WafflePro Nonstick Belgian Waffle Maker

I grew up with my grandmother's 1960's vintage waffle iron with cast-iron plates. It was a standard waffle iron (not a Belgian, nor a "Scandinavian" style, just your regular standard waffle iron). Over the past couple years, in looking for a decent waffle iron like my grandmother's, I'd resigned myself to taking years to find the right one on eBay (maybe), or just stealing my grandma's iron from my mom. For my husband and me, it wasn't worth buying anything less than that, but we started getting pretty desperate for waffles recently. We were browsing around Amazon when we came across the M840 (the 5 of hearts version of this iron). At first I thought it would be ideal since we didn't want a Belgian waffle maker, but from some reviews, I started to get the sense that the waffles would be too thin, even for me. When I came here and started reading complaints from the other reviewers that this iron wasn't a real Belgian waffle maker and that the waffles were too thin to be Belgian waffles, I thought - alright, this could be the one. Just tried it out this morning... Will update if there are any long-term issues with it, but in this individual experience, we were very pleased. While I don't think anything will match what an old-fashioned cast-iron plate waffle iron can do, this thing comes pretty close. And the settings do make a difference. There is a distinct difference between the "crisp exterior/moist interior" setting and the "uniform texture" setting. The former does make a softer/poofier waffle, while the later makes a more crispy waffle overall. We also discovered the darkness settings to be about what we expected (just a hint of "burnt" at the highest setting). But we did have to crank it up to about 5 or 6 (the two highest settings) in order for us to get the darker color we preferred. The waffles were about 6-7" wide and about 1/3-1/2" deep. Of course, not Belgian deep, but just the right size for me. The iron heated up quickly and the waffles cooked pretty quickly too - quicker on the "crisp/moist" setting, which was to be expected. The "uniform" setting took a bit longer. We found that just over 1/3 cup of batter was what fit the iron best and had no overflow problems at all when we stuck to that. I think when people in other reviews complain about the color and texture of their waffles, the problem most likely lies in the recipe they're using rather than the waffle iron. These waffles came out almost exactly the same as the ones I made on my mom's cast iron machine, so I don't believe it is a problem with the waffle iron. A lot of issues can be solved by the way you prepare the egg that goes into the mix, as well as how much sugar you use (and also the amount of batter used - don't overdo it here, the shallower plates will not hold the amount of batter used on a typical Belgian iron!). Overall, I'm really pleased with the M840B. It does not make a true Belgian waffle, but that's just fine with me - it's so hard to find a good standard waffle iron anymore. The variable settings are really nice, especially if you are catering to people with different waffle tastes. The waffles get done quickly and they look great - came to a nice brown color. Would definitely recommend giving this iron a whirl.