• Cooks soups, noodles, mac & cheese and much more
• Quick heating
• 7 settings from low to high
• Nonstick interior surface wipes clean with soap and water
• 1-year warranty

A real time-saver, this 32-ounce Hot Pot boils water 60 percent faster than a microwave. The plain white exterior makes it equally at home in an office or dorm room, and the nonstick interior can be wiped out easily with a soapy sponge (the pot should never be immersed in water). Seven settings, from low to high, allow milk to gently warm or noodle soups to come to a full boil. A one-year warranty covers the pot against defects. --Ann Bieri

A 32 ounce pot that boils water faster than a microwave & keeps it hot for hours!

You can get the generic version of this for $10 by driving to your local Target.

This was great to have in Iraq. I had one in 2003, and I got another when I came back in 2008. The Hot-pot allows me to make coffee, tea, hot chocolate, cook macaroni, heat soups, and so on. There are a few types offered here at the PX, but they all have an exposed heating coil. Therefore, they are only good for heating water. The Hot-pot has a non-stick burner at the bottom that easily comes clean. (Don't be an idiot like me and attempt to clean it by scraping it with a field knife...bad on teflon!!)

An obvious alternative is a microwave, but those are a LOT less portable, more expensive, and the Hot-pot doubles as a bowl. The lid easily snaps on and off and has a covered spout for easy pasta straining.

The biggest disadvantage I ran into was that this device only runs on 110V power. I really could've benefited from a dual voltage appliance. I had to find a power converter big enough to handle a heating element anytime I wanted to use it. So I got a bargain (8 bucks) on the Hot-pot, but I had to spend another 75 dollars to get a power converter. That's not a big deal back home, but if you are getting one for overseas, keep that in mind.

If you plan on sending this as a gift or in a care package to a soldier overseas, I should say that most people get power converters anyway. Guys get converters for everything from alarm clocks to X-boxes. Don't let the power difference dissuade you. If nothing else it'd be something good they could trade off.

Back home, this product would be good for a dorm, hotel room, office, camper/RV, or boat. I sure got my money's worth out of it!

This little dude is amazing! It's especially good for college students, as it can be used not just for boiling water, but for cooking all manner of processed dehydrated foods -- which are the staple of a student's life. Pasta, mashed potatoes, freeze-dried chicken nuggets, you name it. I think this is the only non-disposable cookware I use.

I purchased this electric kettle to replace an old, leaky stovetop tea kettle. I remember this brand from my college days--my mother sent both myself and my brother off to college with one so we could make instant soups, hot chocolate, and the like in our dorm rooms. I liked it then, and I like it now.

Since I'm the only one who drinks hot tea or coffee in our household, the size is just right for making a half-pot of French press coffee, or a pot of tea. It boils very quickly, and is easy to empty--no leaking by the spout at all.

I chose the Rival over the Bodum Isis after looking at both in the store. I had read that the automatic shut off feature on the Bodum pot breaks after some time. I also did not like the heating element in the Bodum--it looked as though it would be hard to clean if the element got build up on it. The Rival is very neat and smooth, easy to clean.

The price is also right. There are larger, fancier electric kettles out there; if you have a larger household of hot-drink consumers, those would be a better buy, but I am happy with this one; it tucks right into my cupboard when I'm done with it and I have one less thing hanging out on my stove! And my engineering husband tells me that an electric kettle, such as this one, uses less energy to boil water than the microwave or the stove, so it's a good, economical choice.

I have had one before and works very well. I have had problems with the plug and have changed it. Overall it is a convenient and quick way to heat water for tea.