Shopping for sheets can be overwhelming. You'll see Egyptian, pima and combed cotton. Then there are sateen, percale weaves and thread counts that run the gamut. Consumer Reports has just tested 23 sets of sheets.

"There are lots of choices, but there are also lots of problems," said Celia Kuperszmid Lehrman of Consumer Reports.

The consumer watchdog group has a machine that measures how strong sheets are. It found that many ripped easily.

And some of the seams on the fitted sheets came apart without much force -- including a Tommy Hilfiger T-200.

Other problems: fitted sheets that didn't fit. Instead, they popped off the corners.

And sizing up flat sheets, testers found some so short, you can't tuck them in.

"We also found wrinkle-free sheets that weren't, and we found sets where the colors were mismatched," Kuperszmid Lehrman said.

Plus when testers washed and dried the sheets, some shrank badly.

And don't rely on how soft sheets feel at the store. Many have been treated with fabric enhancers and softeners. That's why at Consumer Reports, panelists judge softness only after sheets have been washed five times.

And the tests show higher thread count does not guarantee softer sheets or stronger ones.

In the end, Consumer Reports did find a few queen-size sheets to recommend.

In stores:

Wamsutta Dreamzone for $200 (Queensize)

Online:

Wamsutta 1000 for $200.

L.L.Bean's Pima Cotton Percale for $100.

If you follow the manufacturer's recommendations, sheets will last longer. One set might recommend warm water, while another might say cold. Just make sure you don't over dry them.

"If they are left in the dryer too long, they can get almost permanent wrinkles in them, and I find that people complain of the wrinkling they can have when you pull them out of the dryer, If you pull them out before they are completely dry and lay them flat, it will prevent that wrinkling from happening." Tara Roark of Bed, Bath and Beyond said.

When you are buying sheets, there is one additional measurement you need to bring along with you, and that's the thickness of the mattress. It can vary quite a bit, and you want your sheets to be deep enough so they stay on.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Chris Olsen