Review of West Bend Stainless Steel Toaster

The West Bend Toaster represents a little bit of a stepup over a basic toaster, while it’s available in two- and four-slice models. The four-slice option has dual controls which means that you can use both sides of the toaster simultaneously whilst on different settings.

Given that there is no function to ‘high-lift’ the toast from the slots, retrieval of smaller pieces of toast can prove to be tricky.

 

West Bend Stainless Steel 

This stainless steel toaster has pretty much standard controls throughout. The bagel function allows you to toast the cut side of the bagel which leaves the heel side soft. The defrost control permits the toasting of bread items straight from the freezer while the cancel button ends the toasting cycle.

There’s a reheat button, too, which is a nice feature, and allows the toast to be reheated without further browning. This is ideal when the toasting cycle is complete and the toast has already cooled. Obviously, with this, you can always eat warm toast.

Over the past number of years, stainless steel toasters have become standard, and West Bend Stainless Steel’s concept follows this fashion trend. Along with the black accents and rounded curves, it truly emulates toasters from any classic range, though there is nothing other than this that particularly stands out about the aesthetics. There is a hide-away design for the cord that permits easier storage should the need arise.

There is a downside to the West Bend Stainless Steel and that is it does not come with cool-touch sides. However, this is similar to most other basic versions of electric toasters. It simply means that more care should be taken when in use otherwise it can cause a nasty burn to the fingers.

There is, though, a removable crumb tray which helps with cleaning.

The toaster comes with a one-year warranty to cover manufacturer-related defects. Again, this is standard among electrical toasters. There is a hard copy of the user manual but you can also download a copy from the company’s website. Also on the website there’s an e-mail contact form and a question form for more specific questions that are not answered in the user manual.

 

Summary

Although in some ways the West Bend Stainless Steel represents a basic toaster, it’s actually a step above, albeit a small step. There is a reheat control but the design and other features are generally fairly standard in the industry. This toaster is never going to be among the best toasters, but it certainly does the job and to most people that’s what really matters most.

For more reviews of toasters and other home and kitchen appliances, check us out at Appliance Authority.