When I started work this morning I thought most deals on air fryers would stay the same for Cyber Monday. We've been covering the best Black Friday deals for the past few days and none of the prices have hugely changed.
However, I've just been re-looking at the latest air fryer deals, and saw a huge discount – in fact, the biggest we've ever seen – and not just on any old air fryer. The best air fryer we've tested, the 5-star Instant Vortex Plus, is now the cheapest that I've ever seen it for Cyber Monday. So, if you've had your eye on an air fryer in the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, we would recommend making the most of this excellent deal before Cyber Monday comes to a close.
Here's all you need to know about this air fryer, and whether or not this deal is worth the hype.
What's the deal?
Is the air fryer any good?
This air fryer excels at all the basics and has a couple of extra features that put it head and shoulders above air fryers of a similar type at a similar price point. We tested it alongside two Ninja air fryers and it blew them out of the water on every test, which is especially impressive given that those two air fryers also made it into our roundups of the best air fryers.
In her review, appliance expert Millie said 'Our finished fries were the crispiest and most evenly-cooked of the three air fryers we were testing', and it was a similar story when we tested it on vegetables, chicken, ad bacon. It's slower than the Ninja air fryers but makes better food.
It does all of this quietly, never breaking 64dB, which puts it among the quietest air fryers we've tested. Even tiny features are useful; the control dials are on a slope, so you can place this air fryer right under a cabinet and see the time and temperature as you use it.
The bonus features are amazing, too. 'ClearCook' is a grand bit of jargon for a window and an internal light, but most air fryers don't include this as a feature, and it makes it much easier when cooking things like fries and vegetables which are easy to overcook in an air fryer.
Better than that, however, is the 'OdorEase' technology, which removes the smell of cooking food. In her review, expert appliance tester Millie said that 'Even odor-heavy foods such as bacon were not detectible in the air around the air fryer.' The only exception is a tiny smell when cooking moisture-heavy food like vegetables, but you have to get in close to the air fryer to smell this.
What are the drawbacks?
Before you take the plunge, there are a few drawbacks to bear in mind. The first is that it isn't non-toxic. That's not at all to say that this air fryer is dangerous, but that it uses a non-stick coating. If scratched, this coating can release PFOAs (also known as forever chemicals, as they remain in your body for life) that are linked to several health issues. However, this air fryer is no more dangerous than any other non-stick kitchen appliance or tool like a non-stick skillet or muffin tray.
Another drawback is a more general issue with air fryers, which is that the multiple functions are basically all the same. The 'air fry', 'roast', and 'bake' function all use one heating element to cook food at a high temperature. It's not a big issue, but don't think that this some hyper-versatile machine. It can do everything that other air fryers can.
This air fryer may not work for the biggest families, as it has one single air fryer drawer. That means it has half the capacity of two-drawer air fryers. The screen is easily marked with fingerprints, too. While listed as being dishwasher safe on Amazon, Instant recommends that you handwash it, which can be a pain.
However, those are all tiny technical issues. The actual performance of this air fryer can't be faulted. It makes good food fast - that's all you need from an air fryer.
Other deals
This page isn't an ad, and there are some other good deals that you should consider before you buy the Instant.
There's a surprising amount to know about air fryers and it can pay off to learn all the ins and outs. It's worth reading up on the best non-toxic air fryers if you're at all worried about PFOAs and their health impacts.
