T3 Aire 360

Should you buy the T3 Aire 360?

The T3 Aire 360 is for someone who wants an air-curling multi-styler with ceramic attachments and a mainstream price, and who does not mind a little learning curve. At $349.99 it ranks #10 of 12 hair styling tools. It replaces a dryer, blowout brush, round brush and curling iron in one kit, and the ceramic barrels are the point of difference from Shark and Dyson. The Shark FlexStyle costs the same and ranks first; the Aire 360 is the choice if you specifically want ceramic and the T3 brush design.

Where it earns its score

• Ceramic everywhere. The CeraGloss oval AireBrush and extra-long ceramic curling barrels are what T3 sells over the plastic-and-metal attachments of rivals.
• Four tools in one. Dryer, blowout brush, round brush and curling iron, plus a SoftAire concentrator, from a 1,400 W Aire X motor.
• Light in hand. At 1.3 lb it is lighter than the Shark FlexStyle.
• Solid build. Quality scores 86 and Features 88, so the hardware is not the problem.

What to know first

• Warranty is the weakest ViperScore factor. T3's 2-year limited warranty scores 66.
• Satisfaction is low for the price. At 70, it is the weakest satisfaction score among the multi-stylers, mostly because the air-curl technique takes practice.
• Bulkier than the Airwrap. Reviewers find the barrels larger and the body chunkier than Dyson's.
• Same price as the FlexStyle. Both are $349.99, and the Shark outscores it by six points.

Questions buyers ask