The DASH Clear View Toaster is an eye-catching and extremely affordable toaster for just under $50 from Amazon. But while it looks good, there are some drawbacks that are hard to overcome when it comes to usability. Anyone looking for form over function would be better off looking elsewhere, as would those with large families or living in shared accommodation; Despite its size, this is only a 2-slice toaster.
However, the hallmark of the device is clearly the large front window that allows you to watch your toast (or bagel) cook. Having spent many breakfasts with the DASH Clear View toaster, I certainly appreciated the aesthetic (it has a pseudo-retro feel to it that’s really surprising) and the practicality of watching toast cook to just the right level of golden brown.
But unfortunately, that single front window also revealed some shortcomings, such as the fact that it was actually quite difficult to accurately measure the browning level and the overall result didn’t seem to fit the settings.
Does the DASH Clear View Toaster offer more than a superficial experience? Let’s pe in and find out what I thought after using this retro toaster in my kitchen for a week.
DASH Clear View Toaster: Price and Availability
The DASH Clear View Toaster is available for $49 from Amazon. Comes in five color options: aquamarine, black, gray, red and white to complement any kitchen decor.
DASH Clear View Toaster: Design
Despite its relatively large size at 15.7 inches long by 6.6 inches deep and 7.8 inches high, the DASH toaster only toasts two slices of bread at a time. That may partly explain its light weight of 5.41 pounds, one of the lightest toasters we’ve tested. The extra length introduces the toaster’s signature feature: a panoramic window through which you can watch the toast darken as it cooks.
The single length also accommodates longer slices of bread that would otherwise have to be run through a standard toaster twice or cut in half so everything is toasted at the same time. Settings are easy to decipher on a round knob that runs from 1 to 7 with all the tones accessible in between.
The toaster has an elegant and designer look, although the glass can get very hot. From the front, where the glass is located, temperatures range between 82 and 141 degrees, while on the side, temperatures range between 80 and 115 degrees in different configurations. The glass temperature was very high and was hot to the touch. And while you won’t hurt yourself if you tap the glass with your fingers or brush it with your hand, you won’t want to rest your hand on the glass for too long.
Because the heating element lights up orange, it’s not as good at accurately gauging the progress of the bread as it cooks. Power consumption was a modest 0.042 kWh at 2:22 minutes for the medium full capacity setting (two cuts).
DASH Clear View Toaster: Performance
The DASH Clear View Toaster is a toaster that we found necessary to do backup color testing right away. Certain anomalies we noticed when testing the accuracy of toaster settings suggested, at times, that the DASH didn’t seem to know the difference between light and medium settings, even in the bagel tests.
While the single toast test yielded even shading and consistent results, there was very little difference in shade between setting #1 and setting #4. We tried toasting from both sides of the toaster’s single slot for separately to see if there was any difference, but there wasn’t any.
For the high toast setting, I expected and saw an appropriately dark color on the front, with a slightly darker back and light grill marks that appeared on both sides in some tests, but not others.
When it came to toasting bagels, the difference between light and medium was negligible as the bagels in both settings were very light on the cut side. The highest bagel setting gave a darker result, but not what most people would expect from a dark setting. The DASH bagel’s high pitch would be just average for any other toaster.
Defrosting needs a little more time as the initial roasting on both the medium and high settings produced almost the same tone. Additionally, my waffle was very light on the highest setting, almost identical to the tone on the medium setting. In all, there are other options that will give you a better roasting experience.
DASH Clear View Toaster: Ease of use and cleaning
The DASH has the usual controls you’d expect from a toaster, including defrost, reheat, and bagel settings. Its dial knob moves smoothly and allows you to adjust shade levels from 1 to 7 and anywhere in between.
When you push down on the toast with the lever, any additional button-based functions light up red. A Cancel button in the middle of the shadow dial instantly shows your bread, in case you change your mind while watching your bread toast through the glass.
Removal of crumbs accumulated on the bottom of the toaster is accomplished by a long removable tray located on the bottom left side of the unit. There is no resistance when removing the tray to empty and clean it.
The DASH’s most distinctive feature offers a little more than meets the eye. The glass front is already a novelty, but the glass can get dirty and look messy and dull if you don’t clean it regularly. DASH makes it easy to keep the glass panel spotless by allowing you to remove it completely from the unit. A latch on the bottom of the toaster allows you to easily unclip the glass from the body of the toaster, clean it both front and back, and even wet and dry it before putting it back in place. As a safety precaution, the glass panel clamp must be secure or the toasting lever will not work.
All the information you’ll need about the DASH Clear View Toaster can be found in a brightly colored instruction manual that offers detailed safety tips, user instructions, and even toast recipes.
DASH Clear View Toaster: Verdict
If you’re designing an updated, sleek kitchen or want to give your toaster a sophisticated look, the DASH Clear View Toaster is a good choice given its price. However, its calling card, the glass front, is a little fancy because it’s hard to accurately gauge how dark the toast is just by looking through the glass at the red swirls. Meanwhile, there is no excuse other than glass for this toaster to take up such a large space considering it is only a 2-slice toaster. The other drawback we noticed was the precision of the toast settings; The low and medium settings were always too close to the shade. So while we appreciate the overall aesthetic, it’s hard to recommend this toaster as it seems to be more style than substance.
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