Hamilton Beach 2 Slice Cool Touch Toaster (22121),Black

I absolutely LOVE this toaster. Has it really been a year? Not a single problem! I use the frozen toast setting all the time, and it works perfectly. It's above all my favorite feature. Because of this setting I've even taken to making a double batch of pancakes, freezing half of them, and then toasting frozen pancakes, which come out awesome. So now we get pancakes twice as often with no extra work. Overall, the settings have been very predictable and didn't take much getting used to. I do occasionally run into some uneven toasting of thick bread, but it's minimal and not at all an issue. I haven't burned ONE THING in this toaster, and that says a lot for this minimally-talented "cook!" One of the reasons I chose this toaster was from other reviews mentioning how it works for thin things. So on my occasional indulgence of Pop Tarts I am VERY happy and I never have burnt frosting and they haven't once stuck to the inside. If you want to know what it's like to have a love affair with a kitchen appliance, get this toaster. (don't get too cozy...hahahahahaha)I researched the heck out of dozens of toasters before this purchase, wanting a lot of features but not wanting to spend a lot of money, and the things that drew me to this one are these:* accommodates thick and thin foods* cool exterior (we have little kids)* can toast frozen foods* adjustable heat settings* has 4 slots but able to use just 2 slots at a time* separate settings for each set of slots* bagel setting* frozen setting* affordable* lot of bang for your buckAnd everything works, and has worked for a year.I don't have any drawbacks as of yet, so I highly recommend buying this baby.UPDATE 2/4/2014I've had this for over 2 years. We use it often, though not heavily. It is still going strong and cooks perfectly. You get to know the settings, which makes it even better. Buy it. :)UPDATE 12/30/2014Still LOVE it! Some extended family has moved in. I had to teach them something that others might find useful. The bagel setting means it toasts one side and only warms the other. This is for people that want the cut side toasty and the top and bottom only warmed (or the other way around, I suppose). So this extended family eats a butt load of bagels. I noticed that they were toasting them with the bagel setting, then flipping them and toasting them again with the bagel setting. My niece was once nearly late to leave for school because she "forgot to flip the bagel." What the heck??? When I finally figured out what they were doing (like, 3 months later; I mean, it's not like we discuss bagel toasting at dinner) I told them that if they want the whole thing toasted all around then just don't press the bagel button...you don't need to flip it.... Yeah, they felt kinda dumb. ;) But maybe others out there don't know about this. And now you do!UPDATE: 9/20/2017Oh, my goodness I still love this stupid toaster after 5+ years!!! I want to add one more tip - because my review isn't long enough yet, you know? I have one eensy weensy complaint which is that it doesn't pop things up very high to get them out. I never really minded since I can handle the slightly burnt finger on occasion. But now that my kids are older and starting to do things for themselves it became an issue. What's the point of them toasting their own crap if I have to get it out for them?? SOOOOO I found this really cool thing called TOASTER TONGS! Maybe I've been living under a rock my whole life but this never occurred to me as a thing that might exist! Of course I don't want to use metal tongs (and fry my children) or plastic tongs (which the kids would surely melt in the toaster). Toaster tongs are wooden! I got a 6" bamboo tong (single of tongs?) for two dollars and change here on Amazon. They stay in the drawer right below the toaster, ready to go in an instant. Now the kids can get their own crap!Link: https://smile.amazon.com/HIC-Harold-Import-Co-43211/dp/B0018QE3KI/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1505925959&sr=8-5&keywords=toaster+tongsFINAL UPDATE: 11/7/17Almost immediately after my last update it became obvious that one side wasn't toasting so well. It was all downhill from there. Almost immediately both sides weren't so great, one side being downright bad (the highest setting is needed for a half-decent toasting job). Also the bottom half of the food toasts much more heavily than the top half. I have to flip things and toast them again. Play sad horn music now!! It's DEAD!!! We got a good 5 years and 10 months out of it. The worst part is that I returned to order a new one and they are out of stock. I ordered it anyway hoping they will come back. PLEASE DO!!!

UPDATE:As others have already stated, it takes a lot longer to toast bread in this toaster. The reason is because the toasting wires are further away from bread than a regular toaster. It should be labeled a "Bagel Only" toaster. The heating wires must be farther away from toasting trays to accommodate using bagels. If you want faster toasting of bread-toast, I suggest you getting a regular toaster, NOT a bagel & bread-slice toaster.This rating was based on the marginal quality of the construction. As with many, if not most, of the inexpensive appliances nowadays, the parts, construction, and durability are often compromised. I bought this brand based on a stellar review by PBS's Cook's Country American Test Kitchen. They touted the quality and toasting performance. Perhaps I got an exception to the rule.Drawbacks are: moderate quality construction. Two of the four electronic buttons on front of the toaster body are bagel settings, ie; BAGEL & FROZEN BAGEL buttons. However, bagel toasting tends to highlight one of the product's weaknesses -- because bagels are heavier in weight than bread slices, the weak "pop-up strings barely lift the bagels to the top of the bay opening when they pop-up. It becomes very easy to burn your fingers if you aren't careful about retrieving the hot bagels from the VERY HOT toaster top. If Hamilton highlights this toaster as featuring bagel toasting, one would assume they would use stronger pop-up springs for the heavier nature of the bagels. The remedy is to lift the front-mounted handle upwards fully after pop-up, although the bagel top is still very close to being flush with the top of the toaster. Perhaps an unavoidable design since bread slices are taller than bagels. Also, it doesn't always "brown" the bread slices or bagels evenly.Because toasters, like mouse traps, have minor significance in the grand scheme of things, I won't bother returning it. It basically functions to minimum standards and isn't used all that often, so I can live with it. But for those who pride themselves with having superior quality kitchen appliances, I wouldn't recommend this model. It feels like it likely won't out last it the older, heavier "clunker" I previously had. For average person that doesn't "sweat" he small stuff in life and has a budget, this model will probably pass the cut. If it was a camera, TV, or computer that had the same average quality as this toaster -- I'd return it in a heartbeat!It's probably in line with the "going" price nowadays, but I don't think it's worth $30.

I was in the market for an affordable 2 slice toaster. The Hamilton Beach 2 Slice Cool Touch Toaster is a 2 slice toaster. It toasts about as well as any other toaster. I find that setting 4 produces a light golden brown toast on my preferred steel cut oat bread. I’ve considered trying it with wheat bread or even white bread, but I really like the texture of steel cut oat bread so I figure why mess with a known thing. The toaster has a dedicated bagel setting, which I have tried with an onion bagel and a plain bagel. I’m not convinced the bagel setting is any different than the normal setting, but I do enjoy the piece of mind of at least having a bagel button. There’s also a frozen toast button, but I have not yet worked up the courage to freeze my toast. One time, I needed to toast 4 pieces of bread, as I was entertaining guests and wanted to put out some light snacks. I needed to remind myself that this toaster only toasts 2 pieces at once, not 4. I guess when I bought it I didn’t think I would have 4 guests over at once. I’m not much of an entertainer typically, although I do consider myself fairly social. I guess I’d best be described as the kind of guy you see at work and think to yourself, “well, he seems nice, but I don’t know him well enough to come over for a dinner party and have toast.” Honestly, I’m not sure why I put out toast as a snack for a party. I was thinking it would be fun to also have butter, peanut butter, and other toppings available as well. Kind of like a build-your-own-taco setup, but with you know, toast. Anyways, the toast was not a big hit. But that’s not a the Hamilton Beach 2 Slice Cool Touch Toaster’s fault. Overall, I give it 4 stars.

Liked it all making toast

It's very nice, works very good. The only thing I find is' when it pops the toast it's very loud.

it's ok. it takes longer to toast things than my last toaster. it serves its purpose

Happy with this Toaster

Works as expected thus far