0.5L Portable Electric Kettle, Mini Travel Kettle, Stainless Steel Water Kettle – Perfect For Traveling, Cooking Noodles, Boiling Water, Eggs, Coffee, Tea (110V US Plug)

I bought this kettle to heat water between the amounts of 100ml and 300ml. I also have a large 1.7L kettle that uses 1200W. This one uses about 950W. Despite being slightly weaker, it actually boils 100ml a bit faster than the larger kettle. Not only that, it boils this small amount to a higher temperature of about 211 degrees. The larger kettle can only get it up to 200 degrees. Although I can explain exactly why this is so, due to my engineering background, I don’t think that’s necessary for this review. Just take my words for it: the smaller kettle can achieve higher water temperatures for small volumes of water. The larger the volume, the more equal they become.Anyway, I’ve used this kettle for at least a couple months now, and so far it’s very reliable. There’s an opening within the steel inner wall that directs steam into the inner space between the steel and plastic housing. This steam triggers the mechanism in the base of the kettle, to cut off power, to prevent accidental damage caused by users leaving their kettle unattended. I personally have no use for this function, as I intend to use this kettle right next to me at all times. Thus, I used some aluminum foil and tape to seal up that hole. I don’t want water vapor causing any of the inner components to rust. It works.The lid sits securely (doesn’t fall out when pouring), but is not hard to remove. If I have to nitpick, I would say that the kettle attaches to the base element a little bit too snugly. When trying to remove the kettle from the base, I have to give it a little shake for the base to fall away. Of course I could use two hands, but I have the base sitting on the floor, so I don’t want to bend over too much to use both hands. This is really minor.I use this to brew tea and coffee. I have a separate thermometer that I use in combination with this kettle. I find this modular approach much more reliable than those fancy kettles with internal thermometers. They use complex circuitry that throttle the power output as the temperature approach your desired/programmed temperature. This improves efficiency and helps to have the water be precisely at your desired temperature. However, it also significantly slows down the heating process, and for me it’s not necessary, as I use my own method that works just as well. The higher the complexity of a unit, the less reliable it becomes, regardless of whether you paid $30 for it, or $100. A lot of those fancier kettles with many features are very expensive, and will likely fail before this humble kettle will.For an item of this price, I would consider this kettle a very high value item. It works great and has lasted thus far. I personally always update my Amazon reviews, so until something comes up this kettle gets 5 stars.