Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2024 i Stuff UK

IGLOO TRAILMATE ECOCOOL Giant wheeled coolboxes are all the rage in American campgrounds, but they’ve never quite seemed practical for weekend campers in the UK. However, coolers don’t come any cooler than the Igloo Trailmate. So I loaded it up to find out if it’s worth the boot space. The lovechild of a snowmobile and a Jawa Sandcrawler, this 66L chill palace boasts huge all-terrain wheels, a retractable handle for towing, four cup-holders and two bottle-openers. And despite its bulk, it benefits from being made out of 100% recycled plastic and uses Thermecool insulation, which is ultra-eco-friendly. Now, this cooler weighs 15.7kg when empty. That’s the equivalent of a chunky 4-year-old… and once full of ice and beer, it can feel more like you’re hefting a 40-year-old out the boot.…

APIDURA EXPEDITION HANDLEBAR PACK 9L Bikepacking, or cycle touring, isn’t new. But an interest in off-road gravel riding combined with the lockdowns led to something of a spike. With campsites shut and roads unusually quiet, cyclists took the opportunity to escape for a night or two of wild camping. And that was good news for Apidura, because nobody makes hauling supplies on a bike easier. This one-stop shop for premium touring kit offers dozens of different bags – ones for top and frame bars, down-tube packs, fork packs, bolt-on packs, snack pouches, saddle packs that attach to your seat-post… and bar-mounted dry bags. I tested the 9L Expedition Handlebar Pack (also available in a 14L size for £107) and was taken by its style, its durability and the ease with…

NHS Couch to 5K Presumably realising fewer Brits would need the NHS if they could run 5km without their kneecaps falling off, the Department of Health partnered with the BBC to get you off your bottom. It’s a great take on the now established couch-to-5K formula, with celeb voices urging you along, settings that let you adjust your desired rate of improvement, and no need to pay for the privilege. £free / Android, iOS AllTrails Most running apps care how far you run – not where. But AllTrails is all about new and interesting routes to follow. There are loads of built-in ones to try (and to download for offline use if you subscribe); you can also make your own on a PC or Mac and squirt them across to…

£300 / go.stuff.tv/UltraOpen ■ The Ultra Open Earbuds are especially funky-looking ’phones. Each one is essentially two parts held together by a flexible rubber strip. The bit with the speaker driver goes in your ear, but doesn’t cover the ear canal; the bit with the battery and playback button hooks on behind it. ■ Comfort is king when it comes to open-fit earphones, and the pressure applied here is just right: when there’s no music on you’ll practically forget you’re wearing them. IPX4 sweat-resistance makes them ideal for exercise, though they’ll struggle to compete with the average gym PA system. ■ These Boses sound clear and precise, with plenty of detail, an impactful mid-range and crisp highs… if not much in the way of sub-bass. Of course, the open design…

Maeving RM1 What’s the story? Shunning the ‘white goods’ looks of some rivals, Maeving’s gloriously retro RM1 fuses vintage cafe racer design with a modern electric propulsion system. This model has a max speed of 45mph and a range of around 80 miles; the battery is easily removed and charged at home (or in the office) in just 4hrs. Its Bosch hub motor provides 160Nm of torque for nippy acceleration. Is it any good? This brushed steel stunner weighs just 111kg, making it really easy to manoeuvre in and out of city parking spaces. Riding is simplicity itself, with a twist-and-go action coupled with a braking setup that’s no different to riding a bicycle. It’s plenty fast enough for urban traffic and a joy to thread through corners… plus it…

You only have to look at Fortnite and Call of Duty for evidence of how popular shooters are these days. But if you’re turned off by killing, this team-based arena shooter replaces bullets with, you guessed it, coloured foam. Foamed-up opponents aren’t immediately knocked out until you slide-kick into them (you can also do the same to rescue a stricken teammate), but your foam doesn’t just deal damage – it can also be sprayed on the ground to allow you to surf around the map more quickly, while also slowing down enemies. Fire it in one spot and it’ll even build up to form a makeshift barricade or lookout point. The big problem is that all this shooting just doesn’t feel very impactful – a problem when the game modes…

1 Apple iPad Air from £669 / go.stuff.tv/iPadAir This tablet has enough power to rival the flagship iPad Pro – and even quite a few current MacBooks. And though you might need to add a keyboard, a stylus and even a gamepad to make the most of it, the latest Air reinforces the growing sense that an iPad really can be a laptop replacement for doing proper work (or play). Slight storage dilemmas aside, this is a top-notch device, supported by an ecosystem that makes it highly versatile for an increasingly wide range of users. Stuff says It’s not perfect, but this latest iPad Air is a top-quality package – not least because of that M1 chip 2 Apple iPad Pro from £899 / go.stuff.tv/ProM2 There’s so much you can do with…

1 GoPro Hero12 Black £400 / go.stuff.tv/Hero12 The Hero12 Black is a fantastic first action camera and a solid upgrade for anyone with a Hero9 or earlier. GoPro has brought back the same sensor first introduced on the Hero11 Black but made it even easier to use, adding HDR video, a 1/4in tripod thread and Bluetooth mic recording to the mix. That’s refined a solid system – and while this isn’t a low-light champ like DJI’s Action 4, its class-leading stabilisation, upgraded audio and pro features make this the most accessible action cam around. Stuff says An iteration rather than a revolution, this is a seriously powerful and intuitive camera 2 DJI Mini 4 Pro from £689 / go.stuff.tv/Mini4Pro This is definitely the best sub-250g drone we’ve reviewed, and its…

1 Fujifilm X-T5 £1449 / go.stuff.tv/XT5 Fujifilm’s most popular compact system camera gets a sensor upgrade while keeping up tradition everywhere else. This means you’re getting identical stills performance to the more modern X-H2, while retaining the old X-T4’s dials and compact dimensions – making the X-T5 the sweet spot of Fuji’s lineup, and a top all-rounder. The sensor is even better at low-light shooting than before, and the wide choice of lenses means everyone will find something to like. Stuff says Slick modern internals meet the manual controls loved by Fuji diehards NOW ADD THIS Fujifilm XF 16-80mm f4 This versatile lens covers a bigger zoom range than most and adapts to pretty much any requirements. £699 / jessops.com TIPS & TRICKS It’s easy to set up the X-T5’s…

If you believe in the maxim that the best camera is the one you have with you, it’s worth making sure your smartphone is packed with as many megapixels as possible – and Xiaomi’s 14 Ultra has more than enough to get any phonetographer’s shutter finger twitching. Its four Leica-branded lenses all guide light onto 50MP sensors, including a 1in one with a stepless variable aperture to give you dreamy depth blur when you want it and all-over crispness when you don’t. There’s also a 12mm ultrawide snapper with a 5cm focusing distance for macro snaps, plus two telephoto lenses – 75mm and 120mm – both boosted by optical image stabilisation. You can immediately admire your handiwork on the 6.73in AMOLED, with the 3200x1440 resolution and 3000 nits of peak…

Rings are often signs of commitment, and Samsung’s smallest wearable is no different. But where engagement rings, wedding rings and eternity rings signify unshakeable dedication to another human being, wearing a Galaxy Ring shows you’re committed to knowing a bit more about your own flabby flesh. It ticks all the major boxes you’d expect, counting steps and heartbeats, monitoring movement and breathing, and tracking sleep and skin temperature. All of these stats will be fed into a new tool called My Vitality Score, which will measure your alertness and provide tips based on the data it’s gathered, so you’ll know whether you can push yourself in the gym that day or if it’s time to take it easy. The Galaxy Ring is a little chunkier than the jewellery you’d see…

Roadhouse Readers of a certain vintage may remember the 1989 Patrick Swayze, er, ‘classic’, now given a timely reimagining by The Bourne Identity director Doug Liman. Jake Gyllenhaal plays a fist-happy bouncer drawn into the fight of his life when villainous developers set their sights on the Florida roadhouse where he works. Film / Prime Video, 21 Mar A Gentleman in Moscow In the wake of the 1917 Russian Revolution, Count Alexander Rostov (Ewan McGregor) finds himself confined to a hotel on pain of execution. This adaptation of Amor Towles’ bestseller portrays his years of house arrest, and the companions he finds and lessons he learns as history unfolds. Serves you right for being posh, Alex. S1 / Paramount+, 29 Mar Palm Royale A kind of mash-up of Desperate Housewives…

FIRST PLAY TALES OF KENZERA: ZAU PS5, XSX, Switch, PC It’s not every day that gaming has the equivalent of someone like George Clooney producing, writing, directing and starring in his own films. Tales of Kenzera: Zau is a new game made by Surgent Studios, a company founded by actor Abubakar Salim – who first broke through via his lead role in Assassin’s Creed Origins. While it’s set in a mythical world inspired by African Bantu culture, it also tells a personal story of grief inspired by Salim’s own experiences of loss. The title character Zau (voiced by Salim, naturally) is a young warrior shaman who makes a bargain with the god of death as he goes on a journey to save his father’s soul. Kenzera is a beautiful but treacherous…

VANGO JORO AIR 450 Given the sorry state most festival sites are left in once the pretend-hippies have gone home, the camping industry needed to take a stand. With its Earth Collection, Vango has risen to the challenge, creating an extensive range of recyclable tents made from recycled and single-use plastic. The Joro Air 450 is a four-man inflatable AirBeam tent, made using recycled Sentinel Eco Dura Fabric that has solid 4000HH waterproofing with fully taped seams. It’s a hefty (24.2kg) but undeniably stylish family-style tunnel tent loaded with features. And, thanks to Stuff’s print schedule, I was forced to test it in early February. It was damp, the ground was hard and I was frozen, but none of this was the tent’s fault: aside from a couple of bent…

£170 / go.stuff.tv/EchoHub A dedicated Amazon smart home controller has been bouncing around the rumour mill for a while, and I for one was excited about it. Sure enough, the Echo Hub promises much… but the dream is a little unfulfilled. The key problem we all have with smart home gear is that different devices often don’t work well together (although with the Matter standard ensuring better compatibility and easier setup, this is getting better). Another issue is that nothing we do in terms of the smart home is as simple as the effortless functionality of flicking a ‘dumb’ light switch. Amazon’s Echo Hub aims to help you in both of these areas, by bringing everything together. You do still need to have a good handle on how things are…

Here’s something new: an online third-person shooter where you select a spot on the map to dive down to, but when you get there the goal isn’t to kill everyone. Helldivers 2 is about working with your team of caped warriors to exterminate the endless invasion of space bugs and killer robots running rampant in the galaxy. If it all sounds a bit Starship Troopers, wait until you see the opening propaganda recruitment video; but as with that satirical sci-fi blockbuster, there’s more to this game than just brainlessly blasting bugs (although that is highly satisfying). Everything is deliberate in its design. You can’t just run and gun, as it messes with your accuracy. Respawning a teammate, dropping in a more powerful weapon or even calling an airstrike leaves you…

1 Sony WF-1000XM5 £259 / go.stuff.tv/WFXM5 The WF-1000XM5 in-ears are significantly smaller than the XM4s, which were themselves a whole lot more compact than their predecessors. And yet Sony has still squeezed even larger drivers inside each earbud, along with the firm’s best active noise-cancelling yet. The feature list is as extensive as ever, and they’re priced to compete with Bose’s best. Add in decent battery life and a strong app, and you won’t find anything more well-rounded for less. Stuff says Sony’s already fantastic flagship in-ears get even better ANC, a more comfy fit and simply stellar audio 2 Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds £300 / go.stuff.tv/QCUltraBuds These buds don’t offer much of a design upgrade over their predecessors, but they deliver a fresh listening experience courtesy of Immersive Audio – and…

1 Sony PlayStation 5 from £450 / go.stuff.tv/PS5 The PS5 is not a modest upgrade. Its hulking design will make a bad first impression on some (although the new slimmed-down version is less intimidating), but spend time playing it and it’ll soon win you over. This is essentially a high-spec gaming PC for the living room: stupendously powerful, with greatly reduced loading times compared to the PS4. Most last-gen titles will run fine and the lineup of new games is strong, while devs have found increasingly clever ways to use that haptic DualSense pad. Stuff says Huge power, clever hardware and a guarantee of more great games to come make the PS5 hard to resist 2 Nintendo Switch OLED £300 / go.stuff.tv/SwitchOLED While it’s identical to the standard Switch in terms of…

1 Honbike Uni4 £1799 / go.stuff.tv/Uni4 This urban e-bike is designed to be as maintenance-free as possible, with no gears, integrated lights, and a hub that swaps the oily chain for a nice clean belt. The non-removable battery might make it a poor choice for flat-dwellers, and the fixed gearing limits its touring appeal, but the Uni4 is an otherwise fantastic performer. The display is slick, the app strong and the styling distinctive. It undercuts similarly stylish rivals on price yet doesn’t skimp on features. Stuff says An appealing blend of outstanding looks, minimal maintenance and a relaxed electric ride 2 Cowboy Classic from £2399 / go.stuff.tv/CowboyClassic The Belgian maker’s flagship steed has 50% more torque than its predecessor, but the sleek profile and simple interface with GPS remain… and…

1 Meta Quest 2 £250 / go.stuff.tv/Quest2 The original Quest felt almost too good to be true. Its successor lacks the same wow factor, but you can’t argue with a better display and processor – not to mention a lighter, more comfy build – and the fantastic Beat Saber now thrown in. Are there more powerful headsets? Is motion sickness still an issue? Yes to both, but superb tracking and a total absence of wires make this the VR package to get (while you still can). The Quest 3 is better, naturally, but it’s also way more expensive. Stuff says The second version of our favourite headset is way better than the first, and a lot cheaper than the third 2 Sony PlayStation VR 2 £530 / go.stuff.tv/PSVR2 This is…

1 Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen) from £55 / go.stuff.tv/Dot5 The latest Dot offers improved sound quality over the 4th Gen model. Not surprisingly given its size, it still doesn’t have the heft of a full-scale Echo, but this Dot is more than good enough for bedside table or kitchen listening – and light years away from the lame sound of the early versions. Be sure to consider the £65 ‘with Clock’ variant, which offers a better and much more useful LED display than the previous model. Stuff says The 5th Gen brings a nice upgrade to an already excellent little gadget NOW ADD THIS Wall Mount for Echo Dot This mount for the Dot (and other small speakers) will keep it clear from wet kitchen surfaces. £20 / amazon.co.uk…

It’s always a good idea to read the small print. When a smartwatch boasts of a battery that’ll last longer than a pot of UHT milk frozen in carbonite, it’s normally dependent on turning off all the functions that make the watch smart in the first place – and what’s the point of owning a longlife smartwatch if all it’s really doing is telling you the time? The OnePlus Watch 2 demands no such sacrifices: even if you go for a 30min run each day with the dual-frequency GPS turned on, track your sleep every night, and check the 1.43in 326ppi AMOLED display 220 times between waking up and going to bed, the battery will still last up to 100hrs. Even with more intensive use, including activating the always-on screen…

Go on then, one more episode… is there anything better than finding a series you can’t get enough of and bingewatching it in the comfort of your own home until your eyes sting? Well, what about doing that on a new 43in TV that you haven’t had to pay for? That dream will become a reality for four lucky Stuff readers, thanks to this month’s competition: we have four fantastic Metz 43MRD6000YUK tellies (RRP £269) up for grabs. Dead simple to operate, the 43MRD6000YUK uses the new Roku OS platform to seamlessly combine linear TV, Freeview and streaming in one integrated package, allowing you to flick between apps such as Disney+, Amazon Prime Video and Netflix, or choose live programming. As well as all that, you can expect a crisp,…

£5300 / go.stuff.tv/Q3 ■ It stretches the definition of ‘compact’ a bit, but there’s no arguing with the Q3’s ability to snap an incredible photo. That’s partly thanks to the superb 28mm fixed lens, which has a massive f1.7 aperture for delivering dreamy depth blur. Leica’s fast Maestro IV image processor plays a role too, but it’s the 60MP full-frame sensor that makes the biggest impact. ■ There’s a superb amount of detail on display at native resolution. The Q3 can also downsample to 36MP or 18MP in-camera if you want to keep file sizes in check, with no loss of quality. Being able to digitally crop for 35mm, 50mm, 75mm and 90mm focal lengths is the next best thing to optical zoom. ■ Controls are split between the lens…

JACKERY 300 PLUS SOLAR GENERATOR Remember when battery packs could charge your phone maybe once? They were a lifesaver. Now the Jackery 300 Plus can fuel up your handset 18 times. It can also keep a TV on for a weekend, and recharge your laptop four times. And at only 5kg, taking up no more space than a pair of walking boots, it’s easy to take with you. Yes, there are more powerful battery packs, but this off-grid option comes with a foldable solar panel – when the sun shines it can refill the battery in just 4hrs. Assuming you set off on your adventure with a fully charged battery, the panel becomes very useful for topping up and should keep you connected through the longest of weekends. While there’s…

TRIBAN RC 520 DISC BRAKE Bikes have got expensive… really expensive. But park your preconceptions and stifle your snobbery, and you can still find a bargain… probably with ‘Triban’ written on it. Decathlon’s own mid-range brand continues to produce bargainy performance bikes, and the RC 520 Disc Brake version hits the spot in style. I’ve been riding this alloy-framed carbon-fork machine for several weeks and it has not missed a beat on my daily commute or weekend forest rides. The hydro-mechanical disc brakes make a huge difference, offering the power of hydraulic discs but using lower-cost cable shifters. It’s a brilliant workaround. The Shimano 105 R7000 shifts delightfully too, with the shifters feeling light and slim on 40cm drop bars. Triban includes 28mm Resist+ tyres, but it can take 36mm…

Ever wondered what’s up with the links in Stuff? We’ve got a team of retail pros who scour the web to find you the best gadget deals – visit any go.stuff.tv link in this mag and you’ll be taken to the best deal for that product. If you make a purchase, we may get a small commission. It’s that simple, and has no impact on how much you pay.…

MOW YOUR ENEMY: WHAT TO LOOK FOR Most of the mowers tested here are next-gen models, easier to set up than older types as they don’t need a boundary wire. Instead they use satellite positioning, cameras or both. Some mowers even use AI to identify obstacles. They’re designed to mow little and often, scattering fine clippings that feed nutrients back into the lawn. They’ll roll back to their charging dock when they need to top up, so battery life isn’t too important. These mowers are far quieter than manual ones, so you can set them to work at night. Some even have optional headlights. App control lets you set a schedule, and some will reschedule if their sensors detect rain. You’ll always get a slight tuft of grass at the…

Four years ago, Final Fantasy VII Remake raised the bar of what a remade game could be, making major deviations from the original narrative and fleshing other parts out. Rebirth picks up directly after the events of that game, with Cloud and his friends searching for Sephiroth while being pursued by Shinra… but it also throws you straight into a scenario that didn’t happen in the old version. This isn’t just a next instalment, which might disappoint anyone expecting their progress to carry over, but the solid foundations from Remake are still here – such as the excellent action-based duels inspired by the original’s Active Time Battle (ATB) system, where you charge up gauges to execute special commands. Plenty of new systems are layered on top, like skill trees for…

1 Sony WH-1000XM5 £306 / go.stuff.tv/WHXM5 Nobody was able to displace Sony’s WH-1000XM4 headphones from the top of this list for two years… yet the latest model manages to be even better. Key to the XM5s’ overall quality is the new carbon-fibre composite 30mm drivers: they bring even greater clarity than the previous generation, and the sound reproduction is beautifully precise. The simple fact is that these are the best noise-cancellers around by almost every measure. You really won’t regret buying them. Stuff says Sony keeps its grip on the top spot with an unrivalled combo of great sound, ANC and comfort 2 Sennheiser Momentum 4 £269 / go.stuff.tv/SM4 These are headphones that sound naturalistic, engaged and entirely musical, making every recording sound like an event. And they’ll last a startling 60hrs…

1 Apple MacBook Air 13in (M2) from £1149 / go.stuff.tv/AirM2 With its super-powered M2 processor, the latest version of Apple’s ‘basic’ laptop leaves the M1 model – an excellent machine in its own right – in the dust. This revamp redefines the Air in a meaningful way, setting a yardstick by which Apple’s entry-level devices will be judged… including the newer 15in version, which is superb but not quite such a good deal. Stuff says Shame about the price hike, but this is still the Mac to buy for most users NOW ADD THIS Belkin 4-Port GaN Charger 108W This brick lets you charge your Mac laptop through its 96W USB-C output… while juicing up three other devices. £60 / argos.co.uk TIPS & TRICKS If you can afford it, the…

1 Sky Stream from £25/m + setup / go.stuff.tv/SkyStream Functionality-wise, it’s hard to find fault with this little puck. The basic package seems a little pricey compared to a subscription to Sky’s £9.99/m Now Entertainment deal, which gets you access to most of the same channels via an app that’s available on all sorts of smart TVs and streaming devices. But if you want to watch movies too, and especially if you’re willing to pay to watch Premier League football and can’t have (or don’t want) a satellite dish, this is the ideal solution. Stuff says Making it more affordable and accessible than ever, this is the best way to watch Sky TV 2 Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K (2023) £60 / go.stuff.tv/FireStick4K The latest version of Amazon’s 4K streaming stick, complete…

1 The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom £45 / Switch How do you follow a classic that not only tore up the Zelda rulebook but set a new gold standard for open-world game design? You go large – very large indeed. If you lost weeks of your life to Breath of the Wild, prepare for a big dose of the same… only this time there’s a world above for Link to conquer too. The result is a game that’s even more enormous and engrossing than its predecessor. Stuff says An astonishing open-world adventure that challenges you at every turn OR PLAY THIS The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild The original open-world Zelda masterpiece is still a brilliant option for newcomers to the series. £45 / Switch…

1 Kia EV6 from £45,275 / go.stuff.tv/EV6 This Korean crossover arrived with a properly head-turning design and a roomy cabin packed with tech features, including dynamic AR navigation graphics that make it virtually impossible to go the wrong way. It’ll manage up to 300 miles on a charge and can handle a heady 350kW when it’s time to plug in, so you’ll only need a 20min pitstop before you can get back out on the road. Everyday driving is a real treat, thanks to a refined ride and light steering, but it also impresses through the twisty bits. Stuff says A fantastic family-focused EV, with so many features you’ll be making excuses to go for a drive on your own 2 Volvo EX30 from £33,795 / go.stuff.tv/EX30 This cute little…