Hamilton Beach Easy Reach 4-Slice Toaster Oven, Silver

Excelente producto, diseño original y práctico.

Well, so far so good.

Our old toaster oven finally gave up the ghost, so I needed a quick and inexpensive replacement. I really only use a toaster oven to toast bread and like, reheat pizza, so I wasn’t about to cough up $150+ for a “really good” one, plus I don’t have the counter space for some massive, spaceship-looking thing. I bought this one mostly because it got decent reviews for a low price with Prime shipping and it seemed not enormous.

So far so good on all counts. It arrived as expected, well packed and protected. It’s a light little thing, and has a small footprint for a 4-slice toaster oven. The roll top is removable, which is nice for access to clean it, as that was always a big issue with our old one. It also makes for easy access to anything toward the back of the toaster oven, so you can grab it without burning your hand, which is also nice. This would be tight with 4 slices of traditional bread (I eat Ezekiel bread, which is about standard size, and 4 slices would just barely fit on the rack). It’s fine for me, because like I said, I don’t use toaster ovens as an oven replacement. It is pretty tall, so you could definitely reheat something like stuffed peppers or something if you moved the rack around.

The construction on this is about on par for what you’re paying. It’s very light, and feels a little flimsy, but it’s what I’d expect of a $30 machine. The roll top especially feels pretty flimsy, but it does work just fine. My biggest issue with it is that the whole unit gets pretty hot with use, hot enough to burn your hand if you touch it, so if you’ve got little kids running around or something, you might want to get a higher end model that doesn’t get so hot. There was an intense smell of burning plastic the first time we used it, but that’s gone after the first use. The whole thing glows when you first turn it on and the heating elements come on, and then I think they turn off once it’s up to temperature.

The temperature and function controls aren’t the greatest, but they’re fine. You’ve got a temperature dial and a timer, with a toast setting. It’s pretty hard to get an exact setting on the toast, but honestly, I watch my toast pretty closely anyway because I’m very picky about it, so for me that’s not a huge deal. I also like my toast to have a “soft” side, so I leave the baking pan in under the rack to protect the bottom of the toast from as much heat. I don’t know, I’m a weirdo when it comes to toast.

It does come with a crumb pan, which isn’t the sturdiest, but it does the job. Like I said, I leave the baking tray under the rack, in part as an extra crumb-catcher, but it is nice that the heating element is protected from spills and crumbs. The pans and rack seem competent for their jobs, and slide in and out easily.

The big reason I took a star off is how hot the outside gets and that it’s a little flimsy. The instructions do say to leave it unplugged when not in use, which I do, but I still almost get a little nervous that the rubber covering the cord will melt if it sits against the oven itself for too long. I mean, look, I can’t be too upset about a cheaply built machine; you get exactly what you pay for here. If you use your toaster oven as an oven replacement often, I would recommend spending a little more money on a nicer model. But if you use your toaster oven for toast and reheating the occasional slice of pizza, this will serve you just fine if you don’t want to shell out the bucks.

The toaster oven itself no doubt would be great. It is compact and has simple easy to use bake, broil and toast functions. My comment is regarding what looks like a small bit of rust(?) in the inside of the edge of the door, frame. And what looks like a bit of a dent in the handle. When I contacted Amazon customer service, I was told that yes, this would be considered as damaged however I would have to cover the cost of the courier (min $26) to send it back! I find this to be not right, if something arrives and it is not in perfect condition – this item was $179.71 plus tax so just over $200. cdn. the cost to return should be covered. I was told to contact Hamilton Beach now to let them know, and will see what they say. Besides all of this the unit itself would be great.

This is an excellent unit, and does everything as advertised. Racks, crumb tray, baking pan, and sliding front door all remove exceptionally easy for cleaning. The front-sliding oven-like door makes removal of your food very easy, without the risk of burning your hands or knuckles. And finally, somebody designed and manufactured a toaster oven crumb tray that is incredibly easy to remove and clean.
A well-designed toaster oven which meets all of our needs. Well worth the list price. We are not disappointed in the slightest.