Dualit 4 slice toaster £99 M&S sale

pinkteapot

I always assumed I'd love a Dualit but my old office had one and I was completely unimpressed because:

1) Manual raising/lowering of bread. You don't 'pop' the toast down like normal and it doesn't pop-up when it's done. You put the bread in and then lower it with a lever and raise it when it's toasted. Small niggle but it leads to the second...

2) Manual timer - once you've lowered the bread, you have to remember to wind the timer to start it toasting. If you wind it too far, the toast burns. Much easier on a normal toaster where you leave it set on a number and then just pop your toast down.

3) Mechanical timer - OMG it was so noisy! Ticks down loudly like those timers you get in toys such as Screwball Scramble.

4) Slots weren't adjustable width.

Here's some of the Which! review of the toaster M&S are selling:

Browning isn't perfectly even for either fresh or frozen bread, and a thin strip down the front edge is sometimes less toasted. There's a slight difference between each of the slots, so you're likely to get one piece of toast that's slightly browner than the other.

The mechanical timer has to be reset every time you toast, and practice is needed to get the perfect setting - especially as you need to reduce the browning setting once the toaster's warmed up, otherwise toast is overbrowned.
This version of the Vario isn't as versatile as the older model. Taller breads will poke out of the top, and our tests found that thicker products (such as crumpets or tea cakes) either won't fit in the narrow slots or get slightly stuck, preventing the carriage from descending properly.

If I was going to buy a premium toaster, I'd get a Magimix Vision which has transparent sides so that you can see when your toast is toasted to your liking.

73Jonathan123

pinkteapot wrote: »

If I was going to buy a premium toaster, I'd get a Magimix Vision which has transparent sides so that you can see when your toast is toasted to your liking.

Oh now that is lovely! But would it do toasties.. Now I can't decide whether to tranfer my fantasy toaster model over to this one..

joancary

OMG, it says it was £175, no way would i pay that or the £99 it is now for a toaster. Do people really pay that kind of money for them??

Shatners_Bassoon

Best toaster you can buy are the oven toaster types as they really do evenly toast the bread. In Japan they love the Oven Toaster.

Doc_N

A lot of money, maybe, but these are wonderful toasters. Pretty well indestructible, a pleasure to use, and the elements can be replaced if they ever fail - try doing that with any other toaster.

They're used in commercial kitchens, and for a very good reason. Ours is 20+ years old and as good as new.

Tracyjj0

Toasted sandwich cage also available £7.50

Sorry can't post link

Plus other colours of the toaster are available too

I ordered the cream one - 2 yr guarantee, plus the fact you can replace parts on this toaster, swung it for me, we've got through 3 toasters in the last 2 yrs!

Bennifred

Doc_N wrote: »

A lot of money, maybe, but these are wonderful toasters. Pretty well indestructible, a pleasure to use, and the elements can be replaced if they ever fail - try doing that with any other toaster.

They're used in commercial kitchens, and for a very good reason. Ours is 20+ years old and as good as new.

Yep, ours is too!:beer: Over 25 years of heavy use - I don't regret buying it for a minute.

MillicentBystander

jonandfun wrote: »

With a Dualit you will never need to buy another toaster. As they say "quality is remembered long after price is forgotten". The Rolls Royce of toasters.

1 year guarantee

Granted, M&S extend this to 2 but why is the manufacturer so lacking in confidence compared to you? I wouldn't mind the price if there was a lifetime guarantee but 12 months? I paid what I consider to be a crazy price for a Remoska from Lakeland but had it replaced for free when it developed a fault after 4 years (they offer a proper lifetime guarantee which effectively makes the seemingly high initial asking price a bargain). I'm assuming this wouldn't happen with the Dualit?

Haffiana

I am reasonably certain that the 4 slot Vario has been replaced now with the 4 slot NewGen, so these are not the latest model.

In response to the person who was unimpressed because it doesn't pop - it isn't meant to. I mean, it is designed to not pop because popping is a disadvantage. The idea is that you can raise it to see how it is cooking whenever you want. Brilliant for toasted sandwiches. Brilliant if the bread is frozen, very dense, white, brown, anything you are unused to and not sure of the toasting time (or, in my case cut unevenly!). You don't need transparent walls or any other gimmick - just have a quick look and lower it again if necessary.

BIG advantage to non popping - after toasting, your toast stays warm and dry until you are ready to remove it. A Dualit speciality, keeps the toast warm and perfect.

Manual timer - what if you are toasting the second or third lot of toast. You need to set the timer for less time because the toaster is hot. You can't do this easily on a fixed time pop up toaster.

Toasted sandwiches. When you buy the proper ones at a cafe anywhere, they are made in those little cages in a Dualit. Unbeatable, the best toasties.

I don't know if the Vario does this, but my Dualit will toast on one side only if I want it, perfect for bagels and most of all for burger buns.

Toast - this makes seriously good toast. It isn't the only machine that makes good toast, but... We had a DeLonghi at my office, and it also made good toast for the first few weeks. I mean, crunchy on the outside, soft and slightly chewy inside, and a really nice wheaty smell (can you tell I am SERIOUS about toast?!). However it started to get a bit slow within the first 6 months, and the toast became increasingly crumbly and powdery. Over dried. Still looked good, was evenly browned etc etc, but not great toast any more. This doesn't happen on a Dualit; it just goes on being great, time after time.

Final thing - why buy an inferior toaster every 2 or so years? Why do people do this, and then be amazed at the price of one that will last 20 years AND consistently make great toast?

autumngirl

I absolutely LOVE my Dualit toaster - a design classic which is made to last and last. I'd always wanted one but couldn't afford it so I was thrilled to pick up a second-hand one from a charity shop (PAT tested) for £25. It's a really old model (probably about 20 yrs old) but works perfectly and I often see the exact same model being used in cafes/coffee shops so I know that they do last.