Important features to consider

Thickness

The tip thickness or size of a pen is an essential feature because it affects the user experience, handwriting style, and quick drying time. The gel pens we tested come in various sizes ranging from 0.28 to 1 millimeter thick. Thickness also affects the amount of ink that comes out of the pen. We experienced that the thinner pen sizes produced thinner lines and less ink, which made them dry more quickly. However, the thickness also affected the darkness and vibrancy of the colors.

Comfort / Design

The design of a pen affects how comfortable it is to hold for short or extended periods. Keep in mind that how someone holds their writing utensil also affects their comfort level. With this in mind, comfort level could completely depend on each person, but certain designs help support your fingers and hands during writing.

For example, some pens have silicone or rubber bands to contour to your grip. Pens with rubber or silicone grips were easier to use because they felt more secure in our hands. A well-balanced pen also alleviates muscle cramping, or lighter pens could help with extended periods of writing. Try to find pens with bodies that are appropriate for the size of your hands; if you have bigger hands, it will be difficult to continuously grip a super slim pen and vice versa.

Quick-dry

If you’re a lefty or have quirky-styled penmanship that ends up in lots of smudges, having a gel pen that is made for quick-drying will help with any potential ink accidents. Gel pens can be a little tricky with drying time because they’re often more watery; this also depends on the thickness of the tip and the amount of ink that comes out. However, there are now gel pen brands that formulate an ink with faster drying times and they actually work!

Other features

Gel pens also have other features to look for, like color options, erasability, or being able to buy refills. Different colors are important for people who like different options (or use color to organize). If the permanence of pens troubles you, there are also erasable gel pens with ink removable with friction and heat. Lastly, if you want to produce less waste, try to find a pen that you can refill in the future.

How we selected

We selected 19 gel pens from smaller and well-known brands, with varying line thicknesses, designs, and other features like erasability and the option to refill the ink. These gel pens are all under $8 per piece, with many pens under $5.

How we tested

We tested each pen over two months on different paper and materials, in varying lengths (like to-do’s, journals, instructions, and letters), and evaluated each pen’s user experience with different writers. During these tests, writers noted each pen’s comfort level, ink smudge tests, and smoothness.

Bleeding, feathering, and smudge tests

For each pen, we performed a smudge test to see how long the ink takes to dry. We used a timeline from 0-30 seconds. Pens ranked between 0-10 depending on their drying time (instantaneous is 10/10 and longer than 30 seconds is 0/10). We also observed if there was any feathering or bleeding on the paper during these tests.

Comfort tests

We tested each pen on different writers and noted the comfort level based on their design.

(need photos of different hands holding pens?)

Smoothness tests

We tested the gel pens on different paper types to see how smooth each pen wrote on each surface. We noted if there was any friction or skipping by both writing words and using lines across the page. Pens that moved effortlessly while writing were ranked 10/10, while some pens like the Muji gel pen had too much friction and some skipping was ranked 2/10.

The post The 19 Best Gel Pens appeared first on Your Best Digs.

Important features to consider

Type & design style

Finding cute desk accessories starts with knowing what you need for your desk to prevent clutter. These days options for more aesthetically designed organizers and tools are available. During our tests, we found styles that ranged from bold and bright colors to minimal and sleek designs for pen holders, staplers, and more.

Staying with a theme is important to keep your working space from looking messy or chaotic. We chose designs that included acrylic materials, minimalist metal and wood styles, and gold accents.

Build quality & durability

While there are a ton of cute new accessories for your desk to choose from, there are also a lot of poorly made items. Build quality can change based on materials and the overall make of the accessories. For example, monitor stands made of glass might bend depending on the weight of your monitor. Some acrylic organizers are thicker and more durable, while we’ve also seen thinner and more brittle acrylic pieces.

Technically, durability is similar to build quality, but we wanted to further test the longevity of each piece after several weeks of use. What initially could be considered a good quality product could easily break after daily use–this is something we observed with some of the cute accessories we thought were front runners.

Unfortunately, you can’t always tell how durable something is until you test it. We recommend picking accessories with materials known for good quality, like metal, or buying from a trusted brand.

Usability

The most important thing when considering cute desk accessories is if it works and is usable. If some accessories offer an aesthetically pleasing design but don’t work as intended on your desk, it takes up valuable space. Will the size and shape of a cute new pen holder fit on your desk? Is it easy to use a new acrylic tape dispenser with one hand? Overall, we kept this in mind and questioned whether or not changing out industrial-designed accessories for cuter tools makes for an effective workspace.

How we selected & tested:

We selected over a dozen different accessories in various designs and materials made of acrylic, plastic, metal, wood, and ceramic. We reviewed any assembly or instructions and the build quality of each piece. Over several weeks, we implemented each of the accessories into our daily work experience to test their durability and usability. Were the aesthetically designed accessories just as well made as commercial or traditional accessories? Did these accessories perform as promised? Did we use them on the desk, or did it just end up as clutter?

The post 13 Cute Desk Accessories for Women appeared first on Your Best Digs.

The 7 cell phone stands we tested

Important features to consider

If you own a cell phone, then a cell phone stand is a must-have accessory. Different sizes and heights of cell phone stands can accommodate a variety of frequent cell phone activities, such as hands-off phone calls, video calls or Zoom conferences, watching movies or television shows, or playing games. You may also want to have a cell phone stand at your desk or workplace for glancing at texts or social media updates without interrupting your workflow.

There are hundreds of cell phone stands listed on Amazon, and before purchasing one, you should take the following features under consideration.

Desk or workspace height

Where you put your cell phone stand is essential for getting the most out of it. If you’re working at a desk all day, then you want a cell phone stand that has enough height so you’re not bending your head down to speak to or look at the caller.

Our top three choices stand at or about 4-inches tall, which we found to be ideal for working at a desk without hunching over. But you may want a cell phone stand that extends taller — like OCYCLONE or Klsnuir — for other locations than a workplace or standing. However, in each case of the taller cell phone stands, we did have issues with their stability and balance, especially when used for larger phones or a tablet.

Angle adjustment

An increased range of angles gives you the option to simply swivel the phone holder in all directions without moving the stand. This is especially useful when on a phone conference or videoing for making adjustments in changes of lighting, background, or number of people.

Materials

During our tests, we discovered that cell phone stands that were metal or a composite of metal and hard plastic were better at supporting a large phone or tablet. Plastic stands — especially those that extend — didn’t have a strong base, and so when the phone was set into the holder, those stands were top-heavy and prone to tipping over.

Stability

The last thing you’ll want is your phone or tablet crashing to the floor, so look for a cell phone stand that’s designed to stay in place. Almost all the cell phone stands we tested had silicone or rubber pads on their bases for preventing slippage. Most times, though, the pads were small dots or ovals and didn’t do much to stop the stand from sliding. The stand’s physical design will certainly affect its stability. The APPS2Car stand is a low, flat tripod, and although it’s not a beauty, it was the most stable of the cell phone stands we tested.

The post The 7 Best Phone Stands for Desks appeared first on Your Best Digs.

The 7 keyboard wrist rests we tested

Important features to consider

If you’re working all day at a keyboard or gaming all night, you need a keyboard wrist rest that is comfortable and provides firm support to keep your wrists, hands, and posture straight. The following are a few key factors you should consider before purchasing a keyboard wrist rest.

Cushion material

Our two top picks have a 100% rubber base — which we found was best for non-slippage — and gel memory foam, which is memory foam that’s been infused with gel microbeads. Memory foam is notorious for getting hot and retaining heat, but the gel infusion works to keep the memory foam cool. Gel also makes memory foam breathable so your wrists will be less prone to sweating when you’re typing or gaming for hours at a time.

Cushion height

This factor is totally subjective, depending on your height, your chair’s height, and the height of your keyboard on a desk or workspace. You’ll want a wrist rest that has enough cushion to keep your wrists and palms slightly elevated, but not too much that your fingers will strain to reach the keyboard. Gaming keyboards tend to be higher, so look for a wrist rest that’s made specifically for gaming.

Length

We tested the wrist rests on a 14-inch laptop and a 17-inch wireless keyboard, and those we tested had a 14-inch or slightly longer length. Wrist rests come in a variety of sizes, so you’ll want one that fits your keyboard’s length. Also make sure that the cushion runs the entire length of the wrist rest and doesn’t taper off as a couple of those we tested did.

The post The 7 Best Keyboard Wrist Rests appeared first on Your Best Digs.

Himalayan salt lamps can make a beautiful addition to any room in your home. They range in size, weight, and color and are usually mounted on a wooden stand that’s neutral enough to match most furniture. Essentially, the lamp is made of a large rock of Himalayan salt mined usually in Pakistan, and a small light bulb is inserted into the salt’s hollowed-out center.

When warmed by the low-watt lamp, the salt releases negative ions that can purportedly purify and improve air quality. Some lamp manufacturers go so far as to claim their lamps improve sleep, clear up sinus congestion, increase energy level, and even neutralize electromagnetic radiation.

There isn’t enough (or much) scientific research that supports these alleged benefits. But that said, they certainly create a calming ambiance. The best salt lamps have a dimmable light that at full power illuminates the entire salt rock so that its intricate web of colored veins can be seen.

The lamps may look similar to each other, but in truth, they’re different since no salt rock is the same. Depending on your preference, the salt rock can be white, shades of pink, yellow, and/or orange. The low-watt bulb — usually 15 watts — can be clear or yellow, which changes the color of the salt rock. We prefer a clear bulb to see the salt’s natural color, but again, it’s all a matter of personal taste.

The post The 7 Best Himalayan Salt Lamps appeared first on Your Best Digs.

At first glance, many people tend to judge this mug as ridiculous, over-indulgent, expensive, and over-engineered–and they are not wrong. It is all these things, but more importantly, the Ember mug works well and feels good. Self-professed coffee nerd, Ember CEO Clay Alexander recognized the tepid coffee problem and set out to solve it. Coffee aficionados in this age of YouTube/Reddit/TikTok are known to spare no expense to find the best technological and aesthetic solutions to innocuous problems we didn’t know needed fixing. I know because I am one, insufferable and overbearing.

While designed to impress the most discerning of coffee people, the Ember Mug² meets the demand of a much wider audience, even if they weren’t sure they needed it. People who work all day at a desk, the chronically forgetful, the impossibly busy, parents who are constantly pulled away could all benefit from this stalwart piece of tech. Common are Youtube video comments attesting their love for this gadget–especially after initial skepticism.

How does the Ember Mug work?

Equipped with multiple sensors and a microprocessor, the Ember Mug² intelligently senses the liquid capacity and heats it using convection. Heated water rises to the top and creates a current, heating up the contents uniformly and precisely to the set temperature. The lithium-ion battery provides about 80-90 minutes of continuous heat off of its charging base. Syncing to a smartphone through bluetooth allows you to set the temperature to the degree in a range between 120 °F (50 °C) and 145 °F (62.5 °C).

It turns on automatically when it senses liquid inside. After two hours, the mug automatically shuts down if there is no movement triggered by the accelerometer.

Ember Mug² design and materials

The Ember Mug² takes a pleasing form, rounded, well-balanced with a satisfying, weighty feel. It’s really nice to hold and with its sleek matte finish (in black or white), it will fit right in with the vignette of carefully considered objects on your desk. Ember CEO Clay Alexander admitted that designing the mug was a painstaking process, fitting all its tech into the bottom of the mug in a nice, unnoticeable way. This cup is expensive, and this styling delivers on that price tag.

This version of the ceramic mug has a smooth, satin finish and look. (Ember has more recently released metallic versions of this mug with a higher gloss finish and material). Sandwiched between the walls of the mug is a steel piece that heats up the sides. It’s not considered double-walled but more of a triple layer since there isn’t much air to  insulate the outer layer. The cup feels warm to the touch when heated, not cool. Experientially, this is closer to using a regular ceramic mug. It’s nice and cozy.

An unexpected touch is that there is a rubber bottom, gripping your table a bit and adding to its sense of stability and weight.

Ember vs. stainless double-walled mugs

Double-walled stainless mugs, tumblers and bottles from companies like Yeti, Klean Kanteen, and Hyrdo Flask provide a low tech solution to the tepid coffee problem. While these double-walled mugs can keep your beverage hot for about as long or longer, there are a few things that the Ember does better. These lidded mugs steadily decline in temperature, while the Ember cools down until the target temperature and stays there. According to influencer coffee god, James Hoffman, this would be the best case scenario for preserving flavor from the ravages of time.

Insulated thermoses, like Zojirushi or Hydroflask, tend to keep the heat well above comfortable drinking temperatures for too long. This may have the potential to degrade the flavor of the coffee quicker. For example, when you attempt to reheat your coffee in the microwave, you may too easily overheat it, which in effect overcooks all that good stuff you painstakingly crafted in the brewing process.

If you are a fussy coffee person, you know that keeping precise temperatures is key to everything, from roasting to brewing to finally drinking. The people at Ember know this.

Moreover, stainless steel travel mugs touch your lips differently–cold, metallic. They bring to mind less ideal situations like camping or rushing out of the house. Moreover, the inside walls tend to trap oils and alter the taste of your beverage. They do such an efficient job of keeping all of the heat inside that the outside is cold to the touch. On the other hand, ceramic mugs give off a pleasant radiant heat which is nice to hold in cold mornings. As an avid user of stainless mugs, this is the thing that I miss the most about ceramic mugs. The Ember gets you back that warm coziness and even better, makes it last a whole lot longer.

The Ember Mug vs Ember Mug²

The biggest difference between the older version and v2 is the battery life–it’s 50% better to be exact. Secondly, it’s got better waterproofing. V2 is submersible up to 1m deep for up to 30 minutes without damage. Knowing this frees you from stress as you lovingly suds up your mug.

Lastly, the charging base is slightly rounder in profile and the mug sits a bit differently in the cradle. The mug itself has not changed shape or function at all, indistinguishable from each other visually.

From the time V1 was released until now, the 10 oz. Ember Mug² has increased in price from $80 to $99. With increased battery capacity and higher demand for computer chips, it’s no surprise that the price has increased.

The Ember smartphone app

The Ember Mug² has an app for both iOS and Android that allows you to adjust and customize. You can sync more than one mug and have different settings for each. Once you have decided on your ideal drinking temperature, there is little reason to keep using the app. However, you can use shortcuts for different types of drinks requiring different temperatures. In its default shortcuts, coffee is set to 55-57​​°C while different tea types range from 57-59°C.

Worry not if you wander outside the range of your phone, or if your phone runs out of battery. The mug is designed to work with or without a connected smartphone. Going in and out of range is okay too.

The iOS app seems to have some functionality with Apple’s Health app, helping to denote caffeine intake. This requires using the app each time you have a drink. For those tracking this anyway, this feature could be helpful.

For most people, setting the mug to Celsius or Fahrenheit, checking battery life and changing temperatures will likely be the most common uses of the app.

Charging time and battery life

To charge the mug, you simply place the mug on the charging base. Keep in mind that it only charges when the mug is empty. Placing a full mug on the base draws only enough power to maintain the target temperature, not enough to simultaneously charge and heat. This is a minor detail that wasn’t immediately obvious.

It takes about an hour to charge up completely. The battery lasts about 80 minutes for the 14oz size and 90 minutes for the 10 oz. size when using without the base. If you want to take longer than this to finish your beverages, you’ll want to keep the mug on the charging base between sips. The charging base lives on my desk to draw out the life of my beverage for sometimes over three hours.

Usage experience

I’ve been using this mug almost exclusively for the past few weeks. It functions mostly like a regular mug, except it requires a bit more babying to maintain. Follow these rules and the mug should last:

• Always handwash the mug (warm water and soap)
• Make sure that the base is completely dry before placing it on the charger
• Avoid using with metal utensils

In my opinion, the extra care is worth the extra function. The weight and feel of the mug is pleasant, and it has a nice radiant heat that you miss from using double-walled mugs or thermoses. For desk warriors, putting this base station where you would normally place your vintage ceramic mug is a lateral adjustment.

The learning curve is very small. Off base, you can power it on or off by holding down the rubberized button at the bottom of the cup. The same button puts the mug into bluetooth pairing mode when held down.

The only thing that wasn’t completely intuitive is that the mug does not charge while full. We are used to being able to use our phones while plugged in, but this is not the case here likely due to the smaller draw of energy. If you stay in one spot with the charging base, it’s not a bother at all. For those who move around a lot, 80-90 minutes is the time limit. If your cup is still full after it runs out of battery, you cannot simply charge back up while the mug is full. You must empty it first, as it refuses to charge and heat at the same time.

There have been some reports of unpairing in places with interference. Depending on how much you use the app, it could be pretty annoying to have to keep re-pairing the mug. However, I have not had any issues with this and I’ve got many bluetooth devices around me.

Conclusion: Is the Ember Mug² worth it?

From busy parents, forgetful people, to chronically slow folks, the Ember Mug² fills a void that most people might not have considered. At the time of writing, the Ember Mug² is $99 (and $129 for the larger 14oz model)–a steep investment for a cup. However, we find that it delivers what it promises and lives up to the cost.

Thermoses and double-walled, lidded mugs may offer comparable functionality, but the Ember adds to that more precision, sustain and control while preserving the warmth and comfort of a traditional ceramic mug. It’s pleasantly textured walls heat up to a cozy touch and remain warm the entire time it’s on.

Ember also makes a heated travel mug (if an unheated travel mug isn’t your fancy) using the same heating and sensing technology for those on the go. The v2 travel mug has a battery capacity of up to three hours, making it a better candidate for those who want more time and freedom from a charging base.

With a kitchen cabinet full of perfectly functional low-tech mugs, it might be difficult to justify the premium cost. However, I have been using it almost exclusively since I’ve got it, rendering all my traditional mugs obsolete. If you have suffered enough cups of cold coffee, wasted enough time brewing another cup of tea to replace that one that was sadly forgotten, then the Ember Mug² might just be worth it after all.

Hot Stuff: Ember Mug²

A mug you didn't know you needed. Upgrades your hot beverage experience at a relatively high cost.

See Price at Amazon.com

The post Ember Mug² Review appeared first on Your Best Digs.

We also tested the less-well-known narrow-neck Klean Kanteen bottle, which performs better in insulation tests because of the smaller opening letting less heat in or out. It’s also preferred by some of our testers because they feel it’s easier to drink from.

The Tests

Cold water test

We filled a large stockpot with water and dumped in about 4 pounds of ice from a handy portable ice maker. We let the ice melt, since it soaks up extra heat when it melts, and it’s hard to ensure there isn’t more of that thermal capacity going into one bottle or another. If you’re actually trying to keep a drink cold for 24 hours, pack in as much non-melted ice as you can.

We measured the temperature of the water over the course of 40 hours. The peak outdoor temperature was 94 degrees Fahrenheit, and the bottles were all in the sun for about an hour. Overnight lows were around 73°F.

There are two control subjects in this test group: An un-insulated stainless steel klean kanteen, a YETI Rambler Insulated Tumbler with an even larger non-sealing lid than the wide-mouth bottle.

As expected, the bottle with no insulation tracks very close to ambient temperature after just two hours. (That’s why it dips overnight and rises during the second morning.) Also no great surprise after past tests, the Klean Kanteen with its narrow mouth managed to beat the other insulated bottles.

What was a bit of a surprise is how poorly the YETI tumbler performed when the sun hit in the morning. You can see that the tumbler is insulating well on the first day, but the large, thin plastic lid is clearly a liability when it comes to soaking up solar heat.

The other surprise was the Hydro Flask, which starts to gain significantly more heat than the other two bottles after the third hour. By the middle of the second day, the difference was about 7°F compared to less than 1°F between the other two.

Easy drinking

Here’s the test that’s far more subjective.

We’ve been testing water bottles since 2017, and there are three ways to think about drinking from them.

Some like sipping from wide-mouth water bottles, since that opening is more like a cup and the top rim is less likely to hit your nose.

Others prefer a narrower mouth, since it allows you to hydrate without worrying as much about spilling.

A third option is to drink from a spout — all of the water bottles we tested can be fitted with an optional spout or straw lid. The spout restricts you to drinking much more slowly, but it ensures you don’t spill all over your shirt. If you’re trying to keep water ice-cold for an entire day in the heat, a spout also keeps heat from rushing in every time you drink.

Cleaning

The wider a bottle’s mouth is, the easier it will be to clean with a good kitchen scrubber.

There are two reasons not to put a vacuum-insulated-stainless-steel bottle in a dishwasher. The first is over concerns about joints inside the insulating sleeve being stressed by the heat, which causes the metal to expand and contract and may damage soldered joints or plugs. The second concern is about damage to that eye-catching colored coating. YETI says all of their bottles are designed to take the heat of a dishwasher. Hydro Flask and Klean Kanteen both say not to put any of their insulated bottles in the dishwasher.

The Hydro Flask – Wide Mouth

The Hydro Flask is one of the most popular insulated water bottles on the market, starting as a humble Oregon design team selling bottles in 2009 and eventually growing a brand strong enough to sell for $210 million in 2019.

Hydro Flask has stayed a steady course, expanding into other lines of insulation-related gear but keeping their water bottles front and center. Redditors and Instagrammers alike are very enthusiastic about the brand and their very generous policies toward replacing things like broken caps or even entire bottles.

Pros

• Lifetime warranty
• Wide selection of sizes and colors
• Popularity makes accessories easy to find

Cons

• Insulation performance is only average
• Narrow lid openings not very narrow
• Wide lid openings not very wide

The YETI Rambler Bottle

The YETI – Rambler Bottle is strong competition for Hydro Flask. This is another brand that has skyrocketed from humble beginnings to a widely-recognized brand. They’re probably still better known for their coolers and the original Rambler insulated tumblers, but this bottle has made big waves.

The main points of innovation YETI has made are in design, with a mouth, lid and accessories all innovating slightly over what other manufacturers are doing. The Mag Dock spout cap has the best features of CamelBak’s excellent Chute Mag bottle. The Bottle Cup Cap turns the YETI into a thermos.

But at the end of the day, this bottle is still vulnerable to dents and scratches, just like any other bottle, and it will set you back $5–10 more than either of the other top-tier brands, or a whopping $35 more than generic insulated bottles.

YETI’s warranty is also only five years, while both of the competitors in this price bracket are offering a lifetime warranty to offset the steep initial investment.

Pros

• The widest mouth of any insulated water bottle
• Rugged design is guaranteed dishwasher safe
• Innovative caps for sipping, chugging and pouring

Cons

• Only a five-year warranty
• Price is usually higher

The bottom line

Choosing between YETI and Hydro Flask is tough. If you like wide-mouth openings, they’re both fine, though the YETI is wider. Both have excellent straw lid options, though YETI also has a few interesting spout designs to choose from. Both bottles keep your drink cold for a full day, though the YETI has an advantage.

If you’re worried about durability, either bottle will dent if you drop it on its side when it’s full of water, so finding the handle or carry system that works for you is essential. That said, the folks in charge of Hydro Flask’s lifetime warranty are very generous when it comes to accidental damage, while YETI’s warranty runs out after five years.

All in all, we think the YETI Rambler Bottle is the better of these two ultra-popular brands, but for the best insulated water bottle our money is still on a dark horse contender: the Klean Kanteen – Classic insulated.

Klean Kanteen has innovative lids and gives you the option of a narrow-neck design to keep drinks cold even longer than the YETI. It’s also a bit less expensive and easier to find. Klean Kanteen has a lifetime warranty, though they don’t guarantee their bottles against damage from a dishwasher like YETI does for the first five years.

Best Overall: Klean Kanteen

This lesser-known insulated bottle has most of the best attributes of competing brands. It's not as cheap as a generic bottle, but you will get a full lifetime warranty for a lower price than either Hydro Flask or YETI.

See Price at Amazon.com

The post Hydro Flask vs Yeti: Which Is Better? appeared first on Your Best Digs.

Table of contents

• Compare the best modems for Spectrum
• 1. Spectrum’s own Technicolor – E31T2VI
• 2. Best router combo: Netgear – C7000
• 3. DOCSIS-3.1 pick: Motorola – MB8600
• The other finalists we tested
• How cable modems work
• Important features to consider
• How we selected finalists to test
• Security updates
• The bottom line

Compare the best modems for Spectrum

1. Spectrum’s Technicolor – E31T2VI

The Technicolor – E31T2V1 is one of the modems Spectrum provides to new subscribers getting Ultra (400 mbps) speeds or faster. This and the related modems provided by Spectrum are currently the only hardware that’s certified to work for the fastest “Gig” speed tier, up to 940 mbps. This modem supports the new DOCSIS 3.1 protocol on 32 channels, so it will be able to work at even faster speeds if Spectrum chooses to beef up their network infrastructure.

Spectrum buys modems from at least three suppliers: The Technicolor – E31T2V1 and Ubee – E31U2V1 both use the Broadcom 3390 chipset, while the E31N2V1 model from Hitron uses the dreaded Intel PUMA 7 chipset. Intel’s modem chipset line has been plagued with issues ranging from packet loss to security vulnerabilities. Our tester was provided with the Technicolor as standard equipment when he upgraded his internet speed.

If you’re trying to keep on top of security concerns, the Technicolor – E31T2V1 has a slight edge over the Ubee – E31U2V1 since someone along the development chain decided to disable access to the spectrum analyzer. Some networking nerds still like to be able to see signal strength analysis, so they preferred the Ubee when these modems first rolled out. After the team at Lyrebirds discovered that you can execute commands on the modem using this tool, it seems prudent to pick a modem that’s had it blocked.

We weren’t able to acquire all of the Spectrum modems for comparison ourselves, and that’s the tricky part. Your local Spectrum warehouse may only have the Hitron modems. If that’s the case, you can live with the downsides of PUMA chipset latency, or you can buy one of the other modems below. If you use a non-Spectrum modem, you’ll either have to settle for the 400 mbps speed tier (which is still more than fast enough for most users) or beg the technician on the other end of your service call to please provision the full 940 mbps speeds on a not-technically-approved-but-fully-capable DOCSIS 3.1 modem like the Motorola – MB8600.

Spectrum’s own modem is also your best choice if you are subscribing to telephone service; there are other modems with phone jacks, but none that work at the high-speed tiers.

Key takeaways:

• The modem Spectrum provides for their high-speed service is one of the few that’s approved for maximum speeds.
• Spectrum is managing your modem no matter what, and they provide this modem for no extra charge.
• If you’re having difficulty with your connection, using Spectrum’s hardware helps ensure technicians don’t blame a non-standard modem for problems.
• This modem comes with support for running Spectrum’s telephone service.
• The only downside to this modem is that it doesn’t have a built-in Wi-Fi access point or router, so most homes will need an extra box.

2. Best router combo: Netgear – C7000

If you really want one box to handle all of your home internet needs, the Netgear – Nighthawk C7000 has your bases covered for Basic and Ultra speed tiers on the Spectrum cable system. With AC1900 Wi-Fi compatibility and Netgear’s extra routing features to help keep your wireless devices connected, this is the best modem router combo for Spectrum.

With four gigabit ethernet ports and a USB port for sharing files or a printer, the Nighthawk is a fully-featured hub that will sit at the heart of your network. Netgear’s control panels give you extra features like guest networks and port routing that you might not get from the Wi-Fi router that Spectrum wants to rent you for $5 per month.

We’re happy to say that the C7000 we tested is not vulnerable to the Cable Haunt exploit, as many Netgear modems on Spectrum’s networks are reported to be.

What’s missing

There are plenty of other Wi-Fi routers you could plug into a free cable modem that will cover the C7000’s features and more. The newest Wi-Fi hardware can deliver higher theoretical maximum speeds between devices, though AC1900 is more than fast enough to serve internet content — the bottleneck for downloads and streaming video is always going to be your connection through the modem itself.

Wi-Fi signal coverage is one area that’s seeing innovation every couple of years, and the C7000 uses “beam-forming” antenna technology to provide excellent signal strength in our informal tests. But the newest trend is toward using “satellite” access point hardware to build out a “mesh” of Wi-Fi radio signal over your home — that kind of hardware could be better if you have an especially large home or lots of Wi-Fi-blocking walls and floors.

Not for top speeds

For internet connection speeds, the C7000 is the newest modem/router combo that has been certified by Spectrum for 400 mbps “ultra” service, but the C7800 is a newer non-approved Netgear modem-router combo that supports the more efficient DOCSIS 3.1 protocols.

That’s a catch-22; Spectrum will support DOCSIS 3.0 modems for a long time to come, but the lack of future compatibility makes buying older modems less of a win. If you want to subscribe to the fastest “Gig” speeds, the C7000 won’t work, so you’re better off using Spectrum’s modem and a separate Wi-Fi router or mesh system of your choice than trying to use any combo system we found.

Best Combo Modem-Router: Netgear - Nighthawk C7000

Spectrum doesn't support many modem-router combination devices, but this one is an excellent example of good hardware supported by one of the top manufacturers. It's not using the latest technology, though, and won't work at Spectrum's fastest speed offerings.

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What’s coming for Wi-Fi on Spectrum

When the new Netgear – CAX80 is finally released sometime in 2020, it will feature all of the same benefits as the extra-fast RAX80 Wi-Fi 6 Router and also be approved for Spectrum’s fastest speeds. This is a major leap ahead of the C7000, but expect at least a $400 sticker price. If you’re using a cable provider that charges $10 per month for modem rentals and extra for a Wi-Fi router rentals on top of that, maybe you can justify the cost, but eight channels of 6 gbps data transfer isn’t needed for anything short of a video production studio.

When Spectrum is giving you the modem for free there’s not much reason to even think about this kind of hardware, and at that price all our network administrator friends say they’d look at plugging in separate, more robust Ubiquiti or Cisco Wi-Fi solutions anyhow.

Key takeaways:

• The Netgear – Nighthawk C7000 Cable Modem and Wi-Fi Router is the fastest combo box that’s on Spectrum’s approved list, but it’s not future-proof.
• Spectrum doesn’t give you Wi-Fi router hardware for free, so buying your own can save you about $60 per year in rental fees.
• Most users would be better off sticking with Spectrum’s modem and buying a less-expensive separate Wi-Fi router.
• Using a 2-in-1 box reduces clutter and simplifies your network setup.
• Netgear’s hardware is reliable and easy to get support for.

3. DOCSIS-3.1 pick: Motorola – MB8600

If you want a future-proof modem that’s on Spectrum’s approved list, the Motorola – MB8600 is the only one that meets all of our qualifications. It’s not using the latency-plagued Intel PUMA chipset, and the manufacturer and Spectrum have patched it so it isn’t vulnerable to well-known exploits.

There’s a hitch, though: The 8600 hasn’t actually been approved for full 940 mbps speeds it should be capable of, only the “Ultra” tier at 400mbps. Many users on sites like DSLreports and Reddit report that they’ve been able to convince Spectrum’s support staff to provision full-speed access with DOCSIS 3.1 modems that aren’t on the list. But if you want top speeds you may be forced to use what Spectrum provides.

If Spectrum is only providing you with a E31 — N — 2V1 instead of a E31 — T — 2V1 (the initial indicates manufacturer), you might have some luck getting less jitter or lower latency with this Motorola modem, without technically giving up Spectrum-approved status.

Future-Proof: Motorola - MB8600

If you want top speeds but don't like the modem Spectrum has provided, this is your best bet.

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Motorola modems have a long history of being some of the best in the business, but it’s important to note that the Motorola modems of today aren’t made by the same company that made the incredibly successful “SURFboard” models. Those were designed and built by the company formerly known as Motorola Home, which was acquired by Arris in 2013. While the old Motorola cable modem team is still with Arris, their rights to use the Motorola name expired in 2015, and the new licensee is Zoom Telephonics.

Zoom’s work with this model checks all the right boxes, and for whatever reason, they’ve had more success than Arris getting security patches rolled out to customer hardware by Spectrum’s support team — the Arris modem with the same specs, the SB8200, is still vulnerable to the Cable Haunt exploit.

When Spectrum does approve other DOCSIS 3.1 modems and makes higher speeds available, this modem should be ready to go. In the meantime, it’s keeping up with the best of the competition from Arris, Netgear and others at 400 mbps speeds. It doesn’t do anything the better Spectrum modems don’t do for free, but if we were stuck with a Hisense Spectrum modem, and they wouldn’t replace it with a different brand, this is what we’d buy.

Key takeaways:

• The Motorola – MB8600 Cable Modem supports the new DOCSIS 3.1 protocol, and it’s on Spectrum’s approved list for 400 mbps “Ultra” speeds.
• The MB8600 doesn’t have the bugs or vulnerabilities many other DOCSIS 3.1 modems suffer from.
• If you’re subscribing to the fastest 940 mbps “Gig” speed tier, Spectrum may not agree to provision the full speed this is capable of and force you to use their modem instead.

The other finalists we tested

Note on the Cable Haunt vulnerability

The one flaw we found in the less-expensive modems listed below is a security vulnerability common to modems more than a few years old: The built-in signal analysis tool can be called up from a web browser without a password, which means that clicking on any URL could potentially launch a “buffer overflow” exploit to run commands on the modem. This is known as the “Cable Haunt” exploit, and while it’s well-known among security researchers Spectrum doesn’t seem to be paying much attention to it.

Spectrum seems motivated to turn off access to the signal analysis tools on newer modems anyhow, since according to the technicians we talked to they never use it. Netgear has confirmed that they’ve written a patch for their modem hardware, but it’s up to the cable company to deploy it. Since these less-expensive modems are using older hardware, it looks like Spectrum has just decided to stop providing updates. If they give us more specific information we’ll update here, but for now users of these modems will have to take steps to close the loopholes themselves.

Spectrum-provided modems

If you’re a Spectrum subscriber on a lower speed tier like 100 mbps, you may get a good, reliable modem like the Technicolor – DPC3216 that Spectrum provided to us. This one is standard-issue for new subscribers in our area, and works well in almost every way. It’s only capable of using 16 channels of downstream data, so it won’t work on Spectrum’s 400 mbps “Ultra” tier, but it doesn’t have any latency or packet-loss issues like some cable-company-provided modems do.

The biggest flaw we found in the DPC3216 is the Cable Haunt security vulnerability common to modems more than a few years old, which we detail below.

If you’re not as lucky, you may get a modem with a PUMA chipset. The most common seem to be the TM1602, but here’s a longer list of the notorious PUMA 6 modems. If you have one of these and notice inconsistent speed (latency spikes), you can ask Spectrum to mail you a DOCSIS 3.1 modem. If they won’t do that, or if you’re unlucky enough to get a PUMA 7 modem in exchange for your old PUMA 6 modem, you can check out the other option below.

Arris – SB6183

The Arris – SB6183 is a venerable standby from the era of DOCSIS 3.0 modems. It works very well at speeds up to 400 mbps on Spectrum’s network, and it doesn’t have any of the vulnerabilities of other modems that are popular in this price range.

Comparing the Arris and Netgear – CM600, there’s very little reason to choose one of these less-expensive modems over the other, since they use the same Broadcom BCM3384 chipset. If you get a PUMA-based modem from Spectrum and want a reliable middle-speed-tier modem, you can pick whichever of the two models is less expensive.

Netgear – CM600

Like the Arris – SB6183 above, the Netgear – CM600 is a great example of a reliable modem that’s been able to hit “Ultra” speeds of up to 400 mbps since 2014. Also like the Arris, this modem isn’t certified by Spectrum to bond more than 16 channels or use DOCSIS 3.1 protocols, and as of the time of our testing, it’s vulnerable to the Cable Haunt exploit.

You’ll find the newer Netgear – CM700 for about the same price as the 600, and it is capable of bonding more channels, but that model switched from a reliable Broadcom chipset to the newer PUMA 6 chipset. PUMA modems have been plagued by reliability issues, so we don’t recommend them. Spectrum doesn’t officially certify the CM700 for any faster speeds than the CM600 can transmit anyhow, so we didn’t find any advantage in buying the newer model.

How cable modems work

Compared to DSL internet service, which sends data directly from a server to your computer over a telephone line, cable TV and internet service sends hundreds of “channels” of data on one distribution path — optical fiber to a hub, then copper cable into your house — and shares that bandwidth among all the subscribers attached.

When you’ve got the network to yourself, cable service is much faster than DSL. When connecting 24 channels (new modems could potentially bond up to 32 channels) Spectrum can send data in some areas at more than 900 million bits per second (“mbps”), compared to the 25 mbps limit from DSL providers where our tester lives.

The hitch with cable internet is that fewer than 200 of those channels are shared among you, your neighbors and the TV and telephone services that your cable company provides. Sophisticated algorithms decide which users get priority when all of your neighbors are trying to stream movies and download game updates at the same time, but it can be slower than DSL.

Another quirk with cable modems is that you really don’t have any control over them: The Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (“DOCSIS”) standard specifies that your cable company has complete control over modem software updates, troubleshooting steps, even resetting the modem.

So, if you’re looking to buy a modem, remember that if you’re not using hardware that’s on Spectrum’s list of approved modems, you might run into trouble. Spectrum will only test and deploy software updates and bug fixes for approved modems. Even if you want to, you can’t install security updates or patches yourself.

Important features to consider

Spectrum approval: If your modem isn’t on Spectrum’s list, you might not be able to get the speeds you pay for. You almost certainly won’t get security or bug patches unless Spectrum has your modem on their list of priority hardware.

DOCSIS 3.1 support: These newest protocols allow a cable company to connect you at peak speeds of a gigabit or better. Spectrum isn’t using the newest protocols in all areas, and when it rolls them out, an older modem will still work at slower speeds. But if you’re going to purchase a modem, you should consider getting something that will work if you upgrade your service.

Broadcom chipsets, not Intel: As of the time we’re writing this review, if you see the “Intel Inside” logo on a modem, don’t buy it. Broadcom is the other major developer of modem hardware, and all the modems we recommend use their chipsets. Intel’s PUMA chipset line is used in many modems, but it has a flaw in the hardware design that causes significant, intermittent latency (“lag” or “jitter”) as well as lost packets of data and even some security concerns. There’s an ongoing class-action lawsuit against one cable modem manufacturer because of the speed issues, and software updates have not fully resolved the problems even after years of complaints.

How we selected finalists to test

We checked reviews of cable modems on prominent computer hardware sites like Tom’s Hardware and Wirecutter, but after reading comments and looked for patterns of problematic behavior among users on DSLreports and Reddit, it was pretty clear that a one-size-fits-all cable modem is tricky to recommend. Most of the recommended modems we spotted on lists will work fine, but they’re fairly old.

Since Spectrum now leases modem hardware for free, recommending one to purchase is a tricky proposition. There’s got to be a pretty specific reason to make it worth shelling out $100 or even $300 for a top-of-the-line modem.

After reading the discussions about new modems at DSLReports and the Spectrum Community Forums, two persistent issues started to stand out. First, modems with Intel PUMA chipsets have consistently delivered inconsistent speed and even dropped packets for many users. Secondly, the latest batch of Intel chips has new bugs with even more dramatic vulnerabilities. We decided to test only non-PUMA modems. If you’ve got an Intel-Inside modem, and you don’t have any trouble with your internet connection, you shouldn’t worry about it. But when a device is as simple as a cable modem we don’t want any compromises with a device we recommend for purchase.

We found some evidence that Spectrum has only patched certain modems in the wake of a newer bug discovered by a team of Danish security researchers dubbed “Cable Haunt.” We reached out to Spectrum to get a conclusive response on their approach to dealing with vulnerabilities like this (detailed below), but we only recommend modems that have been patched against this exploit for our top picks.

Security updates

In contrast with so many devices on your computer network that require you to be diligent and perform maintenance steps to get the best and most secure performance, the cable company has complete control over updating software or changing settings on your cable modem.

The modem only does one thing: connecting your home network (usually through a router) with the cable company’s servers over a set of provisioned channels on your neighborhood’s cable feed. There’s not much about that process that changes, so patches and updates are infrequent. That simplicity means letting a cable company manage updates is preferable for the most part — they’ll probably be aware of any issues before you are, and they definitely want to catch problems before you call to complain about them.

A test case: Cable Haunt

When it comes to security updates, some vulnerabilities get a low priority or just slip through the cracks. The “Cable Haunt” vulnerability, which allows hackers to send commands to the modem, is not on Spectrum’s priority list.

To be fair, there’s currently no known use of this vulnerability in the wild, but there’s the potential for bad actors to hijack your network traffic, even silently redirecting your web browser to clones of websites or using your cable modem as part of a “botnet” of devices shutting down servers all over the world.

To close the hole Spectrum would only need to turn off a diagnostic tool that their techs never use, but they’ve decided not to deploy even ready-to-go patches from manufacturers that would fix the problem.

We didn’t get an official technical response from Spectrum, but a regional director of communications said that their engineers are aware of the vulnerability, and they don’t consider it a risk for most users since it requires an attack from inside the local network — Spectrum is counting on us not to accidentally launch web pages that hijack our modems.

We contacted Lyrebirds, the team of Danish security researchers who discovered this vulnerability in most older modems used around the world. We asked specifically if cable subscribers should be worried if they’re using a vulnerable, un-patched modem, and Lyrebirds member Kasper Terndrup says “If there are no plans [for a patch or update from Spectrum], I would suggest that they worry, as an attack is not only a real possibility, but that a lack of updates is also a signal about how Spectrum deals with security.”

As far as the risk level, a modem that’s vulnerable to Cable Haunt is not the same risk as exposing a hackable device like a printer or webcam on a public-accessible IP address, but with the number of “smart” devices connecting to our local networks the risks posed by any vulnerability get higher all the time. The Lyrebirds team cautions that “any place where running code can reach an IP on the local network can be used to exploit Cable Haunt.”

We tried to get a sense of how Spectrum handles updates for vulnerabilities like this, specifically asking if Spectrum had any plan to eventually roll out a patch that Netgear has released for the CM600. Spectrum declined to comment on specific patches. Calls for comment on Spectrum’s user web forum haven’t been answered, either.

Kasper Terndrup says that, generally speaking, using a modem provided by the cable company should be safer: “renting might be a safer option, as this should ensure some level of regular updates, although not guaranteed. If you buy, you should at least try to make sure that this model will be supported with updates by your ISP.” Given the fact that Spectrum is not even deploying a fix for the Cable Haunt vulnerability on their own base-model Technicolor modems, though, it seems like users are on their own to take additional steps if they want extra protection.

Fixing Cable Haunt

At the end of the day, even if you can’t apply a patch there are steps you can take to mitigate this one specific vulnerability. If you know your way around a router control panel, you can simply block ports. All the cable modems we tested use 192.168.100.1 as a default address, so if you block traffic on port 8080 (or whatever port your particular modem uses for the “spectrum analyser” tool) you’ll shut down the potential for an exploit through your network.

If you’re using a Wi-Fi router with your modem, see if you have the option to broadcast an isolated “guest” network. Using that network for smart devices (We’ve tested smart garage door openers, internet-connected video baby monitors, electricity usage monitors, and air conditioners) allows them to see the internet but keeps them separate from one another and your networked computers.

The bottom line

Spectrum no longer charges for modem rentals, which is great news for subscribers. Some of the hardware they give out is reliable and fast, and perhaps more importantly, Spectrum tech support should know exactly how to troubleshoot any problems with their own modems.

If you’re subscribing to Spectrum’s top-speed “Gig” service, using the modem they give you will probably make the most sense, since they’re currently the only modems approved for full 940 mbps speeds. But if you get saddled with a E31N2V1 made by Hitron, you might find the latency and dropped packets caused by flaws in Intel’s PUMA 7 chipset a disappointing upgrade.

If you’re looking specifically for a cable modem and router in the same box, the best that Spectrum has on their approved list is the Netgear – C7000. It works great at up to 400 mbps (Spectrums middle “Ultra” speed tier) and has most of the home Wi-Fi features we were hoping for, though newer Wi-Fi 6 routers will someday offer better transfer speeds between new devices.

The best modem for sale that can be provisioned at full speeds — if the Spectrum techs are extra nice — is the Motorola – MB8600. If you can’t get a non-PUMA modem from Spectrum directly, that’s your best bet. Arris makes a similar model, but it’s still vulnerable to a known hack.

Future-Proof: Motorola - MB8600

If you want top speeds and Spectrum has given you a lemon of a modem, Motorola's Broadcom-based solution is your best bet. There aren't any other modems on Spectrum's list for full-speed support, and every report we found said full speeds worked just fine.

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How we selected these books

Don’t think of this as a list of books that are only good for men — in most cases, the stories and information they contain will appeal to everyone. We’re assuming that you’re reading this list either because you’re a man who’s run out of ideas for what to read next, or you’re someone trying to encourage a man to read more by picking up a book for him. If you are looking for a gift, the best book light makes an excellent pairing.

We’ve had people making lists of books for almost as long as we’ve had books. The invention of the printing press means that nearly anyone can publish a book; that means there are dozens of books written by somebody, somewhere you’d love to read that you’ll never even know about. From lists of banned books to bibliographies of niche topics compiled by academics, book lists have always been a way for people interested in specific ideas to tell readers how to find (or avoid) relevant books.

As we put together this list, some of the readers we surveyed insisted that since male authors and readers have dominated the publishing sphere throughout history, the idea of a specific set of books for men is redundant and silly, if not offensive.

Nobody is saying that men and women can’t read the same books. But just as there are specific topics that interest women in general — or enough women to keep the publishing industry looking for new ways to tap into that market, anyhow — we’ve found that there are specific topics that most men are interested in. Remember too that a “best book” list pretty much has to be controversial — Michael Caines of the Times Literary Supplement calls book lists “one of the oldest and dodgiest forms of literary criticism.”

We surveyed 25 men who are avid readers, many of whom take part in regular book-club discussions. We also surveyed lists from magazines and websites that focus on stories for men. We studied the reader-generated lists on the Goodreads network, a website that helps people find and review books.

After surveying these other lists of books and looking for common threads, we identified a few themes or features of the books that the men in our survey thought were most important:

• Insight: Learning what’s going on behind the scenes, how things work, and how to strategize. This kind of insight is important in biographies of powerful leaders, but dramatic depictions of relationships can also provide much-needed food for thought.
• Adventure: Similar to the epic journeys of classic myth, but with more character development and gritty detail.
• Coming of age: How to pass on or inherit a legacy (be it elevating or burdensome) is a weighty question for many modern men.
• Survival: In both fiction and non-fiction titles, situations where the outcome is uncertain and the stakes are life-or-death.

Our list

After we compiled a list of over fifty candidate books to include, we narrowed that list to a group of thirty-six finalists. After that, our researcher used surveys to rank the fifteen best books for men.

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We’ve covered the types of everyday pens you’ll find around the office in our other review of the best office pens and best gel pens, but here’s a detailed breakdown of how pen types compare in more premium designs.

Capped pens

Fountain pens: Fountain pens put down a heavy line of water-based ink with barely any pressure on the page. There’s a wide selection of beautiful inks you can refill with, but they bleed and feather on common paper types, and the pens need messy maintenance. Despite these difficulties, the most prestigious pens are still fountain pens.

Rollerball: Take the same dye-in-water ink that fountain pens use, then put it in a ball-tip disposable refill, and you’ve got a rollerball pen. This setup is less finicky to write with than a nib, and also much easier to refill. Rollerballs should write effortlessly and can create very fine lines — and unlike gel pens, the ink dries quickly enough for left-handers. Like a fountain pen, the ink can feather and bleed through some paper, and the ink can leak out of the cartridge when air pressure drops on an airplane. Rollerballs also need a cap to stop them from drying out.

Fineliner or porous-point: Like a cross between a felt marker and a rollerball, a fineliner refill for a rollerball pen uses a tough porous plastic material for its tip. The ink is usually the same as in rollerball and fountain pens, but the porous tip puts down just enough for a bold line, with an even quicker dry time. These are often popular among left-handers. Sadly, fineliner refills dry out quickly if you leave the cap off your pen.

Capless pens

Gel: A hybrid between the thick ballpoint ink and free-flowing rollerball ink, gel ink uses archival-grade pigment in water-based gel. If you’re looking for smooth-flowing ink with strong colors and sharp, featherless lines, then a gel pen is probably a great choice for you. That said, if you’re left-handed, you should be wary of gel ink — it smudges more than ballpoint and rollerball ink. We’ve also reviewed a variety of these types of pens to figure out the best gel pens for any job.

Ballpoint: These no-fuss pens were invented as an everyday replacement for fountain and rollerball pens, and they’re popular for good reason. The oil-based ballpoint ink sticks to paper more than it really dries, but the refills last longer and don’t dry out. A ballpoint’s ink doesn’t flow as quickly or smoothly, so these pens require more pressure when writing and the lines aren’t as bold. Note that the firm pressure required to get ballpoint ink on the page means these pens are much better for filling out carbon-copy forms or checks.

How we selected

Our tester for this post is a relatively obsessed fountain-pen enthusiast, so he found it tricky to narrow down a manageable list of finalists. Fortunately, he’s married to a lawyer who owns and uses very nice rollerball pens but isn’t as picky about design history or score-keeping.

Over the course of two months our tester double-checked his own preconceived ideas about what makes a pen “executive.” He looked at guides and discussions on boards like the Fountain Pen Forum and sub-reddits like r/pens. He also looked at all the top recommendations from pen blogs and YouTube channels like “The Well Appointed Desk,” “Figboot on Pens” and “The Pen Addict.”

Here are the qualifiers we came up with when narrowing down the list of contenders:

Suitability as gifts: Graduations, promotions and career milestones are great occasions to give a nice pen as a gift, and even the budget-friendly pens we picked come in elegant keepsake packaging. Though most of the top pens we selected can be purchased as fountain pens, we stuck with rollerball and ballpoint options for our list since most gift recipients will have no idea what to do with a fountain pen. Gift-suitability also rules out inexpensive pens that are made specifically to look like better pens.

Real-world performance: An executive pen should always write well and feel good in your hand. To that end, we tested the pens on nice Clairfontaine writing paper, as well as cheap legal pads, brown kraft paper, receipt paper and glossy cover stock to compare smudging, bleed and feathering.

Refill compatibility: The best pen in the world isn’t any good if you run out of ink. To help ensure that you or the person you’re buying for can keep on writing, we checked to see which pens take our favorite refills: the Schneider – Topball 850(a standard-size wet-ink rollerball that’s an excellent value), the Uni – Jetstream (a standard-size ballpoint refill with smooth-flowing ink), and popular Japanese gel refills like the newer Uni – Signo 307 ultra-fine-tip gel or the winner from our best “regular” pen review, the easy-to-aquire Pilot G2.

Subtle styling: An executive pen should look good on a desk or conference-room table. Flashy details have their place, but the safe bet is something minimal and traditional like black with gold trimming.

Discreet opening mechanisms: We also prefer twist-open capless pens over anything with a “clicky” nock mechanism, since habitual pen-clicking will get you in trouble during meetings. (Don’t worry, there’s still one classic clicky on the list.) In capped pens, we selected snap-on caps over threaded designs, since it can be awkward stopping to screw a pen cap back on when someone interrupts you while you’re writing.

Our list

After our two testers checked dozens of pens against each other, considering all of the above points, we selected the top ten best executive pens and ranked them as follows.

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