.
It seems to have a lot of features. To me, my pick, and they're all pretty good,
is the Aurora. Number four is the
Coldest Water Bottle. Now, back in May
I compared the Coldest Water Bottle to the Hydroflask. Now, the Hydroflask
is a perfectly fine bottle in its own right. But when compared side by side,
the Coldest Water Bottle won the hot test
and won the cold test. So to me, it's a clear choice
the winner between these two. Check out some scenes
from my original Coldest Water Bottle review. So, today it's the Hydroflask versus the Coldest Water Bottle. It's also an attractive looking
water bottle. These are very similar. I'll be curious if there's much
of a discernible difference between the two of these. It is currently 90 degrees
and 3:45 p.m. I'm going to come back tomorrow
at 3:45 p.m. and see if there's any advantage. Here we go. 3:45 the next day. It's much cooler here
in Las Vegas. It's only 86. Much cooler. Much cooler. Wait a sec. Hold the phone here.
Hold on a second. I've got a difference. Hydroflash is 73/74 degrees. Coldest Water Bottle is 60/61. Oh, I think, I think the Coldest
water bottle won. Test number two
is the hot liquid test. Simple enough, boil some water,
fill both bottles up, stick them in the fridge
for 12 hours, and whichever bottle
is warmer wins the test. Coldest Water Bottle,
let's see if it's the hottest water bottle. Hydroflask. 196. All right. There they are
in the fridge. We're going to come back
in 12 hours and see what happens. Coldest Water Bottle is 14 degrees warmer
than the Hydroflask, which in this case
is a good thing, because that means
the insulation was better. Number three is the
Coop Home Goods Pillow. Now, late in 2020, my kids and I
we compared five different pillows
over a six week period. And my pick, the best
of the bunch was the Coop Home Goods Pillow, because you can actually
adjust this one to whatever firmness you want
by adding and removing filling. It's reasonably priced.
I just think it's a great pillow. Here are some scenes
in the original video with me and my kids discussing
the Coop Home Goods Pillow. Next up is the Coop Home Goods
premium adjustable loft pillow. But, what they do
is they give you extra foam filler. And they've packed it pretty full,
and you can adjust it by taking out or adding
however much filler you want. And, I don't know
what I'll do with that if I have to take any out,
but it's just like a shredded memory foam. This is more cloud like. I can see I might like this one. I'm going to take about 25%
of the filling out. - I thought it was great. I love the idea of adjusting the pillow by taking out stuffing. - Didn't have a stiff neck
or anything. I was able to fall asleep
pretty fast, which is hard for me to do. - Because once I got
the right amount of filling in there, I felt like
I slept well on it. Number two on my countdown
is the Allet Wallet. This was actually
the only item of this top 10, I think of any top 10
I've ever done, that was actually sent
to me unsolicited. This was one
of my mail time videos. And even though I did
a wallet video afterwards, this is still my pick
for the best of the bunch. The only reason this isn't
number one is because this is primarily
a men's product, so half people out there
really can't use this. But this is a great wallet. Look how thin this is. That's full. That's full of my stuff. The reason it's so thin
is because it has two cards wide. I just think it's a great wallet.
I recommend it all the time. Here's some scenes
from my original Allet review. That is actually an incredibly
thin wallet. All right. This is my wallet,
this is... I guess it's pronounced all-et?
I don't know. I'm going to take my stuff out
and see how thin it is compared to it. You can see the size difference
between mine and theirs. Theirs is a little bit wider. But, if it's thinner,
it could be worth it. I'm used to the,
the trifold design with the cards
coming out that way. These, the cards seem
to face each other. So it's about a half an inch. Now, it is a little bit larger than my old wallet. I will say that this wallet
is significantly thinner than my last one. I mean I measured it out
and it's thinner, but it feels thinner. I barely even feel it in there which is kind of nice, actually. And I have to say,
I actually like it a lot. I'm a convert.
I'm already going to ditch the old wallet to use this one. One thing that's kind of funny
is I'm so used to that brick that I sit
in all the time that I keep thinking I don't have my wallet
with me. I keep checking as I'm driving, because it's
so much thinner. Overall, I like this one. And number one,
I'm back in the kitchen. It's kind of a heavy one.
Let me go grab it. It's the Ninja Foodi air fry oven. I had to put that one down. I reviewed that one back
in January. I've been using it ever since then.
It's a great product. It's very versatile.
It's good for warming up good. It's good for replacing your oven.
It could be used as an air fryer, for baking. There's just so many uses
for it. It actually works faster than a regular oven.
So if you have a small amount of things to cook,
it's actually better in there than it is in a regular oven. It's one of the most useful products
I've ever reviewed and I think it has an easy place
at the top of my list for the best of 2020. Let's take a look back
at some scenes from my original Ninja Foodi
air fryer oven review. Now, I'm going to focus
on the Ninja Foodi Oven, but I also want to bring in
the Power Air Fryer Oven 360, because this is still
a popular choice, still heavily advertised. The mesh basket
for the Power Air Fryer Oven can actually fit inside
the Ninja with room to spare. Not only is it nice bright light,
but it kind of fades in slowly
which is kind of aesthetically pleasing. Oh, yeah. It does hold six for the Power Air Fryer Oven 360.
And does hold nine for the Ninja Foodi Oven.
Let's put these in there and see how they do. Look at the difference. The Power Air Fryer Oven on three, the Ninja on three. Look at these beautiful toasts
on the Ninja, and this somewhat
not so impressive toast. Those are the bottoms. Still, I think it's better. Ninja wins round one. All right. It's finally
done preheating. This one's almost half down. I'm very impressed with the Ninja. I'm very impressed. 10 minutes exactly as expected. And here... Power Air Fryer Oven.
We're still waiting. All right. Look at the two
of them after 20 minutes. Clearly, more cooked on the Ninja. This broccoli is nice and crispy
like you want roasted vegetables to be. This, just... I don't know, man. Ninja's just killing it. It's a runaway. All right. Just to compare
the two of these. As you can see,
some of the smaller pieces on the Ninja are brown. I don't see any of them
brown in this one. None. There's a lot of other tests
I could do, but I think after the number
of tests that I did run where the Ninja outperformed
each time, it's kind of no point in continuing on,
because the Ninja is clearly the more efficient
of the two ovens. All right. So that was my top 10,
but there is a few items out there that I feel like
they deserve to be in this video even though
they just missed the top 10. So, let's take a look
at a few honorable mentions. Oh. You're here. Even though the main party
is over, the after party's starting here
with the honorable mentions. In fact, let's start off
with this one which is Swopt. It's kind of an interesting
cleaning system where you can take the brushes
off of the handles. And switch them out. There was a lot of things
that made my top 10. This was close, because I actually have found
this quite useful. But check out some scenes
from my original Swopt video. I've got what's supposed
to be a revolutionary brand new type of broom. Got all these attachments
and a handle for $70. It's pretty simple. It feels pretty sturdy too. It feels sturdy.
The handle doesn't twist. I kind of like that. It's like you just snap it in
like this. I don't feel like
this is going anywhere. That's a good thing. Like that. Attach it to the handle. Very simple, very easy. Well, as with everything,
it feels like a standard broom. Very sturdy. It's not twisting. You do this with a cheap handle, that would come right off. Not so much here. Like everything else,
it works exactly like I expected to. And detaches very easily. I think it's well conceived.
I think it's well priced. I think the Swopt cleaning system
works pretty well. This video would not be complete
without one of my favorite gadgets
which is this levitating USB UFO speaker lamp. It might be a little bit
on the expensive side, but it's a gadget geek's dream. Look at this thing. Here's some scenes
from my original USB UFO floating lamp speaker video. Here's my UFO. All right. It's a cool looking UFO.
I like it. And on the bottom of the UFO
there's a button right there that you push to pair
with your phone, which I'm going to do right now. Come on. I can feel it, it's almost there. Then, this alien tech
Norris Bob Lazar, we need him. (notification sound) Oh, we got it. There it is. I got it. It is floating. Okay. Now, we turn the light on. Oh. Let's play some music. Ooh. Let me turn the lights off. Get a little mood going on here
for the UFO USB speaker. It actually looks really nice.
It works well. The speaker is pretty good. It's not amazing,
but it's good enough. It's a nice display.
It actually wirelessly chargers it. So, I think the UFO speaker, it's a bit expensive,
but if you get one, I think you're going to like it. LifeFuel is a high-tech water bottle
that has flavored pods right in the bottom. Allows you to mix your drinks
right within the bottle. It is overpriced. It does have a recurring expense
for the pods, but if you're someone
that wants to increase your water intake
and you like gadgets, LifeFuel is actually possibly
an investment for you. Check out some scenes
from my original LifeFuel video. Flavored nutritious drinks that you can create right
in the bottle itself. Look how cool
it looks when it's charging. It looks like an exhaust
from some sort of a futuristic spaceship
or something. And then, twist. It clicks. I'm looking at the app here.
The app actually shows that the peach and the blackberry
are both in there, and how many servings
there are and it's a way and a fuel pod
for the third one. Very cool! Oh, yeah. Look at this. In the app shows that I have one less serving of the peach. I actually like it. I like it. I can make a new beverage
based on whatever I want on these three fuel pods. Swipe. There it goes. And now, shake it up. All right. So, now I've got
my peach blackberry. Custom flavor. Am I out of line
for being geeked out by that? There's got to be others
out there that think that's really cool. I have nothing to complain
about the product itself. Nothing. Except the cost of these refills. Well, that's it for the top 10
this year. I appreciate everybody
who stuck with me throughout the year
and liked and commented and subscribed. And hopefully,
2021 is a much better year than 2020 was. But I hope you guys stay safe
and I'll see you next time.
