Proctor Silex 24201 4 Slice Cool Touch Toaster

I researched Consumer Reports and also Amazon customer reviews, on toasters that CR recommended. After reading some Amazon reviews that complained that some of the more expensive toasters in CR's article did not last very long, and that getting an adjustment was sometimes difficult, I decided to buy this one (which was in CR's recommended list) for it's low price, and see how it held up. We have used it almost every day for nearly a year, and have been very pleased with it. It does not have fancy features or extra buttons, just one little rotary switch to adjust the setting. But with a little practice you can get the results you want.The 'toast lift' feature seemed odd at first, but it does keep the toast warm until you take it out. Then it lifts the toast away from the hot metal top of the toaster. The big red 'ON' light indicator on the front is handy. The light goes out when toast is done, and gives you a visual as well as audible notice that the toast is ready. The plastic housing stays cool. The only exposed part of the toaster mechanism that gets hot is the top section where the toast goes in, and that has a 'HOT SURFACES' warning message stamped into the metal. If the toaster isn't plugged in, the toast rack won't stay down and the toaster won't turn on. That's a good design feature.Some breads and some bagels are just a little too long or wide for the toaster slots, but most fit just fine. If the slots were a little longer and a little wider, that might be useful to some folks. But it is not a big problem for us.Altogether we think it's a great little appliance. If you don't need to impress anyone with something fancy and expensive, you might be very satisfied with this one. AND, as of Aug. 25, 2013, it is still working just fine!!

I spent lots of time reading all these reviews and then finally decided to purchase it. The only thing that made me hesitate in buying it was that people said the bread did not come up high enough to get it out. One lady said she turned her toaster sideways to get it out. Otherwise, people said it toasted nicely. I bought this toaster anyway and I am so glad I did. I laughed when I saw the bread lifter cause so many reviews said they couldn't get the bread out. If you look at the picture, the slot where you push the button down to toast is long and comes up higher than the button. This is where you get the bread out. You raise the button up and it lifts the bread up higher than the slots so you can get the bread out of the toaster. lol, the instructions even tell you how to use the bread lifter. I thought this was a cool feature. The toaster is quiet, too. It doesn't make a loud noise when the toast is done. It toasts it very golden brown and pretty and even on both sides. The crumb tray is very nice, too. It catches the crumbs so the counter stays clean. You just pull them out and wash them off. At first, I thought it was a big toaster and didn't want it taking up a lot of space, but I compared measurements with others and they were all about the same size. It looks nice on the counter. If you want a nice simple toaster that does what a toaster is supposed to do, this is the one. Enjoy the "bread lifter" feature and you will have toast with no problems! LOL

I purchased this toaster to replace a perfect toaster that died. It works very well for bread. We don't do bagels or pastries so I can't comment on that. I do not like it for English muffins. They get caught through the wide spaces in the sides of the carrier rack that lifts it up through the top slot. Even lifting the lever to raise it above the top does not always help. Sometimes the muffin gets stuck under the top and breaks. I have a wooden toaster tongs gadget that I have to use to remove English muffins. That is annoying too because the muffin sometimes crumbles. All that being said, it does toast the muffins well. They just don't fit the carrier as well as bread does. If you eat as many English muffins as we do, you may not be happy with this item. If you primarily toast bread, you'll love it.

Toaster arrived quickly, well packaged, and in perfect condition. At first I thought it wasn't working right because the inner heat panel didn't look as "red hot" as the outer one when it was on. However, I have made multiple pieces of toast, and they have all come out perfectly golden on both sides. When lowering the slide button, this makes an inner screen "hug" the bread so it stays relatively perpendicular for even browning. The slots are wide enough to accommodate bread wider than toast, though I have not yet cooked english muffins or bagels. Because I multitask when making breakfast, I like the feature that allows the toast to pop up, yet stay inside the warmed toaster after it is done. When ready to remove the toast, simply lift up the slide button to raise the toast above the top and remove. The red cancel button works perfectly to shut the toaster cooking cycle off if you want the toast to pop up sooner. The cord extends approx. 22" beyond the toaster & is long enough to reach my counter top outlet. The slide out crumb tray removes completely from underneath the toaster, making crumb disposal easy. The white areas remain cool to touch during toasting. All in all, a GREAT toaster for the PRICE!!!

CR rated this a best buy, and for the price and what you get (toasted bread) I guess it does the job just fine. However, none of the reviews I saw mentioned that the toaster slots were a tad small. So, if you like larger bread slices like I do, they don't fit real well and have led me to having to jam them in there at times. Not exactly what I was looking for. So just keep that in mind when you're considering buying this.

The price is right and it actually works!!! We bought this based on the other positive reviews and we are not disappointed. It toasts evenly, looks great and does what it is supposed to. Our last toaster cost twice as much (Oster) and never worked well from the get-go.We're very pleased with this Proctor-Silex 4 Slice Cool Touch.

Perfect toast every time

This toaster arrived earlier than expected and it's everything I could have asked for. It works perfectly, there are two cancel buttons on the front of the toast lest you change your mind and want to wait a few minutes. Only thing I can think of that I would like is to have the cord slightly longer. Great toaster for a great price!

I wish that people who design products would use them before they put them out in the market. The toaster works great but I can't get the toast out without tearing them to pieces. The toaster doesn't pop out high enough and all the jiggling on those little handles don't help at all. It's annoying as heck. Too bad because otherwise it's a really great product but who feels like dealing with this first thing in the morning.

This toaster looked nice and actually toasted nicely. However, it wasn't for us as we use rye or pumpernickel bread and the slots are not long enough to take the bread. If we put the bread on it's end, we have to toast half and then turn it over to toast the other half.I should have realized that from the picture. :(