This is a very good steamer, easy to set up and takes up little space on the worktop. Very simple use and water top up system is very good. Easily cooks the vegetables for a family of 5. Very easy to clean and packs away neatly for storage fitting in a kitchen cupboard with shelf above it. It is quite tall when set up but then it holds a lot of veg so that is a compromise. The Ultra compact refers to when packing it away after use.