Articles by Lee Bell

Lee Bell is a freelance journalist and writer specialising in consumer tech, health, and lifestyle. Lee has spent the best part of 15 years reviewing gadgets of all kinds - from smartwatches and training shoes to coffee machines and vacuum cleaners - for some of the world's most respected publications. Nowadays, he lives in Manchester, where, if he's not bashing at a keyboard, you'll probably find him doing yoga, building something out of wood or planting something in the garden.

Articles by: Lee Bell

The Coway Airmega 100 standing in the corner of a room near some blinds.

‘Clean your air without spending a fortune’: I discover that this Coway air purifier’s tremendous filtering is well worth its low price — as long as you don’t mind its lack of smarts

By Lee Bell Published 19 June 26

Small, affordable and surprisingly powerful, but a few budget compromises hold it back.

The Coway Airmega 350 from the front, showing off its whole body and multicolor lighting.

‘Clears a room of cooking smells in minutes’ — I reviewed Coway’s air purifier for larger rooms and was wowed by how quickly and quietly it sensed and snuffed out impurities and odors

By Lee Bell Published 2 June 26

Big on purification and low on noise, but the Coway Airmega 350 is held back by no Wi-Fi and a slightly cheap build.

Hoover HF3 DynamicClean vacuum cleaner upright on hard floor

The Hoover HF3 DynamicClean is a feather-light budget cordless stick vacuum that gets the basics right

By Lee Bell Published 6 May 26

This lightweight cordless vacuum cleaner is reasonably priced, with great anti-wrap hair tech, but its battery life is relatively short.

Hoover HL2 TurboStyle vacuum cleaner in reviewer's home

I tested the Hoover HL2 TurboStyle — a lightweight upright vacuum cleaner that punches above its weight, mostly

By Lee Bell Published 4 May 26

This corded vacuum cleaner is very reasonably priced, and punches well above its weight despite a few quirks.

'Garmin actually want their devices to break in these labs' I went to Garmin's closely guarded Kansas HQ to find out why its watches are so expensive

By Lee Bell Published 27 January 26

From brutal stress tests to a robot-run warehouse, here’s what surprised me 'behind the scenes' at Garmin’s home in Kansas City.

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Polar Grit X2 review: the Grit X2 Pro in a smaller, cheaper package

By Lee Bell Published 19 January 26

A feature-packed fitness watch let down by limited smartwatch functionality and a clunky companion app.

Garmin Forerunner 570 is a 'marvel' of a running watch – but there's no hiding that Forerunners are getting more expensive

By Lee Bell Published 28 June 25

Garmin’s latest mid-range marvel gets a design glow-up and hardware tweaks, but it’ll cost you.

Sage Oracle Jet coffee machine with cup of coffee and milk pitcher on kitchen counter

I tested the Sage Oracle Jet for a month, and it delivers top-notch espresso with minimal effort

By Lee Bell Published 17 March 25

This high-tech, intuitive espresso machine makes creating barista-quality coffee at home an absolute breeze.

Polar Vantage M3 smartwatch worn on wrist

Polar Vantage M3 review: Feature-packed but flawed

By Lee Bell Published 16 January 25

A feature-packed fitness watch let down by limited smartwatch functionality and a clunky companion app.

Technogym Connected Dumbbells review: Sleek AI fitness for your home... at a price

By Lee Bell Published 9 January 25

Just how good are Technogym's new Connected Dumbbells with AI?

I tracked everything I ate for a week with MyFitnessPal: here's what happened

By Lee Bell Published 7 January 25

Armed with a food tracking app and an appetite, I tracked every bite for a week.

iPhone, Samsung, Garmin watch and Polar Watch displaying step counts

I tracked 10,000 steps with Samsung, Apple, Garmin and Polar – here are all the differences

By Lee Bell Published 5 January 25

Armed with phones and wearables from the biggest names in fitness, I put step trackers to the test.

Inov-8 F-Lite G 300 review: A superb choice for wider feet

By Lee Bell Published 11 May 24

Looking for a shoe that offers agility and support for functional fitness? The Inov-8 F-Lite G 300 does it all.

A person wears the Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones

Bose showed me the QuietComfort Headphones Ultra and the ANC blew me away

By Lee Bell Published 17 September 23

Not yet rated

We put Bose’s latest flagship headphones through their paces at a product launch event in New York City.

Reebok Nano X3 review: Outstanding cross-training shoes for every athlete

By Lee Bell Published 16 September 23

Versatile, stylish, and built for cross-training: the Nano X3 is a solid choice for athletes of all levels.

I tried Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds and I was amazed by their new spatial audio tech

By Lee Bell Published 15 September 23

Not yet rated

The audio giant’s latest buds deliver some seriously impressive sound thanks to Bose Immersive Audio.

Nike Metcon 8 review: A top-tier cross-training shoe

By Lee Bell Published 29 August 23

Durable, stable and versatile, the Metcon 8 could well be the ultimate all-round gym shoe.

Polar H10 Heart Rate Sensor review: Better than a smartwatch for accuracy

By Lee Bell Published 16 February 23

The Polar H10 is a reliable and versatile heart rate-monitoring chest strap let down only by its unintuitive connected app.

Suunto 9 Peak Pro review

By Lee Bell Published 26 January 23

Review Suunto 9 Peak Pro is a great-performing and comfortable rugged smartwatch with some let-downs and a high price.

Garmin Fenix 6 review

By Lee Bell Last updated 21 July 22

Recommended

Updated The Garmin Fenix 6 is a tremendously accomplished multi-sport watch, but it comes at a very high price.

Garmin Forerunner 245 review

By Lee Bell Last updated 9 July 22

Updated The Forerunner 245 combines a comfortable build, long battery life and plenty of features.

Jabra Elite 85t review

By Lee Bell Last updated 8 July 22

Updated A good, all-round set of noise-cancelling earbuds that, unfortunately, don’t fit quite as well as their predecessors.

Fitbit Versa review

By Lee Bell Published 11 March 21

Updated The Fitbit Versa is cheaper than the Ionic, yet has almost as many features and a better design.

Fitbit Charge 3 review

By Lee Bell Published 11 March 21

Updated The Fitbit Charge 3 strikes a good balance between price and features, but it's not for everyone.

Bose Sleepbuds II review

By Lee Bell Published 27 January 21

Succeeding where the original model failed, Bose’s latest noise-masking sleepbuds fetch a host of welcome improvements for problem sleepers

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