Verdict

Elegant and classic are the two words that spring to mind when looking at the Dualit Lite 1.7l Dome Kettle. A classic kettle, it's built to Dualit's exacting standards and is exceptionally well made, with fast-boiling performance and excellent insulation for long stay-warm times. The downsides are that there are few extras, it's expensive and the finish picks up fingerprints – all things that can be forgiven if you want a classy-looking and reliable kettle.

Pros

• Classic look
• Boils very quickly

Cons

• Attracts smudges
• Expensive

The 1.7-litre Dome Kettle is part of Dualit’s Lite range, featuring both traditional and jug-style kettles. Despite its price, the Dualit Lite 1.7-litre Dome Kettle doesn’t come with any extras – a specific keep-warm function or variable temperature options, for example. The focus here seems to be on ergonomic design.

While its highly reflective stainless-steel body is prone to smudges, this kettle’s fully removable lid is easy to open and the handle – attached at an angle – is comfortable for pouring. It’s also the fastest kettle I’ve tested, boiling in 2mins 9secs.

Dualit Lite 1.7l Dome Kettle – What you need to know

• Boiling performance: This is a very fast kettle: it boils a litre of water in 2mins 9secs.
• Keep warm: There’s no keep-warm mode, but boiled water remains warm enough to have a cup of tea 20 minutes after boiling.
• Usability: The lid is easy to open and the handle is comfortable for pouring. There are water indicators on two sides of the kettle – but they could do with more markings.

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The Dualit Lite 1.7l Dome Kettle attracts less grime than cheaper stainless steel – but water marks are still an issues

Available with either cream or black accents, the Dome Kettle’s stainless-steel body fares better than cheaper kettles, attracting fewer fingerprints. But splashes of water and slightly greasier hands will still leave their mark here, since the handle gets in the way of filling the kettle.

Handily, the Dualit Lite 1.7l Dome Kettle’s lid isn’t too stiff and the illustrations in the instruction manual advise on how to tighten or loosen it slightly.

The handle is comfortable to grip thanks to a black plastic underside and ergonomic positioning, drawing the centre of gravity in line with your wrist as you pour. At just 0.98kg, this kettle isn’t too heavy to lift or fill.

Two viewing windows don’t entirely make up for the Dualit Lite 1.7l Dome Kettle’s lack of water level indicators

While it’s nice to observe water coming to boil through the two viewing windows, they aren’t particularly useful.

The water level markings only include 2 and 4 cups, and another marker indicates the MAX level on top. This fits with the kettle’s traditional, somewhat pared-down look, but in practice, it’s annoying to have so few markings and nothing in litres.

More helpfully, you’ll find a red plastic MAX level marker inside the kettle, which serves as a guide when you’re filling the kettle, looking in from above.

The Dualit Lite 1.7l Dome Kettle may be basic, but it’s one of the fastest I’ve used

With the kettle switched on, small orange lights flick on on both sides beneath the viewing window. It took a short 2mins 9secs to boil one litre of water (4 cups) – very handy if you’re in a hurry. After 10 minutes, the water temperature was still at 86ºC, reducing to 78ºC after 20 minutes and to 72ºC after half an hour. An hour after boiling, the temperature was 61ºC.

So, despite no keep-warm functionality, it’s still possible to have a drinkable cup of tea 10 minutes after boiling – or even later, if you don’t like your water scalding.

During the boiling process, the noise remained under 75dB, which is a fairly average result among the kettles I’ve tested.

Why buy the Dualit Lite 1.7l Dome Kettle?

If you have some cash to splash and are seeking a well-designed, traditional-style kettle, the Dualit Lite 1.7l Dome Kettle is a well-made and fast boiling kettle. There’s no getting around the price, though; the Sage Smart Kettle is only slightly more expensive and comes with variable temperature settings and a keep-warm function.

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