My main reason for ordering the Hot Pot is that it is made from stainless steel and I am reluctant to boil water in one of the competing plastic pots since I fear the chemical leaching potential of electric plastic kettles. I wanted to add this review to the ones already listed to add some further information. On reading the earlier reviews, I could not get the answer to how fast the tea kettle will bring water to a boil. One review said that it is slower when set on the 120 volt mode for the US and that is where I will be using it primarily. I use it to boil water for my French Press coffee pot mostly which requires 16 ounces of water to make a full pot (19 ounce french press). 16 ounces of water boils in 3 minutes here at 3000 feet altitude while the full pot (to the "MAX" mark inside the pot) boils in just about 4 minutes. Then the pot clicks off, the light on the handle goes out and water has come to a full rolling boil. By contrast, my 1200 Watt microwave takes about 5 minutes to bring 16 ounces to a boil in a Pyrex measuring pitcher. My Kill-a-Watt meter says the unit is 930 watts and draws 7.74 Amps at my line voltage of 119 volts so it is cheaper and faster to use.
Other Pros: the fit and finish is really nice, brushed stainless on the inside and a mirror finish outside. The lid is plastic but snaps securely into place registering with the handle to prevent rotation and has a comfortable molded slot for your fingers to fit securely when removing the lid. There is a reset button on the handle so you can immediately use it again after boiling a pot by refilling with cold water and pressing the reset. The base is also plastic and remains cool when in use.
I like this unit and will probably be using it nearly daily so will report on durability later.
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I've been using this kettle in Afghanistan for over three months now sharing it in a tent with seven other guys and also one of our female Soldiers who knocks on the door asking for hot water. It's used A LOT and keeps boiling HOT water. The size is handy, not too big. It's done everything I've wanted and looks like it's going to last the entire deployment.
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I scoured the internet for days looking for a small, streamlined, non-clunky, non-plastic hot pot that held a quart or less of water for my daughter's desk at work. The hardest part was the non-clunky, non-plastic part! This little number is great! It heats water to a rolling boil in less than 3 minutes and then shuts off automatically and can only be restarted by pushing the reset button...so no accidental boiling dry or overheating. The outside of the pot does get hot!...but that's what being metal is all about. It's no worse than a percolator type coffee pot and is much like a small, streamlined percolator but with no basket or clunky dangling things to get in the way or snag on things or get lost. It's simply a nice little pot with a lid.
The only drawback I can foresee is that the cord is permanently wired into the base of the pot...no way to replace the cord, as you can do with an electric percolator by just going to the hardware store and getting a replacement. This is probably due to the dual voltage option for overseas travel; an option my daughter doesn't currently use but may come in handy in the future.
You have to follow directions and make sure the little voltage option screw on the bottom is turned the right way (perhaps that caused the fire problem on the negative review??). This came pre-set for us in America.
Very pleased with the product and its performance and the price is worth it when you consider it cannot be found anywhere else. I am thinking of getting one for the home, too.
Honest reviews on Narita International Electric Hot Pot Water Kettle 1000W Dual
I purchased this water kettle last January shortly after arriving in Afghanistan. It was originally intended for personal use to boil water for coffee and Raman Noodles during my one-year deployment. However, it quickly became a community item serving our entire team of 30+ people. It is constantly in use, and has probably boiled 2-3 gallons of water per day for 11 months. Remarkably, it is still going strong, shows very little wear, and has no signs of corrosion or discoloration despite the very high usage and less-than-ideal war-zone environment. We use it on 220V, and it takes about 3 minutes to boil water from the full-mark ... over and over again. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
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After years of lugging around my trusty and much loved Sanyo dual voltage travel cooker and/or my Zelco travel coffee maker for hot water, I decided to go back to basics and just get a travel kettle. After doing some research, I decided that I really didn't want to deal with a clunky British plug (although that's where most of the good travel kettles are from) and was left with this Narita, the Bonavita, Austin House and Severin that had N. American plugs. The first two are stainless and the last 2 are plastic and possibly a few ounces lighter. [The Bonavita is the only one out of the four listed above that is not dual voltage and so not only needs a plug adapter, but also needs a voltage converter for international use].
As I had recently a bad experience with a travel kettle where the silicone ring holding the plastic body to the heating element melted and almost resulted in both electrocuting me and almost causing a minor fire in the bathroom of a Hyatt, I decided to go with one of the stainless models above.
Pros:
+ The body of the kettle that contains the water is one piece stainless steel.
+ The kettle is as close to a pan on a hot plate as you get. = No way to spill a significant amount of water on the electronics.
+ Easy to clean and wipe out.
+ Boils water in 3-mins 45 seconds to 4-mins. 110V
+ Auto-off function works.
+ The dual voltage indicator is easy to see, understand and use.
+ A small coin can be used to change voltage
+ This kettle does let you "long boil" water to sterilize it for consumption in areas that do not have safe water. The water needs to be boiled without the lid on and not more than half the maximum volume or the water will splash out during an extended rolling boil. Note: the lids has to be completely off the pot for this.
Cons:
No hardwater screen filter near the pour spout that plastic kettles have
No screen = a dew drops of water does spit out during the last few seconds of boiling.
Lid handle is very shallow and hard to pull off without burning the back of your fingers. Would have liked a better lid handle.
Indicator light is hard to see.
The kettle does seem a tiny bit larger than your average travel kettle.
Stainless body makes this kettle heavier than your regular travel kettle
Kettle cannot be used to sterilize more than 350ml of water because water splashes out during an extended rolling boil.
Note:
* This kettle weighs 1-lb 5-oz on my analog baking scale.
* This kettle seems to have a sensitive thermostat. I was unable to boil a second kettle of water immediately after the first kettle of water. However, I had to wait even longer after the second kettle to boil a third kettle of water. The button wouldn't even respond when the kettle was too warm. Although this is a good safety feature, and is not too inconvenient if you're just making tea or coffee for one. For a family or someone who plans on boiling a larger volume of water to prepare meals, I would just recommend using a regular kettle and buying a voltage converter plus plug adapter.
* At first I thought that the kettle I received was defective when it wouldn't turn back on, but then realized that it might have an overly sensitive thermostat as is common with travel appliances.
* This kettle has a grounded plug and any plug adapter that is bought needs to be able to take a grounded N. American three-prong plug.
