Best Deals on Grills, Patio Umbrellas, and More Outdoor Essentials

The Cuisinart CGG-306 is a tabletop propane gas grill with two separate 10,000-Btu burners that offer a wide range of temperatures. It preheats faster than most of its kind, and it’s quite solid at spreading heat evenly across the surface. Weighing just 24 pounds, this compact grill easily fits in any car, making it great for camping trips and picnics. Cuisinart offers a generous three-year warranty.

The Coleman RoadTrip 285 has everything you need (sans propane) for an all-in-one grilling experience. This totable 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.

Blackstone all but built the category of outdoor flat-top grills. This entry-level model proves you don’t need to spend a ton to get great performance from its products, either. It’s the fastest of the top models we tested to get hot. It maintains even temperatures across the surface on both low and high heat. And it’s one of the few to feature only two burners, not three; as a result, you might have a slightly harder time maintaining two drastically different temperatures on the surface at once.

The griddle is built on an unassuming open cart, and it features only one side shelf. Still, while this grill is light on features and lacks the finish or polish of pricier picks, it’s a strong performer at an unbeatable price.

A top performer by almost all measures, the Char-Griller Gravity 980 has an almost perfect score in our testing. It achieves a top score for cleaning, indirect cooking, and evenness, and performs almost as well for convenience. Additionally, the Gravity 980 has a few high-end features, including a hopper feeder for adding more coal and a WiFi-enabled digital temperature controller. With a measured cooking area of 620 square inches, it’s also the largest charcoal grill in our tests.

Testers find the Sunnyglade Rectangular Offset Hanging Umbrella easy to adjust, both in tilt and rotation. The patio umbrella can be rotated 360 degrees by stepping on a pedal and twisting the pole. And the tilting mechanism allows for four levels of adjustment, all of which hold steady. The square canopy, which is removable, is vented and made of coated polyester. It comes in five colors: tan, bright blue, red, dark blue, and gray. One drawback: We couldn’t find any warranty information, and the company doesn’t have a website, just a phone number in China. This model performed well in our tests, but there’s a risk that you won’t get a replacement if the product breaks after the store’s return period.

If you have a round patio table, the octagonal Hampton Bay 11’ Aluminum Cantilever Solar LED Umbrella is your best bet. The underside of the canopy is lined with solar-powered LED lights for nighttime dinner parties. The crank-lift and tilt systems are easy to use, allowing for quick tilts and rotations. Testers find that the umbrella holds steady at all angles.

ThermoPro’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 remaining cook time for nearly all cuts and varieties of meat based on built-in Department of Agriculture guidelines.

The InkBird IBT-4DXS BT is the highest-rated digital meat thermometer in CR’s tests. It offers app connectivity with estimated cook times, four separate probes, built-in alarms, and the ability to charge the device while actively monitoring temperatures. InkBird boasts decent range in outdoor environments, up to 150 feet. 

Made by one of the most trustworthy thermometer companies in the grilling industry, the ThermoPro TP19H instant-read meat thermometer offers handheld temperature reading with a single stowable probe. There’s a built-in LED and rotation lock for the display, and a magnetic backing allows you to store it on your refrigerator between meals. Perfect for checking oven-bound meats, this simple thermometer delivers reliably accurate readings within seconds of probing.

The Simpson MS60805-S pressure washer earns top marks for its cleaning. Its water pressure and flow are also respectable, pumping out 2.4 gallons per minute. Like other gas pressure washers, it can get quite loud. The model has a shorter hose than most pressure washers, but it comes with features like a manual hose wrap and a manual safety lock-out. In our member surveys, Simpson gas pressure washers received a near-the-top score for predicted reliability, as well as a stellar owner satisfaction rating.

The electric-powered Sun Joe SPX3000-MAX is very good at cleaning a range of surfaces, even though its pressure and flow are so-so. Its hose is shorter than most, but the model is easy to move around. In our member surveys, Sun Joe pressure washers earned a top-level rating for predicted reliability and a middling score for owner satisfaction. 

This Black+Decker battery-powered string trimmer earns a stellar rating for edging, its ability to trim along vertical lines. It also does a solid job in trimming grass. However, it struggles more with tall grass and weeds, earning a middling rating in that test. The trimmer has only one cutting line, which results in slower and less aggressive cutting. Weighing only 6.4 pounds, the model is one of the lightest string trimmers in our ratings.

This Sun Joe battery string trimmer earns top marks for trimming and edging, while also earning near top-notch ratings for handling and clearing tall grass. Our testers find this model easy to use. At 10 pounds, it’s also lightweight, making it easy to carry around your yard. The tool is equipped with two cutting strings for faster, more aggressive cutting.

The Black+Decker BESTE620 has only a single cutting line, as it’s meant for grass along walkways rather than thick brush. Even so, it earns a top rating for trimming and is easy to use, even if it doesn’t clear as quickly as some of the more powerful electric models.

This Black+Decker BEBL7000 leaf blower has a well-performing built-in vacuum function, making it easy to gather leaves into the included collection bag for composting or easy discarding. The bag connects using a flexible tube, making it easy to handle and maneuver. It’ll move leaves with very respectable efficiency (up to 250 mph), and leave little impact on your ears and neighbors. You’ll have multiple speeds at your disposal to tackle any job.

The dual-fuel DuroMax XP10000HX generator is unusual in that it can run on either gasoline or liquid propane gas. With gasoline, it produces an impressive 8,000 watts of peak power and can run 10 to 17 hours. On propane, it produces 7,600 watts, with the run time depending on the size of your tank. In our tests, it delivers clean, reliable power, earning excellent ratings for both power delivery and power quality. Additionally, this model has a carbon monoxide safety shutoff.

The 21-inch Ego LM2156SP self-propelled battery mower aces our tests of cutting evenness, mulching, handling, and side discharging. It also gets top marks in our noise tests, meaning it’s among the quietest for both users and their neighbors. Its bagging performance lags those other scores a bit, though. Its high wheels make navigating uneven terrain easier, and it can be stored upright to save space in your garage. Run time is outstanding: With the included batteries, this model runs longer than most. Owner satisfaction with this mower is top-notch, but its predicted reliability is unexceptional.