Hamilton Beach 26201 Belgian Waffle Maker - Removable Nonstick Plates, Double Flip Design, Makes 2 Waffles at Once - Perfect for Family Breakfast, Brunch & Holiday Gatherings - Black

After first use, we are very happy with the quality of workmanship, appearance, and apparent durability of this waffle maker! In terms of square inches of waffle produced, it takes just a tad over half the time to double the quantity of waffle you can deliver to the table. This means my wife (and sometimes me) spends a lot less time cooking and a lot more time enjoying our family's breakfast together! The snap-out cooking plates clean easily in the dishwasher and re-install just as easily. The rotation feature is pretty slick, actually, and makes double waffle cooking a breeze. And there's no strain zeroing in on how much batter to pour on. It's pretty forgiving, and the catch-all plate provided actually does do a good job preventing any errant batter drips from hitting the counter. If you get messy, like I do, it is a little more difficult to clean the outside plastic surfaces, but my advice is slow down and be more careful, so you won't have to deal with it. Two things could be improved in my opinion. First, a temperature control would be nice to have, even though clocking time provides more than adequate control of browning. My wife prefers the waffles to be a little crispier which would require a hotter set of plates. Maybe they sell a more expensive version of this unit which has that feature? Second, we need to ensure the snap in-out latch, which keeps the assembly together while rotating, is "IN". We found out very quickly that left "OUT" creates a sort of jamming situation which is not intuitively easy to solve. However, for the money this waffle maker is a really great value and deal! I expect we will get many years of service out of it. One last remark, I wish it were bigger! The only waffle makers that make really big, like 10 inches or so big, waffles are industrial restaurant machines, very expensive! I would have spent more for a jumbo equivalent of the one I am reviewing, had it been available. Anything I have said negative here is nit-picky. It's a fine waffle maker and it makes delicious, tender waffles!