The NICETOWN Contemporary Lined Blackout is our top pick because it was the standout in CNN Underscored's hands-on testing, the only curtain that passed their flashlight test with no light visible through the fabric. Its triple-weave, lined construction blocks the most light here while adding thermal insulation and noise reduction, and it costs around $42. Other labs rate it more middlingly, but in the test that matters most for sleep, it won.
Full review
Real-World Light Blocking
The NICETOWN's claim to the top spot rests on the most demanding test in CNN Underscored's roundup: the flashlight test. With a large flashlight held directly behind the curtain, the reviewers found that 'no light was visible through the curtains,' and crucially, 'the Nicetown curtains were the only ones tested that passed the flashlight test successfully; other curtains didn't block the flashlight beam at all.' That is the difference between true blackout and mere room darkening, and the NICETOWN was the only panel that delivered it.
The hands-on results extended beyond the lab test. CNN's reviewer reported being able to 'watch TV and take a nap with no problem, as no outside light peeked through the curtains at all,' and the panels 'did a great job of keeping out any sunlight during the day and the nearby streetlights at night.' For the core job of a blackout curtain, blocking light so you can sleep, the NICETOWN is the most proven performer on this list.
Construction and Materials
The NICETOWN's light-blocking comes from a heavy triple-weave polyester construction with a lining, the same fundamental approach as the Amazon Basics panels but with the extra lined layer that pushes its blackout performance higher. NICETOWN rates the line at 85 to 99 percent light blocking depending on color, with darker colors blocking more, and the panels also provide thermal insulation and noise reduction.
The panels themselves are 'super heavy and soft,' thread-trimmed and wrinkle-free, and reversible with the same color on both sides, so the room-facing and street-facing sides look identical. The silver grommets have a 1.6-inch inner diameter and slide smoothly onto standard rods, and CNN's reviewer found them 'easy to hang on the wall-mounted rod' even over a large sliding glass door.
Thermal and Noise Benefits
Beyond light, the NICETOWN doubles as an insulator. The dense triple-weave fabric slows heat transfer through the window, which helps keep rooms cooler in summer and warmer in winter and can trim energy costs, a reason Bob Vila highlighted the line for nurseries where temperature stability matters.
The same density dampens sound. CNN's reviewer noted the panels helped block nearby streetlights and outside noise, and NICETOWN markets sound reduction as a core feature. For a bedroom on a busy street, the combination of blackout, thermal, and noise control in one inexpensive panel is hard to beat.
Hanging and Sizing
The NICETOWN comes in a wide range of sizes, with the popular 52-by-84-inch pair giving 104 inches of total width when hung together, enough to cover large windows or sliding doors. CNN's tester hung the 52-by-84 pair over a large sliding glass door and found they 'fit perfectly.'
As with any curtain, the best blackout results come from overlapping panels and pairing them with a wraparound or wall-mounted rod that closes the gap at the edges and top, where light tends to leak. The NICETOWN's heavy, reversible panels make that overlap easy to achieve, and the smooth grommets keep them gliding open and closed without snagging.
How It Compares to Alternatives
The NICETOWN's edge over the field is its lined, triple-weave build, which is why it beat the unlined or single-construction panels in CNN's flashlight test. It is closely related to the Amazon Basics Room Darkening Blackout, which also uses triple-weave fabric and which Reviewed.com actually rated higher, but the NICETOWN's lining gives it the nod in the most stringent light test.
Against the Eclipse Fresno and Best Home Fashion Premium Blackout, both strong 99-percent blockers, the NICETOWN matches or exceeds them on light while adding the validated flashlight-test win, and it clearly outperforms the room-darkening Sun Zero Barrow, which only reduces rather than fully blocks light. The trade-off is consistency: other labs like Reviewed.com found it merely 'solidly average,' so performance varies by color and setup.
Where It Falls Short
The NICETOWN's blackout reputation is not unanimous. While CNN crowned it the winner, Reviewed.com rated it 'solidly average at blocking light,' and Consumer Reports found that 'Nicetown curtains in pure white produced a not-so-nice glare.' The lesson is to buy a darker colorway for maximum blackout, since lighter colors let more light through and can glare.
The lined, triple-weave construction also makes the panels heavy and somewhat stiff, which some find harder to drape neatly, and like all curtains, light can leak around the edges and top without a wraparound rod. These are minor issues for a curtain that wins the test that matters most, but they explain the mixed lab scores.
Who It's Best For
The NICETOWN Contemporary Lined Blackout is the right pick for anyone whose top priority is genuinely dark, the parent of a baby who naps during the day, the night-shift worker, the light-sensitive sleeper, who wants the panel most proven to block light in hands-on testing, at a budget price.
It is a slightly weaker fit for shoppers who specifically want a pure-white curtain (where glare is a known issue, and the Amazon Basics Room Darkening Blackout or Eclipse Fresno may serve better) and for anyone who only needs light room darkening rather than full blackout, where the cheaper Sun Zero Barrow is sufficient.
Strengths
- +The only curtain to pass CNN Underscored's flashlight test, with no light visible through the fabric
- +Triple-weave construction blocks 85-99% of light plus thermal insulation and noise reduction
- +Silver grommets with a 1.6-inch inner diameter slide smoothly onto standard rods
- +Heavy, soft, wrinkle-free panels that are the same color on both sides
- +Inexpensive for the performance, and machine washable for easy care
Watch-outs
- −Reviewed.com rated it only 'solidly average' at blocking light, so results vary by reviewer and color
- −Consumer Reports noted the pure-white colorway can produce glare
- −Lined construction makes the panels heavy and somewhat stiff
- −Like most curtains, edge and top gaps can let some light leak without a wraparound rod
How it compares
Blocked light more completely than the Amazon Basics Room Darkening Blackout, Eclipse Fresno, Best Home Fashion Premium Blackout, and Sun Zero Barrow in CNN's flashlight test, the only panel to pass it. Like the Amazon Basics Room Darkening Blackout it uses a triple-weave build, but its added lining edges it ahead on true blackout.
Who this is for
At a glance: Anyone who wants the most complete light blocking for a nursery or bedroom, validated by hands-on flashlight testing, at a budget price.
Why you’d buy the NICETOWN Contemporary Lined Blackout
- The only curtain to pass CNN Underscored's flashlight test, with no light visible through the fabric.
- Triple-weave construction blocks 85-99% of light plus thermal insulation and noise reduction.
- Silver grommets with a 1.6-inch inner diameter slide smoothly onto standard rods.
Why you’d skip it
- Reviewed.com rated it only 'solidly average' at blocking light, so results vary by reviewer and color.
- Consumer Reports noted the pure-white colorway can produce glare.
- Lined construction makes the panels heavy and somewhat stiff.
Rating sources
“The Nicetown curtains were the only ones tested that passed the flashlight test successfully; other curtains didn't block the flashlight beam at all.”
“Nicetown 100% Blackout Window Curtain Panels — Best for Nurseries, up to 100% light-blocking with sound reduction and thermal insulation”
“Nicetown curtains in pure white produced a not-so-nice glare”
Our 4.7 score is the average of these published ratings. Ratings marked * were derived from the reviewer’s written analysis or video transcript — the publisher didn’t print an explicit numeric score, so we inferred one from their own words. Click through to verify. More about methodology.
