The Lightweight Rusk W8less Beats All the Pricey Hair Dryers I’ve Tried. And It’s Under $100.

I have thick, naturally curly hair that without some concentrated taming puffs up and frizzes out into an unruly mess that has, on the worst of days, the power to make me feel the same way. Because I use a dryer daily, I prioritize using a highly functional one, and I have often found myself irritated by lesser models.

The Rusk W8less never disappoints. It blows air that is fast and hot (55 mph and 245 °F by our measurements). It weighs less than a pound and is comfortable to hold. It’s not too loud, and it has a conveniently long 8-foot cord, so if you want to multitask, say, by tidying up the bathroom while you dry your hair, you can. I’m just one of many people who have compared hair dryers for Wirecutter’s guide over the years, but my own experience lines up with those of my colleagues.

I’ve now had my particular Rusk W8less for at least six years. This model has been Wirecutter’s top-pick dryer for even longer, and in that time we haven’t had any reports of it dying unexpectedly or losing its oomph over time. It doesn’t overheat or get easily scratched or scuffed.

“It was noticeably faster than my old dryer to dry my hair,” says one colleague who, like me, is a minimalist when it comes to styling. “My friend (with similarly simple needs) also purchased this one and loved it as well because it cut down drying time quite a bit.”

The Rusk W8less dries my hair as fast as—or faster than—any other dryer I’ve tried, including many that cost significantly more. The occasional tester has concluded otherwise, but I’ve personally recorded no time-saving in using the coveted Dyson Supersonic instead.

This Rusk dryer is also easier to grip than the Dyson model and has buttons that various testers and I have found to be more intuitively placed.

It has the settings you need: high or low power, plus cool, warm, and hot temperature options. It offers a thumb-friendly cool-shot button for the final smoothing down. Plus, the sleek, glossy-white dryer looks nice without attracting attention in my bathroom.

Could hotel hair dryers be any worse? No. No, they could not. Attention hotel-supply buyers: You don’t have to spend a ton of money to provide your guests a hair dryer that actually works (by, yes, blowing air that is both fast and hot).

The biggest problem with the Rusk W8less is that once you’re used to it as your everyday dryer, those toy-sized hotel models buzzing a light breeze of warm air toward your head become even more disappointing. The Rusk model is not particularly small, but I have found myself making room for it in my suitcase.

If you do have buying power in the hospitality industry—or even if you don’t—know that if the Rusk W8less seems too pricey, our budget-pick dryer, the Infiniti Pro by Conair, costs just $35 and is also much, much better than most hair dryers found in the typical hotel or Airbnb rental.

The only real flaw of the Rusk W8less is that while it comes with a concentrator—that little plastic add-on that attaches to the tip of the blower to concentrate the hot air into an even stronger stream for straightening—it doesn’t come with a diffuser, the bigger, broader attachment that does the opposite, spreading out the hot air for a wider, gentler delivery. So this dryer is likely not the best choice for people who want a diffuser, usually those who embrace and nurture their naturally curly hair (I salute and admire you).

The only feature I’m personally missing on this dryer is a little loop that would allow me to hang it on the hook next to my vanity, a feature I’ve appreciated with other dryers I’ve tested. You know what else hotels—and the whole world—need more of? Hooks! On top of all the other things that do their job well for years and years without making a fuss about it.

This article was edited by Christine Cyr Clisset and Catherine Kast.