The best place to research what gear to buy is still the Wirecutter (now owned by The New York Times). I comfortably rely on their recommendations all the time. But The Wall Street Journal wants in on this game so they have a new site called BuySide. Their gear reviews are not as broad, deep or as well-researched as the Wirecutter, but they are often a good second opinion. — KK

The inCharge All-in-One charging cable is so small it fits in my wallet (along with a band-aid and one Advil tablet). It has USB-C on one end for plugging into a laptop or battery, and a convertible Lightning/MicroUSB connector on the other side for phones and devices. Magnets in the cable let you snap it on a keyring. — MF

I am a convert to Apple AirTags. I hide these tiny buttons in my luggage to keep track of where it is. On a recent walk in England our luggage was forwarded each day, and with the AirTag I could track their whereabouts. If I stray too far from my daypack (as if I had forgotten it) I get an alert on my phone. And attached as a fob on our car key, I can track where in the house the keys were left using my phone. I have a friend who slips one in critical packages he ships. I am putting one in all my bicycles. Each AirTag is $29, and its replaceable battery lasts about a year. — KK

In my experience, you can’t have too many usb ports at your desktop. I have an Anker 13-port USB hub mounted on my desk. I can charge several devices at once but most of the ports are for data comms with the many peripherals I have connected to my PC, such as headset, mic, label printer, wacom tablets, CD player, etc. I already have all 13 slots filled and next time would go for a 16 port hub. — KK

This short extension cord has an AC plug on one end and four AC receptacles on the other. I like it more than a power strip because you can plug in bulky adapters without obscuring the other receptacles. — MF

My 18-year-old daughter bought an Oculus Quest 2 VR system but didn’t like it. It sat in the box for a few months before I gave it a try. I got a trial subscription to a boxing fitness program called Supernatural. I’m hooked. It’s so much fun that I don’t notice that my heart is beating fast and I’m panting as I’m dodging, ducking, and jabbing. With over 500 workouts, I look forward to the beautiful settings and enthusiastic coaches every time I work out. — MF

Tile’s new line of Bluetooth trackers includes the Pro, which has a 400-foot range and a replaceable battery. Tiles are currently on my car key fob, wallet, and AirPod case, and I just bought a couple more to put on my water bottle and Nintendo Switch case, which I misplace all the time. Tiles now work with Alexa and Hey Google, too. — MF

I keep a Tile Slim bluetooth tracker in my wallet. If I misplace my wallet, I can use my phone to make the tracker chirp. If I misplace my phone, I can press the button on the tracker and make my phone chirp. The 2022 version of the Tile Slim is out. It’s still as thin as 2 credit cards, but has an improved range of 250 feet. I bought one for my daughter, who recently had a scare when she lost her wallet (someone found it and returned it fortunately). — MF

The 65 watt Anker Nano II is an itsy-bitsy wall charger, size of golf ball, that uses fancy circuits to super charge your phone, pad, or laptop really fast, about 3x the standard speed. Its only port is USB-C, and comes without cables, so bring your own. It can fully charge my new iPad in about 75 minutes from a dead start. (A 13-inch laptop is about as big as it can handle in super fast mode; for any laptop larger its advantage is its very small size.) This tiny speed charger is perfect for my daypack bag. — KK

I bought this small Apple Watch charger for my travel kit. It has a USB-C and USB-A plug so I can plug it into my laptop or a wall charger. — MF

It seems like Zoom and Google Hangouts will be permanent fixtures in my life. My Bluetooth earbuds have not worked well for me. The wired earbuds I use are foolproof. It’s just that the cable is too short for comfort. KabelDirekt’s 3-foot extension cable solved the problem for me. While Zooming, I can now stretch comfortably in my chair without having to worry about the earbuds falling out. — MF

I’ve been using these micro-USB rechargeable lithium-ion batteries from Pale Blue. Each pack of AAAs and AAs came with a USB cable that branches into four micro-USB jacks so I can charge four batteries simultaneously. It is easy to know when batteries are fully charged because the LEDs turn green once they are fully charged. — MF

I wanted to give my daughter an iPad, but I doubted she needed the biggest, most powerful model, which costs as much as a MacBook Air. After poking around on Reddit, I found the consensus was to get an 8th generation iPad. Amazon has 128GB models for under $450. It works with the Apple Pencil and supports the smart keyboard, too. It’s all the iPad she needs for drawing and video streaming. — MF

I bought memory foam tips to replace the standard ones that come with AirPod Pros. They were an improvement because my AirPods stopped falling out of my ears. Then someone told me to get a pair of SednaEarfit Xelastic tips. I did, and they are incredible. The soft rubbery tips completely seal my ear canal, and make the noise cancelation so much better that I couldn’t even hear the toilet flushing. They are comfortable, too. — MF

I got tired of buying Lightning cables, which break frequently so I decided to try a wireless charger pad for my iPhone 12 Mini (most newer phones can be charged wirelessly). It cost less than a lightning cable and now I just set my phone (or AirPod Pros) on it and it starts charging. I’ll never go back to cables. — MF

After reading my recommendation for getting cheap 3rd party Lightning cables instead of Apple’s shoddy ones, Martim Weinstein said “buy some good cables instead” He recommends the Belkin Mixit DuraTek Lightning cables: “Have a pair of these on my car and another on my motorbike. The ones in the car constantly get stepped on by wet and dry shoes, charge my kids iPads and iPhones, charges guest iPhones, are left out and about with zero looking after. They’ve lasted 2 years so far with zero sign of wear. The one on the motorbike is in rain, blazing sun and constantly exposed to the all elements with zero signs of wear. It’s on there almost a year and works just like it did on day one. I’m never buying another Apple cable if I can help it.” — MF

It’s criminal that Apple doesn’t use USB-C or Micro-USB for charging. Its Lightning cables are shoddy and suddenly stop working with no visible signs of wear. I’m almost ready to switch to an Android phone, but until I do, I’m going to buy bags of cheap third-party Lightning cables, like this 5-pack. I’ve used them for a month so far with no issues. — MF

I bought the original Fire TV stick when it first came out a few years ago. When the HD version with a voice-activated remote control came out a couple of years later, I bought that and I appreciated the extra speak and talk-to-search feature. Amazon recently released the Fire TV Stick 4K. The remote comes with volume controls and an on-off button for the TV so I don’t need to use the TV remote anymore. It’s also much faster than the previous versions of the Fire TV stick. It’s a worthy upgrade. — MF

I love my Mini Magic Wireless Thermal Printer. I don’t have a regular printer in my home office, and don’t really need one, but I’ve been using this tiny, handy machine to print out lists, and pictures of my pets, and poems that I want to save. I am growing a collection of whimsical receipts! Because there is no ink required and because it came with six rolls, I constantly feel inspired to print something. I also ordered this sticky thermal paper (3 rolls, $10) on Amazon, so I can draw and print out my own stickers. — CD

You try to insert a USB plug and it doesn’t fit. You flip it over and it still doesn’t fit, so you flip it back to the original side and now it fits. Ugh! How many thousands of times has that happened? Just remember this: the topside of any USB plug will be smooth metal and the underside will have a groove down the center. Keep the smooth side up. — KK