Every toaster I researched on Amazon had at least one comment warning about uneven browning, so in the end I had to take a chance on this one. I ran it for one cycle with no bread in, as the instructions said, and then tried it with bread. I was dismayed to find the slice came out charred on one side and untouched on the other and thought I'd made a big mistake. Spoiler alert: I hadn't.
After using the toaster a few more times, using the lift function to flip the slices around halfway through (very useful feature), I noticed that the problem seemed to be correcting itself. And indeed it seems to have gone away. Toast is now pretty even on both sides and doesn't need turning. Big relief.
The slots are wide, which is lovely. My favourite sliced bread tends to have huge doorstops at either end, which this toaster accommodates without issue. I've also toasted bagels in it with no problem.
Safety and points to note:
-The browning dial goes from zero to charcoal very quickly, so start it on a very low setting and experiment with increasing it gradually to your preferred degree of yum. I also recommend putting a little white tack or white correction fluid on the knob to make it easier to see where it's pointing, because it's easy to knock by mistake.
+Haven't tried cleaning it yet, but the crumb tray works fine and the outside can be easily wiped down.
-Obviously the metal areas of the body get pretty hot. Be careful when reaching for the eject button (which isn't that easy to find, depending which way around the toaster is standing).
+The lever doesn't get hot - I actually chose this toaster on that basis, being slightly motor impaired myself, because it looked as though the body of the lever was durable-seeming metal but the handle was large and made of insulating plastic. It is, and it works well.
+The coloured side panels are plastic, so tend to get warm but remain safe to touch.
+The toaster has a little rubber skirt around the bottom and it stands on four small legs. As a result, the counter underneath doesn't seem to get too hot.
| Brand | Russell Hobbs |
|---|---|
| Model Number | RU-23334 |
| Colour | Cream |
| Package Dimensions | 32.99 x 24.51 x 19.51 cm; 1.6 Kilograms |
| Material | Stainless Steel |
| Auto Shutoff | No |
| Number of Slices | 2 |
| Item Weight | 1.6 kg |
