Since we have enough kitchen appliances crowding our kitchen counter, I wanted a small 2- slice pop-up toaster, and without any extra ‘bells and whistles’.
General Description:
This Hamilton 2-slice pop-up toaster is perfect. It’s a lightweight compact toaster and it only measures 11” x 6”, with a 7 ¼” height, therefore it takes up very little space. In addition, since this toaster weighs less than 2 lbs. (1 lb. and 14 oz.), it’s not heavy, and I can easily put it away in a cabinet. It has a 30” electrical cord with a 2-prong plug.
The color is a high gloss bright cherry red on the front and back, with a chrome finish on the top and sides. The spring loaded toaster slots are 5 ¼” long, x 1 ¼ “wide (to accommodate the thickness), and with a depth to fit and toast a 4” slice of bread, muffin, a sliced bagel or a sliced roll.
This pop-up toaster has the cord storage area on the end and the cord remains coiled up securely and out of the way.
The other end has the controls, which consists of a lever that is so easy to operate that I can use my pinky finger to push it down. A dial with a range of 1 – 7 controls the browning level, and there are segments between each number for a very precise toasting crunch and color. In addition there is a ‘cancel’ press button, to stop the toasting cycle and pop the slice up to the top.
On the bottom is an attached crumb catcher tray that slides to the side for easy emptying and cleaning.
Performance:
There are 7 main settings for toast color and crunch, with the lightest at the number #1 and the toasting gets progressively darker and crispier as the dial adjustment moves to #7. I prefer the #4 toasting level for a light brown color and a mild crunch. This takes approximately 1 ½ - 2 minutes in the toaster, and the chrome sides remain comfortable to the touch. My toast cooks evenly in both slots and both sides of each slice have the identical crunch and color.
We are very pleased with this Hamilton 2-slice pop-up toaster. It’s lightweight, fast and efficient, and it browns both sides of the bread evenly. We use it for bread, sliced bagels, hamburger buns, and English muffins, it is exactly what we needed.