Russell Hobbs 25860 K65 Anniversary Electric Kettle, Metal, 3000 W, 1.2 liters, Brushed Steel

This is just like the kettle we had at home when I was growing up. I don’t know why people are going on about it being small, I can make 5 large half pint mugs of coffee from this when full, and the person going on about having to fill it 2or 3 times to fill their teapot, they must have one giant teapot, must be large enough to make at least 15 navvy mugs. There are 3 red marker tabs inside the kettle at the back, this is not the max fill line, it’s a serving size and can be filled much higher than the last tab. I fill it just below the top hole for the water level indicator outlet inside the kettle if I want it full. I can see the level on the outside, all be it a little difficult at times if the light isn’t good. Doesn’t bother me there’s not an indicator light on the kettle to tell if it’s on or not, you can hear if it’s on by the sound, it’s not ultra noisy, but you would have to be really hard of hearing not to hear its on, it has auto switch off, so it’s not like you need the light. The limescale filter is easy to remove and refit for cleaning. Kettle is lightweight and comfy to hold. I haven’t found it leaking around the lid, I make sure it’s on tight, or leaking from around the switch as others have mentioned. Yes, it can splutter boiling water from the spout if you try to pour the water as it switches off, but give it a few seconds and pour slowly for the first second or two and its fine. I would recommend this kettle, the best I have had. It’s well designed, easy to fill, not heavy to lift, even when it’s full of water. The lid is tight, but not so much you need prise it off, my grip isn’t great at times, but I find no problem removing the lid. Strange it has a polished stainless steel lid, but a brushed body, no nasty plastic taste either with it being metal. Hope this one lasts as long as the original one did.

I’ve knocked it down a star because of two things, it’s capacity being only 1.2ltres and there’s no light.

I work with earphones in and have always used the light on the kettle to know when it’s done. Not having this incredibly simple addition is disappointing. Also the capacity is only about three mugs of tea. It’s getting filled all the time.

It’s a lovely kettle. Quite, beautiful in looks and sturdiness too. The pour is as smooth as velvet, I’ve never bought a kettle like it. We did have the 1970,s versions which I remember well and it has a lovely nostalgic feel to it.

The base plate seems a little light but hasn’t been a problem so far. Would I recommend.. yes, would I buy a slightly bigger version with a light on, yes.

And do get one of those little descaler balls which lives inside kettles as they do work if your waters hard, our last descaler ball turned green and solid it had that much lime scale in it.

very small water level marker. no indicator light. otherwise o.k.

Haven’t used yet as it’s for my new kitchen. Good size, looks good and good quality. Reminds me of our kettle at home all those years ago!

I used this product for, strangely enough, boiling water for tea after years of using plastic kettles with water filters.
I love the retro look, and tea once again tastes fantastic! We use a separate jug for filtering the water now.
My only criticisms are:
The water level indicator could really use a small floating indicator of some type, as it is difficult to see the level of the water.
The weird plastic indicators for ultra-fast boil inside make it harder than it needs to be to clean the interior. And I don’t use them for the purpose designed anyway.
Other than that, well pleased!

Smashing little kettle would have been 5 stars but needs ON indicator light and coloured plastic to show water level much clearer.

Really fabulous kettle, looks good and timeless, boils quickly, very light and pours better than any kettle Ive ever handled. Highly recommend

This kettle is every bit as good as the old Russell Hobbs kettles. Very satisfied.

We seem to have to replace our kettle every 2 years and x months, precisely when the warranty runs out. We’ve had cheap kettles and expensive kettles, but the story is the same. We plunged for this one because it looked like it might go further. We like the small capacity (1.2l) paired with the high power (3000W), meaning it does boil very quickly. We also like the quirky design. The pour is excellent. And it is not too noisy. The main negative for us is that the base is incredibly cheap and plasticky (the kettle itself is made of very thin metal, meaning it is lightweight). Overall we’re glad we bought it, and I might come back in 2 years and x months and tell you if it is still going. The external water level indicator is hard to read, but we don’t bother with that anyway as you just get used to how fast your tap delivers 2 or 3 cups. Filling via the spout works fine for us, but if you have a tap which has a wide output, you might have to go in through the top.

Had russell hobbs or swan kettles for years, this RH one looks the part, and heats water up very quickly

Kettle retro style very please boiks quickly and quieter than last kettle

Basically it’s just an ordinary small kettle, yes it works okay but it’s nothing special to write home about. I do like the spout design. Certainly not a good as my old kettle which I can no longer obtain. I think it’s overpriced.

IT CAME UNBROKEN, IT WORKS QUICKLY AND LOOKS GOOD IN THE KITCHEN.

Shape an older design and makes it easier to lift and pour than jug shape. If strength and lifting a problem no strain.

I was looking for a lightweight kettle, which is why I choose this one. The handle is so comfortable and well balanced
which is even better for my arthritic thumb joints.
It automatically switches off as soon as it reaches boiling, unlike my previous kettle which continued for a good few seconds . The reason for this I think is that there is quite a large pouring spout, and if you tip it too far it overshoots the teapot/ cup.
So far the lid is easy to remove for filling .
I am pleased with my purchase.

This kettle was even better than the photo, it looks great in my kitchen. It’s very different to a jug kettle, the long spout makes pouring the water out easily . Love the handle shape, was worried that my fingers would mark it, but it hasn’t a mark on it and it’s in constant use! Has handy water level gauge inside 1/2 or 3 cups.

Best kettle I’ve had (since the 1970’s).

Pros:
Lovely spout that pours very smoothly unlike modern kettles with their short stubby spouts.
Fits nicely under the tap even when the sink is full.
Nice fast boil.

Cons:
No light on it.
Unnesesary depth gauge on the handle which may be (though hopefully not due to the build quality) an area of leakage in the future (has a good depth guage on the inside)

Lightweight and efficient, this kettle comes to the boil in super quick time. Lights, gadgets and beeps aren’t needed when it comes to quality.

I like the lightness in weight and the way it pours, it’s also quite quiet in operation. I would have preferred it in a polished stainless steel finish but you can’t always have what you’d like. The one thing I don’t like is the contents level at the back of the kettle body. All the kettles I have seen with this facility ends up showing a level of loose limescale and the viewing panels becoming opaque which makes the kettle look old.

Love the retro look. Good pourer & not heavy even when full. There is a water level indicator which I find it difficult to read because it’s small but that may just be me. However, it’s only on one side so left handers may find it a little awkward.
That said, it looks smart, is easy to clean & a pleasant change from the taller upright models.

Looks smart and does the job. Nice brushed metal body with shiny cap looks good. Seems quite thin metal though and VERY noisy at first. Love the spout, easy to pour without dripping. Could have bought cheaper kettle but wanted ‘retro’ look.

I wasn’t sure whether to buy this or not, in terms of its style, but I’m really pleased with it. It looks very smart, boils quickly, turns off as soon as it’s boiled (rather than several seconds later, having filled the room first with steam, like so many other kettles tend to do). As many have said, pours really nicely too. It also has a filter located just inside the spout, which can easily be un-clipped and cleaned as necessary. It has three plastic water level markers clipped inside too, to assist with putting in the correct amount of water, however these can be easily removed from the kettle, if you don’t want plastic within the kettle. So overall very pleased. One small design change I would have made is to add a simple red LED in the on/off switch, to illuminate when powered on, but otherwise a great kettle.

have to be careful where the vent in the lid goes. my husband was slightly burnt from the hot steam

Excellent, looks good, smaller size suits us very well and we tend to boil less water. The kettle is light and seems to be well built. However we have only had it for five weeks but we are pleased with our purchase so fa

Love this kettle much easier to handle and it reminds me of younger days

This is, by far, the most beautiful kettle I have ever owned! OMG! The first ‘pour’ out of the kettle felt like it was a professional product! It’s hard to describe – the ‘feel’ of the kettle; the ‘pour’, can’t say anything has quite excited me like this has! Now, that should tell you about my life, eh? No, seriously, I am THRILLED to bits with it! Far nicer in person! Only problem would be, ‘it’s kinda loud’ -but it heats up so fast that you don’t mind. People say you have to remove the lid to fill it, but I disagree; we just fill it up right through the spout.

Overall, I’m happy with this so far and here are my observations after a day or so using it. It’s very reminiscent of the ones we had when I was growing up, though there are a few obvious differences I’ve noticed.

Firstly, it’s cordless, as you’d expect nowadays.

It does seem less substantial, though this has the advantage of making it feel relatively light (it is smaller than the average kettle, though, at 1.2l compared to the usual 1.7 or 1.5l. This makes it big enough to fill 4 of my mugs).

My only real criticism is about the lid, which does seem a bit flimsy, particularly the knob, not like the solid lump of Bakelite (or whatever it was) of old. The same might be said about the handle, but it isn’t as obvious.

In terms of practicalities, it pours very well indeed, much better than any kettle I’ve had for a long time. With this sort of kettle, you do have to take the lid off for filling, but I can remove it easily enough with the same hand I’m using to hold it. There’s a gauge inside for 1, 2 or 3 mugs as well as the external one showing 0.5l to full. It’s 3kW and boils quickly. It switches off quickly when it boils and emits very little steam. It doesn’t appear to leak round the lid, even when tipped up too far.

It doesn’t have a light, so if you live with someone who keeps switching the kettle off at at the plug, you might get frustrated. You can only switch it on when it’s on its base, but it doesn’t mind if the power is off and will sit there happily doing nothing until you realise it isn’t making boiling sounds.

I’d originally selected 4 stars, but on reflection, I think it’s as close to the ideal kettle for me as I’m going to get, so it deserves 5.