Space saver, boils quickly, but some fit and finish issues
I bought my first Ibis about fifteen years ago, using a gift certificate from Crate and Barrel. The elliptical design saves counter space: orient it perpendicular or parallel to your counter, depending on space needs. Boiling is reasonably fast, though I have a newer Tefal Vitesse, the entire bottom of which is heated (rather than just a heating coil at the bottom, as the Ibis has) for faster heating through greater heating element contact. The Tefal boils in nearly half the time.
Other reviewers have touched on the design's weakness: instead of a round base with a center electrical contact, the elliptical base requires that one align it just so, so as to seat the socket of the bottom of the kettle on top of the electrical contact at the front of the base. If you don't seat it properly, it won't heat.
About two years ago, my original unit began to have seating issues and became very temperamental (wouldn't heat unless seating was perfect), so I bought a second...
WARNING: A piece of junk
I ordered this worthless and potentially dangerous item after having owned a couple of them in the past; those kettles are still in regular use after several years. This new one was ordered on 10/19/09, about eight months ago. It functioned well for several months before the kettle no longer engaged the base smartly enough to ensure a connection. Then the base of the kettle itself began to break part at the point where it sits over the connector on the base.
I noticed when I opened the box the kettle came in that it was made in China--outsourcing strikes again! Obviously I could not think of replacing this item with another of the same. This is a real stain on the reputation of an otherwise fine manufacturer.
Fantastic Bodum product
We were looking for an electric kettle, that didn't contain plastic. But ALL stainless steel kettles, had some plastic part to it. Even the glass kettles had plastic parts, and people were complaining about the taste etc. Finally we found this Bodum Ibis, and we wanted it. Yes, it was made from plastic, but it was BPA free. SOLD! We have had it for a month or so, and I am very pleased with it. It holds a lot, it boils the water fairly quickly, there is no strange odor or taste (after boiling about two full kettles), and the design is simple and beautiful, like all Bodum products. Absolutely worth the money, and it was not the most expensive one out there.
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