Hamilton Beach Portable 6-Quart with Probe vs KitchenAid 6-Quart

If the temperature gets too high, you can manually turn it down. Lastly, I haven't had to travel with this, but another reason why I bought this model...

I am not sure why the 'Cook's Illustrated' people would think potatoes would go from raw to cooked in 8 hours at 204˚ ? In my experience red potatoes need a higher temp than 204˚. Although maybe 12 hours of cooking at 204˚ would do the trick?

I feel using the cooking bags help with my peace of mind, as well as with cleanup. The wire clamps to secure the crock for travel seem like they would work fine, but I don't travel with food, so I have only found them a bit annoying because they don't fold completely away from the side of the crock and you cannot use them while cooking. Another model is probably the same, but without the clamps. I was just overwhelmed with all the reading I did and picked this one without considering that I might not want the clamps

I "assumed" this would NOT be made in China, but alas; it is. :( One of the greatest things the fire service has done in the USA since 1947 has been to create a fire prevention system, complete with laws, rules and regulations for the prevention of fires. This extends into every appliance that has electrical wiring. Well, at least those made in and under the fire prevention codes of the USA

I’ve had this crockpot for years and, while I love the functionality of the digital settings, I am fed up with how hot it gets/quickly it cooks. It’s not a huge issue for some dishes, but when you have a pot roast or any kind of meat you want to be tender it becomes very frustrating. I’m about to toss a roast that it cooked in 2 hours on LOW. I think I’ll toss this crockpot along with it

Chicken cacciatore was way overdone on low for six hours, next time I'll do four. I'm looking forward to pork mojo this week (butt or shoulder) and will do medium for six hours. So, this gets hot enough on low to cook anything safely but your food won't come out tough and dry unless you leave it too long.

The face of it is already starting to come off. The crock insert is much harder to clean than the original so they definitely changed the finish on that as well.

It will be your hip's fault. Now, it is it easy to clean? Yes, yes it is. Super easy. As easy as lifting the ceramic portion by it's nice big handles and putting it into the sink to wipe it out with some hot water and some dish soap, and wham bam it's in the dish rank to drip dry

Yes if you do the math this wasn’t that expensive per meal etc. but I like to buy something I can count on to work long term, even if it costs a little more. Lots of people love this, and that’s great. I can tell you that after 4 years with mine, it definitely resembles what you expect from an opening price point brand (only, that’s not the price they are charging)

Crock pots should last longer than 4 years. I have a different brand that I have had for 25 years and it still heats and works properly. Honestly, I would not go with this brand again.

This wonderful slow cooker was comparably the best value for the money and sold for a lot less than other slow cookers on the market. If you are an avid slow cooker fan you will appreciate this appliance.

This is a pretty good cooker, but it should be for the price. Controls are convenient and easy to use. I love the cord keeper on the bottom side and love the 6 qt size. This is definitely a "slow" cooker - the low setting seems to hover around 145 degrees

One con, the pot is made of ceramic and it is quite heavy which some might find hard to bring to parties or reunions.

I love it! The only negative comment I have is that the insert is quite heavy. I use a bag/liner to keep washing at a minimum for easier handling.