Every year we put together a story that looks at all the great products we’ve tested over the year, and shows off our Smart Picks. One of the fun things we get to do too is to pick out the losers. The products that just didn’t make the grade. Our January issue, on newsstands now, features more than 20 duds on its “Loser List” and highlights more than 55 products—big and small—including appliances, electronics, food and everyday items on its list of favorite stuff.
In no particular order, here are 10 products that earned a spot on this year’s “Loser List:”
- Bissell Stomp ‘N Go Stain Lifting Pads, $6 for five pads. We stomped but the stains stayed.
- Dyson DC26 City Multi Floor vacuum, $400. Dyson says its vacs never lose suction but this one doesn’t suck it up.
- Earth Essentials toilet paper, $9 for 12-pack. Easy on the Earth, not on the butt.
- Genius Mini Dicer, $10. It took brute force to dice carrots and it squished eggs.
- Gordon Ramsey Everyday (Kmart) Toaster 16117, $25. This small appliance took toast to the dark side in lab tests.
- Hershey’s Simple Pleasures Milk Chocolate with Chocolate Crème, $4.50. Simply not a pleasure.
- Martha Stewart Clean 2X, $20. This laundry detergent cleans only a bit better than water.
- NuWave Twister, $30. This blender didn’t crush ice or make icy drinks very well, but it sure did make a big racket.
- Scion iQ, $16,205. This poky car is one of the worst tested.
- Whip-It Earth Friendly Miracle Multi-Purpose Cleaner, $20. The one thing this product cleans out well is a wallet.
Did you buy anything this year that was a loser? Share it with us!
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Cheryll
08:49:22 PM on Thu Dec 13 2012
I agree on the Hershey's chocolate. It tastes like it's concocted in a lab.
lisa
04:42:59 PM on Fri Jan 4 2013
Hersheys, in my opinion, makes the worst chocolate products on the market generally, not just this product. Oversugared, poor quality, waxlike texture. They've bought a number of former Cadbury brand products (Smarties, Coffee Crisp, among others) and single-handedly destroyed the quality of every single one, many of which were great, well-loved candy products under Cadbury's fine hand. Such a shame.
roddy
04:26:25 PM on Sat Jan 5 2013
I must agree, Hershey has destroyed everything it's touched. I find myself looking at labels to make anything I purchase doesn't have Hershey or Nestle written on it, these two companies make some of the worst tasting products.
Isa
04:14:56 PM on Tue Feb 19 2013
Hershey and Nestle make their products with "chocolate flavor" no real chocolate is used.