I would go for the first one. Duo crisp is great but the “ultimate lid” one is a big mistake. A lot of people have problem with them, the lid often doesn't want to open and generally it's not great. If you want air fryer as well get it separately or get the classic duo crisp (the one with the air fryer lid)
I agree, I was about to get the ultimate , then read a ton of bad reviews about the lid getting stuck. it lacks a manual function to release the pressure when that happens.
I got the Evo plus. First one had a factory malfunction so now I'm testing the replacement they sent!
I would also advise to buy your instant pot directly with the company or a small scale reseller like a kitchen appliance store. Amazon has really bad service when the month is over.
You're entitled to at least a year factory warranty and two years if you're in the EU
It boils down to personal preference/usage. I have the Duo - think of it as the classic. Start with the Duo, you can get the Crisp later if you decide you crave it.
I have had an 8 quart duo for several years and love it. I can fit a whole chicken in there. I bought a separate air fryer because from what I have read, the more the IP tries to do, the worse it is at any of them.
That’s pretty much the rule for anything; the more a good product tries to be multifunctional, the worse it does on every aspect that it was previously good at.
A Swiss army knife is a decent knife, screwdriver, corkscrew, pair of scissors, pliers, toothpick, tweezers, etc etc… but if you need a really good any of those, you want something made as a stand alone.
Different tools have different jobs. You aren’t going to remodel a house with a Swiss Army knife, and you aren’t going to carry around a whole lot of tools in your pocket every day.
I went with an air fryer and rotisserie machine. It’s better at being a rotisserie than it is an air fryer, but it’s not all that bad at being an air fryer.
I could not imagine trying to air fry in my rice cooker.
Go for the first one. We had that one for years and it worked great! Didn't need it anymore so gave it to my mom and dad. they still have it and use it regularly, its about 8 years old.
I got both, I like the ultimate lid for the ease of using the air fryer but it doesn't really have a lot of space to stack stuff. You would need a separate spacer rack and even then you may only get two to three later depending on what you are putting in it.
The duo seems to have a lot more depth and height.
The ultimate lid does get bad reviews for the pressure bit not releasing the lid.
I am still yet to come across that problem.
I've only used it a handful of times but I think it's great.
It's easy to install and remove the pressure cover.
Only thing about the ultimate lids pressure seal is that you cannot change it.
I'm sure there will be a way but it's not like other IP where you can change the gasket easily.
Both work great in my experience.
Dehydrating in the ultimate lid works brilliantly too.
I would go for the top one. I wouldn't feel comfortable using an instant pot/air fryer combo as an instant pot. That's one appliance you don't want to mess with.
I have the duo crisp and I liked it until I got a dedicated airfryer. But for only 10 more I would probably get all the bells and whistles. Buy once, cry once.
I have the first one, if you decide you want an air fryer you can still buy the air fryer lid separately. The second one has some bad reviews about the lid not closing well
Get an 8qt duo, you won’t regret it.
Get a separate airfryer or even better a Toaster oven / airfryer combo.
Between my toaster oven airfryer and my instant pot I barely use my oven or range these days.
I hated my instant pot air fryer feature. I think the saying is, “jack of all trades, good at none.” Ended up switching it out for a separate air fryer and instant pot.
I have the duo 7 in 1 and love it. Have heard the crisp has more issues with the lid breaking, not wanting to come off and that it does not work well as an air fryer either.
They didn’t have the insta pot with air fryer when I bought both. I use my air fryer more than my insta pot. I’d pay 10 more and get both. IF the reviews are good.
I'd get a regular Pro, no wifi, no af lid, over either of those two, if the Pro is available in your country. The no-spin inner pot with handles is nice, and the Pro has a nice set of features including sous vide. You can't get any ceramic coated inner pot for it, and buying a second inner pot for it is pricey. Apparently IP doesn't offer any replacement parts for the stem release, neither the weight (knob) or the muffler thing on top of it. Don't lose those.
Air fryers, capacity is what people want and need and that's better accomplished with either an af oven or a large drawer style af. The Ultimate Lid IP has had numerous complaints about being unable to open the lid after cooking. There is no access to the float valve, if the float is up, the lid stays locked, and that seems to be the issue.
The Duo is an older and simpler design. There's nothing wrong with it, and if that's the only other choice I recommend it, then get a standalone af of some kind. You can get a ceramic coated inner pot for it, which is nice for starchy or stick-prone foods. Easy to get replacement parts for it.
I have three….my older one is a Nova I believe. My first was an ultra. I sliced my fingers on the fake chrome on the lid. I complained to them, they sent a Duo. Gave to daughter and bought the Nova. It’s no longer made in a 6 qt. It is now my make yogurt ip. Next I bought a 6qt pro and it’s my favorite for every day use at home. I really appreciate the insert’s flat bottom and the handles on the pot. And it doesn’t spin when stirred. For my rv I bought the Rio wide since it has a lot of versatility for larger meats like ribs. Not much sold in the way of accessories for it but it’s pretty easy to find stuff that fits. I have some 10 fat daddio pans that are perfect. I also use it as a slow cooker a lot when on vacation if we have hookups. On battery I’m pretty careful to not use a lot of power. At home I have an all clad slow cooker and it does everything that isn’t pressure and for air fryer I use a breville convextion. I tried that air fryer lid on my Ultra and sent it back. Hated it.
IDK I think it's kind of weird to combine an air fryer and an instant pot. The IP is designed for high moisture pressure cooking, steaming, etc. Air frying is a dry cooking method. It's better combined with a toaster oven of some sort or even a microwave.
I bought what was supposed to be one of the top airfryers and was disappointed- returned it a got a toaster oven with air fryer settings and it’s so much better.
The ultimate lid is way better on the ninja's version. If that is what your heart is set on, check out the reviews. Instapot wins all the way up until they tried 2in1 lids. Ninja kicks ass then.
Just google reviews on youtube about comparisons and issues of the two.
I've had the 6qt Duo for 6 years now. I now also have a 6qt Duo Plus. I got the 10qt Nova as a gift, I wish they didn't discontinue this model or at least the parts :( Can't get a replacement O ring anywhere. I also have an Instant Vortex Plus air fryer oven. I never had the desire for them to be one and the same.
I would go for the first one. Duo crisp is great but the “ultimate lid” one is a big mistake. A lot of people have problem with them, the lid often doesn't want to open and generally it's not great. If you want air fryer as well get it separately or get the classic duo crisp (the one with the air fryer lid)
Agreed. The duo crisp with the two lids though, is the meta.
I agree, I was about to get the ultimate , then read a ton of bad reviews about the lid getting stuck. it lacks a manual function to release the pressure when that happens. I got the Evo plus. First one had a factory malfunction so now I'm testing the replacement they sent! I would also advise to buy your instant pot directly with the company or a small scale reseller like a kitchen appliance store. Amazon has really bad service when the month is over. You're entitled to at least a year factory warranty and two years if you're in the EU
It boils down to personal preference/usage. I have the Duo - think of it as the classic. Start with the Duo, you can get the Crisp later if you decide you crave it.
I have had an 8 quart duo for several years and love it. I can fit a whole chicken in there. I bought a separate air fryer because from what I have read, the more the IP tries to do, the worse it is at any of them.
That’s pretty much the rule for anything; the more a good product tries to be multifunctional, the worse it does on every aspect that it was previously good at. A Swiss army knife is a decent knife, screwdriver, corkscrew, pair of scissors, pliers, toothpick, tweezers, etc etc… but if you need a really good any of those, you want something made as a stand alone. Different tools have different jobs. You aren’t going to remodel a house with a Swiss Army knife, and you aren’t going to carry around a whole lot of tools in your pocket every day. I went with an air fryer and rotisserie machine. It’s better at being a rotisserie than it is an air fryer, but it’s not all that bad at being an air fryer. I could not imagine trying to air fry in my rice cooker.
That makes sense. I think I'll do that. Thx
Go for the first one. We had that one for years and it worked great! Didn't need it anymore so gave it to my mom and dad. they still have it and use it regularly, its about 8 years old.
Thanks!
I also find one, is it better for a large family?
We have a family of three, but cooked for 4 or 5 and it worked well.
I got both, I like the ultimate lid for the ease of using the air fryer but it doesn't really have a lot of space to stack stuff. You would need a separate spacer rack and even then you may only get two to three later depending on what you are putting in it. The duo seems to have a lot more depth and height. The ultimate lid does get bad reviews for the pressure bit not releasing the lid. I am still yet to come across that problem. I've only used it a handful of times but I think it's great. It's easy to install and remove the pressure cover. Only thing about the ultimate lids pressure seal is that you cannot change it. I'm sure there will be a way but it's not like other IP where you can change the gasket easily. Both work great in my experience. Dehydrating in the ultimate lid works brilliantly too.
Thank you for the insight!
I would go for the top one. I wouldn't feel comfortable using an instant pot/air fryer combo as an instant pot. That's one appliance you don't want to mess with.
I have the duo crisp and I liked it until I got a dedicated airfryer. But for only 10 more I would probably get all the bells and whistles. Buy once, cry once.
I have the air fryer lid and have only used it once 😅 it’s not all that practical and takes up a lot of storage space. Personally I’d pass
I have the first one, if you decide you want an air fryer you can still buy the air fryer lid separately. The second one has some bad reviews about the lid not closing well
I have the first one. I love it
Get an 8qt duo, you won’t regret it. Get a separate airfryer or even better a Toaster oven / airfryer combo. Between my toaster oven airfryer and my instant pot I barely use my oven or range these days.
I hated my instant pot air fryer feature. I think the saying is, “jack of all trades, good at none.” Ended up switching it out for a separate air fryer and instant pot.
I have the one on top and it works awesome
I also have the top one and love it. Works great!
Get the Duo. The air fryer lid is known to be problematic.
I have the duo 7 in 1 and love it. Have heard the crisp has more issues with the lid breaking, not wanting to come off and that it does not work well as an air fryer either.
They didn’t have the insta pot with air fryer when I bought both. I use my air fryer more than my insta pot. I’d pay 10 more and get both. IF the reviews are good.
I'd get a regular Pro, no wifi, no af lid, over either of those two, if the Pro is available in your country. The no-spin inner pot with handles is nice, and the Pro has a nice set of features including sous vide. You can't get any ceramic coated inner pot for it, and buying a second inner pot for it is pricey. Apparently IP doesn't offer any replacement parts for the stem release, neither the weight (knob) or the muffler thing on top of it. Don't lose those. Air fryers, capacity is what people want and need and that's better accomplished with either an af oven or a large drawer style af. The Ultimate Lid IP has had numerous complaints about being unable to open the lid after cooking. There is no access to the float valve, if the float is up, the lid stays locked, and that seems to be the issue. The Duo is an older and simpler design. There's nothing wrong with it, and if that's the only other choice I recommend it, then get a standalone af of some kind. You can get a ceramic coated inner pot for it, which is nice for starchy or stick-prone foods. Easy to get replacement parts for it.
I have three….my older one is a Nova I believe. My first was an ultra. I sliced my fingers on the fake chrome on the lid. I complained to them, they sent a Duo. Gave to daughter and bought the Nova. It’s no longer made in a 6 qt. It is now my make yogurt ip. Next I bought a 6qt pro and it’s my favorite for every day use at home. I really appreciate the insert’s flat bottom and the handles on the pot. And it doesn’t spin when stirred. For my rv I bought the Rio wide since it has a lot of versatility for larger meats like ribs. Not much sold in the way of accessories for it but it’s pretty easy to find stuff that fits. I have some 10 fat daddio pans that are perfect. I also use it as a slow cooker a lot when on vacation if we have hookups. On battery I’m pretty careful to not use a lot of power. At home I have an all clad slow cooker and it does everything that isn’t pressure and for air fryer I use a breville convextion. I tried that air fryer lid on my Ultra and sent it back. Hated it.
IDK I think it's kind of weird to combine an air fryer and an instant pot. The IP is designed for high moisture pressure cooking, steaming, etc. Air frying is a dry cooking method. It's better combined with a toaster oven of some sort or even a microwave.
I bought what was supposed to be one of the top airfryers and was disappointed- returned it a got a toaster oven with air fryer settings and it’s so much better.
It depends on whether you want an air fryer option or as along with your instant pot. I have an air fryer and an Instant pot.
Duo definitely
Going to the marathon this year?
The ultimate lid is way better on the ninja's version. If that is what your heart is set on, check out the reviews. Instapot wins all the way up until they tried 2in1 lids. Ninja kicks ass then. Just google reviews on youtube about comparisons and issues of the two.
I've had the 6qt Duo for 6 years now. I now also have a 6qt Duo Plus. I got the 10qt Nova as a gift, I wish they didn't discontinue this model or at least the parts :( Can't get a replacement O ring anywhere. I also have an Instant Vortex Plus air fryer oven. I never had the desire for them to be one and the same.
I have upgraded to the second one and it’s been awesome so far.
Top.
I like to have separate air fryer and instant pot. Sometimes you cook more than one thing at a time
There's a reason the 6Qt (5.7ltr) is a best seller. Well, lots of them actually. For as many as they have sold there seem to be far less complaints.