Customer Reviews

Krups FEM2B 2-Slice Toaster, Black & Silver

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

After having gone through several toasters that looked sleek, but couldn't toast worth a darn -- let alone set off the smoke alarm -- I turned to Consumer Products for guidance (11/04). We picked their number 2 because it looked functional without too many needless gimmicks, whereas the brand name of #1 reminded us too much of the toaster that burnt the bread and toasted its electronics. Also, rather than spending over ten bucks on a "Small Applicance Contract", we tossed in three more bucks to get the number-four-rated toaster as a backup should the Krups ever fail. The toaster yields a nice evenly browned slice of bread or toaster waffle without beeping, dancing or burning up the kitchen. Sorry to learn that others encountered uneven browning -- we are delighted with the Krups, and it looks good too.

This toaster looks good and has lots of special features, but doesn't perform its main purpose, which is toasting bread and bagels. I tried toasting both with the same result: they were very brown at the top and not toasted at all on the bottom. Also, this toaster leaves large stripes on the bread that aren't toasted. I sent it back the day after I received it and purchased the Cuisinart Metal Classic Toaster, which is even better looking and toasts very evenly, top to bottom, with no stripes.

Although Consumer Reports rated this model as #2, I have found this a very disappointing purchase. The cheap aluminum parts inside bend all the time jamming the toaster. It toasts very uneavenly and inconsistently. I am very sorry I purchased this toaster. I was expecting much more from a toaster so highly rated but I've learned that Consumer Reports does not always get everything right. Listen to the other warnings and stay away from this toaster. As soon as I find another toaster, this one goes off to Goodwill.

After some research, I narrowed my choices to the FEM2W (White), the Breville Ikon, and the small $30 Cuisinart CPT-120. Went to Bed, Bath and Beyond to see what they looked like. They only had the Cuisinart. Ordered the Breville and the Krups. Returned the Breville, kept the Krups. The Cuisinart looked nice, but I thought the Krups looked better, and I liked its features. The Breville was not bad. I didn't like it because:

1. It was difficult to set the browning control to the right level, and there was no way to return to that same setting later if I strayed. The Krups knob has 22 clicks, every third of which is labeled with a number.
The Breville did not click. True, it has a nice digital display, but I did not find it practical.

2. The crumb tray is on the left, the browning control is on the front, and the push-down handle is on the right. The Krups has everything on the same side. I also preferred the Krups position on the counter.

3. It was not nearly as attractive as the Krups.

Both toasters toasted pretty well. 6 on the Krups was about the same as 4 on the Breville, a nice light brown. The Breville was slightly darker at these settings. (I used standard size whole-wheat.) Both had the same problem of not browning the bottom third, but they did well when I put the bread in upside-down. I suspect this has something to do with the moisture content of bread kept in the refrigerator.

If you like English muffins, you might prefer the Breville.

When you take the Krups out of the box, you have to run it twice at the highest setting with no bread in it. This is to burn off the factory coating. Directions say to ventilate the house. This is definitely a good idea. Open a window and turn on an exhaust fan. It stinks!

I suspect those who had problems with streaking and sticking failed to do this.

The burn-off was not necessary with the Breville.

With both toasters, browning was not 100% consistent. I think this is because they are wide-slot toasters. Even though they have the holders in the slots, they only hold the toast at the top. The bottom of the slice does not get pushed to the center.

My 25-year-old eight-dollar Proctor-Silex was more consistent and more even, but it did not have wide slots.

Both toasters cost $60. If you find a cheaper one, it is probably reconditioned.

I agree, $60 is too much for a toaster. If you don't want to spend this much, look at the $30 Cuisinart. It has a good review in Consumer Reports. (The $15 Proctor-Silex has had some problems.)

All in all, I think the Krups is very satisfactory. I really like the way it looks on my counter, and I like how it works. I recommend it.

October 2, 2007: Krups toaster still works as well as it did the first day; no changes; no problems. I have yet to try a bagel or an english muffin. I keep it set on 5 plus one click. This is a little on the light side. When I go up one click, toast is substantially browner but
consistency varies more (according to brand and age of bread). Moisture and density of bread appear to be factors. I continue to put the bread in upside-down for best results.

I've had quite a few toasters over the years; so far, this is the one I've been most pleased with. I did a lot of research before deciding on the Krups FEM2B, rather than following my normal pattern of choosing just by brand name and how well the colors and style go with my pantry. Unfortunately, this one is not yellow OR white OR retro-looking, but the reviews and features won me over. I got it at a great low price on Amazon.com, it arrived by U.P.S. in 2 days, and it has met all my hopes and expectations during the past 2 months of daily use. Toast browns evenly on both sides and top and bottom, the special bagel setting (to brown only the inner surfaces and just heat the outer) is wonderful to have and works to perfection, the crumb tray is easy to remove and reinsert, and the lever to raise and lower what is being toasted sure comes in handy when trying to remove short bread slices or a bagel that has gotten a little stuck. It is very rare for anything to get stuck, though, because the slots are wide enough to accomodate most toastable things. The top warming tray appears to be a nice extra ... however, we haven't had reason to use it yet.
All-in-all, the best toaster I've used in all my five-plus decades.

I had a tfal toaster that died, and needed a replacement. This toaster does the job well. I haven't had any problems with uneven toasting that have been reported in other reviews, and I like the fact that it has nice deep slots (for rye bread) and that the slots are wide enough for bagels.
The pull-out crumb tray is also convenient. I also like the easy to use lever to raise the toast out of the slots. I do wish that the 'cancel' button was easier to see and that the bagel and defrost buttons lit up to indicate that you have pressed them. But hey, its just a toaster, and its just making toast.

I was skeptical the first time I saw this toaster in the store. How could a $75 toaster be worth it? Well, I'm glad I spent the money. This toaster toasts evenly (the previous review who says it doesn't might want to get a replacement), it keeps the toast warmer by not popping the toast all the way out of the machine, it has a WONDERFUL setting dial that has the most control of any toaster I have ever used, and it looks good to boot.

I find that with thicker toast, some bits tend to get more crisp than others, but show me one electric coil toaster that doesn't do that! 99 times out of 100 this toaster performs flawlessly with everything from frozen waffles to thick slices of homemade Pugilese. The tray on top warms a croissant or a Danish perfectly without destroying the texture like a microwave. I have had mine for over a year and it still works just like it did out of the box.

If you can afford a toaster over $50, this one is definitely the way to go. I haven't ever had it stick, burn, cut out, or any of the other problems that previous toasters have had in my busy kitchen. If all you want is simple toast now and then, its not worth the money. If you bake bread as often as I do, and you love a perfectly toasted slice as much as my family does, this is definitely the toaster for you.

UPDATE - 1 1/2 Years Later

It's now 2007 (I wrote the above review in 2005) and this toaster is still going strong, even after two moves and much abuse. (Can you say inch-thick pugilese?) The toaster still toasts as evenly as ever and while I've had to turn up the adjustment dial by 1 or 2 since I bought it, everything still works as it should.

This is the best toaster I've ever owned. I love the wide slots, I love the defrost option and I love the warming rack. One of the best features is being able to move small pieces of bread or muffins up to a higher level when they're done. Anyone who has had to get an english muffin out of their toaster with a fork can see how awesome that feature is.

The only thing I don't like is the fact that it is fairly light on the back end so when I push the handle it tends to flip up a bit if I don't remember to push softly. Also it was hard to get used to pushing the button below the toast lever to stop the toasting instead of popping it up with the lever.

I myself did have the problem of stripey bread for the first couple of lots but now it's toasting great, perhaps part of the breaking in process?

All in all I would highly reccomend this toaster, it's much better than a $20 toaster and has some great features that I really appreciate.

loved it from the start...but now the little wires that support the bread and go up and down have bent and are jamming. It's less than a year old...this just should not be happening with a quality product. I won't do this again!

This thing toasts twice as fast as any toaster I've ever owned. it has great coverage as well. The controls are top notch, easy to use and are the best I've seen. It will toast wide breads and bagels no problem. If you're looking for the best toaster available, this has got to be it!