Customer Reviews

Wilton 2105-459 Excelle Elite 3-Tier Cooling Rack

5 star:		(80)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I purchased 2 of these for the wife last year at different times, and a year later we finally got to use them. Please be aware, that the reviews here may NOT be for the same exact product, hence the difference in opinions by some people.

While the two racks are essentially similiar, it appears that the manufacturer drastically cut back on their cost and quailty of the racks. The earlier model has the steel bars MUCH thicker than the newer models, with an additional support along the side edge. Even the collapsable legs are so much thinner and bend more than the older version.

The old one with the thicker steel is built like a tank, and can hold quite a bit of weight. I would not hesitate to put heavy pies on them ... not so for the newer model. For cookies both are adequate and are definitely a space saver. When you fill up one, just put another one on top.

The thicker steel one definitely gets a 5 star rating. The thinner one, a 4 star rating for cookies, and less if you are thinking of putting something heavy like a pie on them.

The legs are extremely stable for the old one, a bit more flimsy for the newer one, and you can definitely see the deflection difference in the racks when you apply some weight on them.

For the below reviewer that had collapsing problems, while we had no collapsing problems, I can see how the thinner one can do so, especially after it distorts some with use.

I like the product a lot, but am extremely disappointed that the manufacturer cheapened a great product to save some money, rather than raising the price some. And it wasn't just the thinner material, it was additional cross members that were removed. Let's see ... use thinner material AND reduce the number of supporting cross members. Draw your own conclusions here, but I for one am sick and tired of so many newer versions of products being made so much cheaper than the ones they have replaced ... CorningWare, Pyrex, Wilton, Farberware, etc ... all now producing junk as compared to what I was able to purchase 10-30 years ago.

I bake a lot, especially cookies. I have always had terrible problems while trying to find enough space to place the traditional cookie racks.

These are the best idea ever, for a baker. I have 4 sets. I just finished baking Christmas cookies, 200-300 at a time. I have had the racks full of cookies , and stacked 6 high. Then I picked -up the entire stack, and placed it on a different counter.

What a miracle! The racks are strong, strong, strong, and I have have had absolutely No problems with them bending or toppling. Even at 6-7 racks stacked on top of each other.

I HIGHLY recommend these. The price is exceptional, and the quality is very good. I plan on buying 3 more sets, plus sets for family members.

The title pretty much says it all-- I have found the racks to be very useful.

Mostly I only need 1 rack, which can be set up with the legs either collapsed (about 1 cm of counter clearance) or extended (about 2 inches). The rack is sturdy, and the nonstick coating is of good quality. I have not yet used it for a 3-layer cake, but I imagine it would hold up quite well.

I saw many other racks that were flimsy and bent under their own weight when I was just holding them by one end. These racks can be lifted as you would a cookie sheet, with no fear of the rack buckling and depositing your baked goods on the floor.

The molded feet limit sliding when the racks are stacked; when folded flat they fit easily into a drawer or go into the dishwasher for cleanup. This is an excellent buy, I can't imagine you could ask any more from a simple cooling rack.

Initially I bought these racks and the idea seemed brilliant. No counter space for your cookies? Just stack them up. Well, I've had them collapse on me three or four of the half dozen times I've tried to stack them. The racks have little feet on the four corners that are supposed to set into the rack beneath them. In my experience, only three of the four feet actually set properly into one another. It's the feet that I blame for the collapse. Sometimes the cookies are cooled enough and the collapse doesn't do much damage, but usually several are banged up pretty badly and others slide to the floor (and then they're really dead!). If you are desperate for space and feeling brave, try it out, but if you're working on 'special' cookies for an event, etc, don't trust them.
Overall they are easy to clean and only slightly thicker than normal racks to store. However, since the whole point of purchasing the racks was for their stacking ability, I only give them two stars.

Overall a great tool for baking and other kitchen activities.
Two constructive comments to consider before purchase.
1) although the packing says dishwasher safe, I would not recommend this. I have found that the area where the legs meet the tray have rusted from being in the dish washer. The one tray I have that has never been in the dishwasher does not have these rust marks.
2) the slots are a bit wide for some softer cookies or breads. When I use this to cook cakes it often leaves what look like 'grill marks' and the cake can sometimes slip through the bars.

Someone with real engineering imagination came up with these separate cake racks that can balance on each other studily to save space. I am truly delighted, and the air flow balance is wonderful!

I absolutely love the funcionality of these cooling racks, but find that they rust really easily. If I wash them in the dishwasher or sink, I have to be careful to dry them off right away or else I'll be sorry. But even with that, I've bought them over and over!

I love these cooling racks. My kitchen doesn't have a lot of counter space to spare, and these racks are simply perfect when I make cookies. They're quite sturdy, and they fold up neatly for storage in a drawer.

I took off a star because little rust spots have started to show (they showed up after less than a month of 1-2 times a week cookie baking). I wash these in the dishwasher, but I don't use the heated dry option. This is probably causing the rust, I think? The rust isn't on the lengthwise surface I set the cookies on; instead, it's on the spots where the crosswise wires under the lengthwise wires connect. I hope that makes sense, it's rather difficult to describe. Handwashing and immediately drying these racks probably would've prevented the rust spots. The rust doesn't bother me enough to stop using these racks, however.

I've had these cooling racks for over 3 months, and I still love and use them. I will be buying an additional set because with just 3 stacking racks I run out of room with those double batches of cookies. For $10, how can you beat that?

These racks are a good idea, poorly executed. They're a little flimsy and tricky to set up, particularly if you're holding a tray of cookies in one hand and trying to set up another rack on top of the first. The racks are quite small so you need more than one for a typical baking sheet. They've also started to rust already around the hinge area and I've only used them about half a dozen times. Short of breaking out the hair dryer it's just not possible to get that area totally dry.

Very nice quality. I like being able to use just one when I'm baking small batches or to be able to stack them up for larger batches. When stacked or single they are very sturdy. Very easy clean up.