The Filter is one! 50 things we loved this year, from a sleep mask to the perfect pan

<p>Twelve months, thousands of tests and a revolutionary potato masher – here are our readers’ and writers’ ultimate buys</p><p>• <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/info/2024/oct/10/sign-up-for-the-filter-newsletter-our-free-weekly-buying-advice"><strong>Don’t get the Filter delivered to your inbox? Sign up here</strong></a></p><p>The Filter is turning one. Since we launched a year ago, we’ve run, hiked, camped and swum; we’ve drunk 455 cups of coffee; washed 34 loads of clothes; slept on mattresses for 2,240 hours, and much more, testing a total of 2,040 products – from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/thefilter/2024/nov/21/best-coffee-machines">coffee machines</a> to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/thefilter/2025/jul/18/best-gins">gin</a> – to bring you the most rigorous, informed and entertaining buying advice.</p><p>We’ve even had a decent stab at identifying the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/thefilter/2024/nov/08/the-13-best-christmas-gifts-for-taylor-swift-fans">preferred lipstick of a global icon</a>. And we’ve<strong> </strong>helped you <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/thefilter/2025/feb/07/how-to-buy-less">consume less</a> – and look after your precious things, from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/thefilter/2025/mar/27/from-smash-proof-cases-to-updates-how-to-make-your-smartphone-last-longer">your phone</a> to your <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/thefilter/2025/sep/02/how-to-clean-care-wooden-kitchen-utensils">wooden kitchen utensils</a>, to make them last longer.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/thefilter/2025/oct/10/the-filter-turns-one-favourite-products-tried-tested">Continue reading...</a>