"Tim Heffernan lights five matches with a single stroke and waves them up and down to spread the smoke. He sets them on a dinner plate as the small conference room fills with the smell of burning wood. He checks his particle meter to make sure the room is sufficiently smoky, then steps around the table to turn on an air purifier on the floor. This is no ordinary air purifier. It is the Coway Airmega Mighty, the longtime top pick at Wirecutter, where Heffernan serves as the chief reviewer of products that clean our air and water."
"This is a big moment for the Mighty. This test, followed by identical procedures for other purifiers over the next two days, will determine if it retains the crown it has held since 2014. Heffernan will test seven purifiers, including the Mighty and its new sibling, the Mighty2. It is down the hall still packed in its original box. It will be tested tomorrow. "Yeah, man," Heffernan says with a hint of sarcasm. "This could be the end of an era.""
"Wirecutter is headquartered in an unmarked black building in Long Island City, New York, that also serves as a laboratory and photo/video studio. Ben Frumin, Wirecutter's editor-in-chief, likens the office to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory - full of energy and oddities. Much of the testing happens on the lower level, in big rooms filled with everything from living room chairs to robot vacuums. Upstairs is a studio where stylists assemble artsy photos of axes and nail clippers and the 39 best gifts for your mother-in-law."
"Wirecutter employees are invited to take part in many of the tests. In one room, eight mattresses are lined up in two rows. "WELCOME TO MATTRESS TESTING!" says a sign on the wall. "Grab a pillow and a disposable pillowcase! Get comfy!" In another room, six massage guns are displayed on a table for staffers to test. The instructions say: The qualities we're most interested in Grip options Massage options (speed, patter"
Tim Heffernan ignites five matches with one stroke, waves them to spread smoke, and places them on a dinner plate in a small conference room. He monitors a particle meter to confirm the room reaches a target level of smoke, then turns on a Coway Airmega Mighty air purifier. The test is part of a multi-day evaluation of seven purifiers, including the Mighty and the Mighty2, to determine whether the Mighty keeps its long-held top status. Testing occurs in a dedicated facility with multiple specialized rooms and staff participation in various product evaluations, supported by structured instructions and setups.
Read at Nieman Lab
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