I'm a busy mom of two...who loves to cook at home but am sometimes pressed for time. I thought i'd give pressure cooking a shot since a friend of mine has been raving about it for quite some time now. I initally purchased a 6qt in the same design, and loved it so much, i returned to buy the 4 qt. While the 6 qt is of a perfect size to cook like a whole chicken in like 12 minutes for my family of 4, I felt i needed a smaller version for daily use when i'm preparing a smaller potion. It is definitely worth the investment, and I cant say it enough, I feel like with the few meals I have prepared over the past week, I have already recovered my money's worth. For those who are wondering, this is EXACTLY the same shape as the 6 qt only 2 inches shorter. Infact i did not assemble the lid for this one and use the same lid of the 6qt pressure cooker that I already own just to save on space (in my apartment with minimal storage) and the lid fits perfectly. This is also an amazing way to cook rice. I had like 2 cups of rice cooked in approx 5 minutes, amazing and fluffy...cooked to perfection. It also cooked lentils so tender and soft in record time. I am a new believer in pressure cooking ! Thank you presto for an amazing and affordable product that saves time and energy for us mom's !