Gear

What to buy, what to skip, and what the cheaper one actually costs you.

The BRO Gear GuideBuy once, fix it, pass it down: a cost-per-use calculator, a warranty decoder and a repairability checklist.Judge it before you buy

← Newer articlesPage 27 of 174

Rain gear that doesn't look like hiking kit

What to wear in the wet when you've got a desk, a meeting at nine, and no interest in arriving dressed for a mountain.

GuideGadgetsDean Shaw23 Sept 20266 min

Doing your own screen and battery swap without wrecking the phone

The battery is a forty-minute job with a hair dryer and the right screwdriver. The screen is harder, and the reasons why are worth knowing first.

Ask BRO

Build me a revision plan that I will actually stick to

Ask it

GuideFitnessCal Brennan23 Sept 20266 min

Knee braces, shots and replacement in the order doctors try them

Nobody jumps straight to a new joint. Know the rungs of the ladder, what each one buys you, and what it costs in time you don't have.

GermProof.com — An invisible germ barrier on your skin for hours

PartnerGermProof.com

City Style6 min read

Chinos that fit, and how to spot the ones that never will

Most chinos fail in the seat and the rise, and no tailor can save them. Learn to check both before you get to the till.

Poll

Where does your best time with your kids happen?

GuideGadgetsDean Shaw23 Sept 20265 min

When your phone camera is enough, and when it isn't

Two things decide it: how much light you have and how far away the subject is. Everything else is marketing.

GuideFitnessCal Brennan23 Sept 20266 min

Why cotton swabs make earwax worse and what actually works

The wax on the tip is the decoy. Here's what a swab is really doing an inch inside your head, and the safe way to clear a plugged ear.

PartnerWhackAWoke.com

GuideCity StyleTobias Reed23 Sept 20266 min

Six ways to wear a navy blazer and one that never works

Buy it in hopsack, get the shoulder right, and one jacket covers the office, the airport, dinner and a funeral you weren't expecting.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

Five questions, honestly answered, and a plan for the next fortnight.

$The power station math nobody does before buying one$

GuideGadgetsDean Shaw23 Sept 20266 min

The power station math nobody does before buying one

Two numbers decide whether that box under the stairs gets you through a three-day outage or just charges your phone.

GuideFitnessCal Brennan23 Sept 20267 min

What your herniated disc MRI says and what it doesn't

The report reads like a demolition notice. Most of those words describe backs that don't hurt at all, and most of these injuries settle without a scalpel.

Ask BRO

What should I wear to this?

Ask it

GuideAutosDean Shaw23 Sept 20266 min

The first car for your teenager should be dull and heavy

Skip the horsepower, skip the hand-me-down subcompact, and make one phone call before you hand over any money.

Dude.com — 16 advisers who listen, talk and pray with you

PartnerDude.com

GuideGadgetsDean Shaw23 Sept 20266 min

The router settings that filter every screen in the house

Twenty minutes at the router covers the tablet, the console, the smart TV and the phone that keeps ending up under a pillow.

Poll

What was your first ever job?

GuideFitnessCal Brennan23 Sept 20266 min

The ringing won't stop and silence is the worst thing for it

Tinnitus is usually a hearing problem before it's a nerve problem, and the fixes that work are unglamorous, cheap and slow.

GuideCountry StyleTobias Reed23 Sept 20265 min

How to buy a flannel shirt that lasts ten winters

Yarn-dyed or printed, 6 ounces or 12, tucked or out. The details that separate a shirt you keep from one you replace in March.

Shirts.com — Design it with AI. Wear it this week.

PartnerShirts.com

GuideGadgetsDean Shaw23 Sept 20265 min

Which chargers and cables to keep, and which to bin

Tip the drawer onto the table, sort it in twenty minutes, and end up with a set that actually charges everything in the house.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

Six questions. No email required, no sales pitch at the end.

Fitness6 min

Groin pain, the sock test, and when a hip needs replacing

Autos5 min

Winter Driving When You Have the Whole Family in the Car

Ask BRO

Pressure-test my business idea

Ask it

GuideGadgetsDean Shaw23 Sept 20265 min

Which numbers on your fitness tracker are worth believing

Your watch reports about a dozen metrics every day. Roughly three of them can carry a decision. Learn which, and stop arguing with the rest.

Delicious.com — Nine thousand recipes and a plan for tonight

PartnerDelicious.com

Fitness6 min read

Tennis elbow and golfer's elbow respond to load, not rest

Ten minutes, three times a week, a light dumbbell and a clock. The loading program that actually gets a cranky tendon back to work.

Poll

When did you last ask for a raise?

Older articles

Older Gear stories