Tiny toaster you can take on hols
... and other miniature creature comforts small enough to fit in your case
ASWELTERING bank holiday weekend is approaching, so many of us are preparing to pack up the bare essentials and head for the hills, the beach or a foreign city.
But what about the household creature comforts you can’t bear to be without... such as your toaster, coffee maker or even vacuum cleaner? It might sound bonkers, but according to research from retailer AO, 62 per cent of us pop at least one appliance in our luggage when we go away.
If you are one of them, TESSA CUNNINGHAM has tracked down the smallest, lightest equipment on the market. Now you really can take everything but the kitchen sink with you...
COFFEE MACHINE
Tassimo by Bosch T12 Vivy, argos.co.uk, £39.99 (was £79.99)
WHAT IS IT? Bosch boasts that its coffee pod machine (below right) is ‘small but perfectly formed’. It weighs just 2.4kg, the same as a laptop, and measures 16.9 cm x 29.8cm x 24.9cm. It uses Tassimo pods — known as T-Discs — which you buy separately. They come in a wide range of teas and coffees.
WORTH THE SUITCASE SPACE? No Englishman can ever find a decent cuppa abroad. If you want to be sure of having your tea (and coffee) just the way you like it, this nifty little machine is worth taking. At £39.99, it will pay its way if you have just one cuppa a day in your holiday home rather than in the local cafe. It took less than five minutes to set up and the coffee was delicious. I’d taken a pack of capsules (£4 for eight at Sainsbury’s), but they’re readily available in European supermarkets. 4/5
COOKER
GeorGe Foreman 18851 Compact Grill, argos.co.uk, £39.99 WHAT IS IT? It only weighs 1.8kg and measures 31cm x 23.5cm x 11 cm, but this electric grill can cook up a storm for three. Cleverly, it grills food from top and bottom simultaneously — halving cooking time. It’s healthy too, as the fat drips into a tray underneath. Plug it in and set the optimum temperature. Then pop your burgers, steak or chicken breasts on to the grill and shut the lid. WORTH THE SUITCASE
SPACE? Boxer George Foreman may have been trounced by Muhammad Ali, but his grills sell like hot cakes. This dinky little cooker is barely bigger than a tablet computer and not much heavier, but it packs an enormous punch. Following the recipe book, I cooked a yummy chicken tandoori in ten minutes, followed by fruit kebabs in four. I can see myself using this in my own kitchen — and it’s a holiday game-changer. 4/5
TOASTER
sTaTus 2-slice, amazon.co.uk, £9.99 WHAT IS IT? At 998g, this tiny toaster (top) weighs barely more than your Italian phrasebook. It’s compact too — 17.5cm x 26cm x 15cm — but will toast two slices of bread, collect your crumbs and can also defrost and reheat.
WORTH THE SUITCASE SPACE? Croissants and brioches make a lovely change. But, after a few days away, I always start craving my usual toast and marmalade. And many European rentals still don’t stock toasters.
So this one is great. It has six settings and you can also defrost frozen bread (although this is never a good idea in my book). Shake the detritus out of the tray and you’ll avoid coming home with a suitcase full of crumbs. 5/5
PUSHCHAIR
GB PoCkiT stroller, johnlewis.com, £149.95
WHAT IS IT? Billed as the world’s smallest stroller, this is, astonishingly, compact enough to fit in a handbag. It weighs 4.3kg — almost half of your hand luggage allowance — and measures just 30cm x 35cm x 19cm when folded.
WORTH THE SUITCASE SPACE? In my day, strollers barely fitted through doorways, let alone in handbags. So I was suspicious to say the least. But this is ingenious and a doddle to assemble. You press a button on each handle to release the seat, then kick the two sets of wheels out. Your package is transformed into a sturdy stroller complete with a sunshade. It comes in a range of attractive colours, too. 4/5
DRINKS FLASK
CorkCiCle Flask, from £17.99, cuckooland.com WHAT IS IT? This tripleinsulated, vacuum-sealed flask is far better than your average coolbox. It will keep drinks chilled for up to 25 hours and hot for up to 12. The flask comes in three sizes: small (235ml), £17.99, medium (470ml), £19.99, and large (710ml), £24.99. WORTH THE SUITCASE SPACE? I love finding a deserted spot to lounge on holiday — until I realise there’s no bar in sight. Well this is the answer. You can take your own tipple with you in the morning and enjoy it at sunset. My wine was still ice cold 22 hours after I poured the bottle into the flask. It worked just as effectively as it kept my tea piping hot for 12 hours. I like the wide spout, too, which makes it easy to shove in plenty of ice cubes. The canteen comes in six colours, including — my favourite — turquoise. 5/5
VACUUM CLEANER
koBolD VC100 Handheld, £129, kobold.vorwerk.co.uk
WHAT IS IT? This battery-operated vacuum cleaner (left) weighs 650g, the same as two cans of Coke. It’s 42cm x 8cm, and lasts 20 minutes once its fully charged — which takes four hours.
WORTH THE SUITCASE SPACE? I’m no neat freak, but biscuit crumbs down the sofa drive me nuts. This might be a time-consuming way to clean, but it has the oomph to keep a holiday home spotless. You can also use it at home when you don’t fancy lugging your ordinary vacuum out of the cupboard. Unfortunately, it’s only got 20 minutes of juice — and it’s almost the price of a normal vac. 3/5