The short answer
Choose the Kalita Wave for a clear, bright 2 to 4 cups that forgives your pour. Choose the Hario Switch for a single cup that barely depends on your pour at all, with the option to brew as a normal V60.
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Quick picks
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1. Choose this for a clear cup without technique
Kalita Wave 185
Manual tier · A flat-bottom dripper with three small holes and a wave filter that limits wall contact.
A flat bed and three small holes that regulate flow for you.
The Wave 185 has a flat bottom with three small extraction holes and brews 2 to 4 cups, in stainless steel made in Japan.
The holes regulate flow structurally, so an uneven pour matters far less than it does in a cone.
It is still percolation - water passes through the bed once - which keeps the cup clear and bright.
It takes proprietary Wave 185 filters, and stainless sheds heat quickly.
Specification
- Geometry
- Flat bottom, three extraction holes
- Capacity
- 2-4 cups (a 16-26 oz brew, per Seattle Coffee Gear)
- Material
- Stainless steel, made in Japan
- Filters
- Kalita Wave 185
- Size
- About 2.75 in H x 4.4-4.5 in W
What it does well
- The flat bed is far more forgiving of a sloppy pour than a cone
- Three small holes regulate flow so your technique matters less
- Stainless does not chip and travels well
Where it gives ground
- Wave filters are proprietary and cost more than cone filters
- Stainless sheds heat quickly
- Ceiling is lower than a V60 in expert hands
Skip it if
Skip it if you want the cup to depend on your pouring as little as possible. The Switch takes the pour out of the steep.
2. Choose this to steep, then drain
Hario Switch Immersion Dripper 02
Budget tier · A V60-style glass dripper with a ball valve, so it can steep like an immersion brewer and then drain.
A V60 with a ball valve: immersion when closed, a normal cone when open.
The Switch is a glass V60-style bowl on a silicone base with a stainless steel ball valve. Closed, it steeps like an immersion brewer; open, it drains like a normal V60.
Immersion makes the cup far less dependent on pour technique.
It takes standard V60 02 papers, with 40 included, and has a listed finished capacity of 200 ml.
Immersion mode trades some of the V60's clarity for consistency, and the glass bowl is more fragile than stainless.
Specification
- Size
- 02; W118 x D115 x H133 mm
- Finished capacity
- 200 ml (listed)
- Materials
- Heatproof glass bowl, silicone base, PCT resin switch, stainless steel ball valve
- Filters
- Standard V60 02 papers; 40 tabbed filters included
- Model
- SSD-200-B
What it does well
- Brews as a normal V60 with the valve open, or steeps and then drains with it closed
- Immersion makes the cup far less dependent on pour technique
- Takes the standard V60 02 papers you can buy anywhere
Where it gives ground
- Glass bowl is more fragile than plastic or stainless
- One more moving part than a plain cone to keep clean
- Immersion mode trades some of the V60's clarity for consistency
Skip it if
Skip it if you brew more than one mug at a time. Its listed finished capacity is 200 ml.
Two routes to the same goal
The Wave forgives by controlling the flow: you still pour, but mistakes matter less. The Switch forgives by taking flow out of the steep: water sits with the coffee for a set time, then drains. Percolation tends to give the clearer cup, and immersion the more repeatable one.