Blow dryers.(UP FRONT)(Product/service evaluation)

You can buy a blow dryer for $20, but surely a $200 hotshot with high wattage will dry your hair faster, right? Wrong. Despite big differences in price and wattage, drying time for the 10 models we tested didn't vary much. Fancy claims were harder to assess. There were "ceramic" and "tourmaline" dryers among the high-and low-rated models. And all the dryers are claimed by manufacturers to be "ionic" (they release charged ions).

As the Ratings show, the dryers differed in ease of use, noise, and features. Note to travelers: The only one with a folding handle and dual voltage is the lowest-rated Conair. It was louder than some lawn mowers for which we recommend hearing protection.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Bottom line. All will dry hair in about the same time. The best value is the Revlon Ionic Ceramic Pro Stylist, $20. It lacks some features, but our panelists praised it, and it has a bonus the pricey ones don't: separate heat and speed settings. What do you get for bigger bucks? The CHI, $135, and Bespoke Labs, $200, are quietest. They're also the only ones with an extra lint filter and a cord longer than 100 inthes.

 
Ratings 
In order of overall score. 
 
Recommendation  Rank                             Ease of    Noise 
                                                 use 
 
[check]         1     CHI Pro DryerGF  $135  93  Excellent  Excellent 
                      1505 
 
[check]         2     Bespoke Labs T3   200  90  Excellent  Excellent 
                      Feather-weight 
                      83808-se 
 
[check]         3     Revlon Ionic *     20  76  Excellent  Good 
                      3 Ceramic Pro 
                      Stylist RV484 
 
[check]         4     Remington  4       30  76  Excellent  Very good 
        ...