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

Stylish, practical
Bought it for the design, but was keen on it doing the job and being easy to use as well.

Pros: Design, build quality, short boil time, no tacky LEDs, comparatively low cost.

Cons: No indicator light means you can’t obviously see if the kettle is ‘on’ (you can hear it thought). Lid design means you need to hold/remove the lid to fill it under the tap which is an extra step compared to a flip-up lid. Brushed aluminium may be vulnerable to get small dents over time.

Best kettle I’ve had in ages!!!
I like everything about this kettle.
It’s easy to lift. Looks great.
Love the spout and the way it pours.
It’s all good!!!

Nice kettle, but could do with some minor improvements.
It’s a nice kettle, best pouring kettle I’ve owned. The only downside is that the water level indicator on the side is hard to see, would be nice if it was backlit or with a plastic floating indicator. No light to confirm you have it on, would have been better if the switch lit when switched on. The base stand also doesn’t reflect the quality standard of the rest of kettle and feels a little cheap.

On the whole the issues are minor, and would definitely recommend.

Retro look, retro noise level
When we emigrated to the far-flung colonies a lifetime ago, we had to part with our original Forgettle(TM) – we were told we couldn’t expect a 240V device to work on the primitive 110V system we were moving to. It turns out that it’s not quite that primitive here, and we have at least 220V available, so I installed a proper power point in the kitchen next to the stove, and had visiting family from England bring us a jug kettle. That finally died, and in searching for a replacement, I came across this anniversary edition.

It’s beautiful. It’s fast – under 3 minutes to boil a litre of water.

But it’s incredibly noisy, as you can hear in the video. The primitive stick built mud huts we live in here have very little sound insulation from room to room, and it is impossible to make a pot of tea without the rumble of the kettle waking the entire household.

It’s also too small. A 1.2 litre kettle and a 1.4 litre teapot are a poor match. This means that not only is the kettle noisy, but I have to boil it TWICE, which makes twice as much noise, to make a pot of tea.

On the plus side, jug kettles are impossible to pour from without the boiling water escaping from the sides of the lip. This kettle pours perfectly smoothly, with no spillage at all. And as a nostalgic reminder of a bygone age when I was a slender and callow fellow, it suits me perfectly.

Final thoughts – if you have a traditional English home with a traditional English kitchen that has a door you can use to shut in noises (and smells), then you won’t have a problem with this. Go ahead and treat yourself.

Really nice kettle
I bought this kettle bacause of its retro looks and the fact that it’s slightly smaller than most of the big jug-type kettles. I’m very pleased with it, both from a functional and aesthetic point of view. It’s quiet, fast boiling, and a very good pourer, with no annoying dribbles. I only wish it was chrome rather than brushed stainless steel so it would have matched my ancient but still pristine Russell Hobbs toaster. I got a good discount by purchasing from Amazon Warehouse.

Best kettle eve
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.

It's a Kettle and it boils water fairly quickly.
I like this kettle, it looks the business and doesn’t take up much room on the kitchen worktop.
Has a filter inside just underneath the spout which at first was a bit fiddly to remove clean and replace but now i can do it first go. Bit noisy when first boiling but i don’t believe anyone has yet invented a silent boiling kettle..
Holds upto 1.2L if you need that much.
Does have a cup measurer inside for 1,2,3..
And also a measure metre outside.
Automatically switches off once boiled.
Everything a kettle is supposed to do.
One thing though when the kettle boils an switches off give it a second before pouring otherwise the likelihood is hot water will spurt from the spout, but that’s only common sense isn’t it.
Invest in some descaling thingy and clean when necessary.

Brilliant kettle
One of the best kettles I’ve ever used and I like the retro styling. The water lever gauge is not much use, but I prefer to fill it via the top anyway.

Beautiful nostalgic but..
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.