Productopia | Black Friday

For a lot of the country, grilling season's been over for a while. That hasn't stopped Lowe's and Home Depot from advertising a couple of okay-sounding gas grills in their Black Friday circulars. The former is dangling a dirt-cheap Charbroil Quickset while the latter has a more premium-sounding Brinkmann offering at a middle-of-the-road price. Which is a better bet?

Yes, printers are practical gift, but some people like practical gifts - especially if you set up the printer too. Discounted printers abound at Staples, OfficeMax, Best Buy and Wal-mart - but some are better deals than others. Whether you're in the market for an inkjet printer, laser printer or multifunction printer, there's savings to be had - and this year, it's either at Staples or OfficeMax. Here are our picks for the best printer deals, based on the reviews we've analyzed.

The CHI 1-inch Flat Iron Straightener ($90 on sale) caught our eye in the Target Black Friday circular, because it's one of the Best Reviewed products named in the ConsumerSearch report on flat irons. It's a favorite of professional reviewers, earning kudos from ConsumerReports.org, Cosmo Girl magazine and Pursebuzz.com.

At an eyebrow-raising price of $3 apiece, Chefmate kitchen appliances are among the cheapest doorbusters we've seen in Target's leaked Black Friday circular. The $3 Chefmate specials include a 12-cup coffeemaker, toaster, slow cooker and sandwich maker.

Walmart has a similar Black Friday doorbuster: your choice of $4 appliances, including a mini chopper, a 2-quart slow cooker and a hand mixer.

Theoretically, you could equip your whole kitchen for $17. These gadgets are priced as impulse buys, but we couldn't find reviews for any of them, and several of the pieces aren't very practical.

Given the popularity of mini camcorders like the Pure Digital Flip Mino (*Est. $130) and Pure Digital Flip UltraHD (*Est. $160), it shouldn't be a surprise that many retailers are featuring at least one similar model in their Black Friday circulars. Target, Kmart, Kohl's, Radio Shack, Best Buy and J.C. Penney are all hawking mini camcorders, yet none of these retailers are selling the same one.

Shopping for major appliances doesn't sound that Christmas-y, but if your refrigerator is on its last legs, we spotted some good discounts at Sears, Best Buy and Home Depot. All three are advertising French-door refrigerators as part of their Black Friday sales, with sale prices ranging from $798 to $1,399, but not all of them are good bets.

Wal-Mart's leaked Black Friday circular is now posted -- and if you've been following this stuff, you'll see it's chock full of deals that trump pretty much everyone else so far. We'll be posting more in the coming days, but here's a quick preview...

The Nikon Coolpix L20 digital camera is a hot ticket for black friday 2009. We've already seen it in leaked circulars from Sears and OfficeMax, and now Target's recently leaked flyer is showing the L20 for $88. Target's price sits between those of Sears ($100) and OfficeMax ($80), both of which were deemed by us to be "no deals." While spending less than $100 for a digital camera is tempting - the L20 isn't even really worth that low price. As we've reported, the Nikon Coolpix L20 gets mixed professional reviews and many users reviews report blurry images and other issues. We recommend going with the Canon PowerShot SD480 (*Est. $105) if you're on a budget. See our cheap-digital camera report. for more best-reviewed (and affordable) cameras.

Maybe you're not looking for a sweet deal on a stand mixer or an electric razor this Black Friday. Perhaps you have a more substantial purchase in mind. You know, even bigger than, say, a new flat-panel TV. Suppose you decide to avoid the mall entirely and instead head to one of your local car dealers. Are there deals to be had on Black Friday? According to a report by CNNMoney.com, the answer is yes.

Trying to slim down? Stride over to Sears this Black Friday. A recently leaked circular reveals the store will be offering three solid treadmills.

The first: The ProForm XP Crosswalk 580, normally $900, will be on sale for $570. Overall, we found this product gets decent reviews. It has a 2.8-horsepower motor, a 20-by-55-inch walking belt and 12 personal trainer workouts. However, parts and labor are only covered under warranty for 90 days. About 80 percent of owners at Sears.com say they would recommend this treadmill to a friend, but several reviewers say the 580 shakes or buzzes loudly when jogging or walking fast.