I don’t buy much of any value without consulting Which?. I choose to believe that Which? – wow, that question mark is annoying when you’re trying to write about Which? – is different. I choose to believe that Which? has the resources to test things properly and honestly. Yes, you can click through to places where you can buy the recommended item, but to that I turn a blind eye. I have to. Having spent so much on Which?’s say-so, I can’t face the possibility that I’ve been too trusting.
I’ve only recently discovered that it’s not just big, pricey things, such as washing machines and headphones, that Which? spends its time assessing. I recently chanced upon its review of kitchen rolls. Before I knew what I was doing, I’d clicked through to buy several rolls of the Costco Kirkland Signature kitchen roll towel, which seems like too many words for something so mundane. I must confess that I was eager, even excited, for its arrival. Just how great must the Costco Kirkland Signature kitchen roll towel be, to be accorded the honour of being named – drum roll – best kitchen roll 2025?
Upon delivery, I tore at the packaging like a kid on Christmas morn. I wasn’t quite as impressed as I had hoped to be. A decent effort, to be sure, but the paper is a little rough for my liking, plus the sheets are bigger than I need for most jobs and therefore a bit wasteful. My preference remains Regina Wish: the sheets are half-sized, so you can tailor what you tear to the task at hand.
This is the risk Which? takes in reviewing smaller stuff. While few of us can claim experience of many washing machines, we have all used different brands of kitchen roll, so may have informed views of our own.
I’m moving with interest on to best toilet roll 2025. Oddly, in the explanation of the testing criteria, no mention was made of assessing how well or badly the various tissues perform in the execution of their primary purpose. Also, I was disappointed to find no mention of Izal Medicated. I was looking forward to seeing how it rated, because this was all we had in the house when I was growing up. But that is another detail you’re doubtless happy to be spared.
• Adrian Chiles is a broadcaster, writer and Guardian columnist
