Features

800W, 662g (including flex and plug), stainless steel soleplate, 1, 2 and 3 dot heat settings, 40ml water tank, steam shot, vertical steaming, 184cm flex, dual voltage: 230Vm or 115V, travel case.

Comments

Glides smoothly on all fabrics, pilot light is easy to see, steam burst is effective but there is no water spray. The handle is comfortable and rotates for use when vertical steaming, but doesn't collapse for storage/ travel. Comes with a zip up travel bag, jug for filling and a brush attachment for vertical steaming. Easy to see water level. Good at removing creases on most fabrics. All controls are easy to use but graphics on the dial are small and hard to see.

Stockist: 0845 2100 888 www.hometek.co.uk

GHI Test Report - Jun 08

Features

800W, 670g (including flex and plug), non-stick soleplate, 1, 2 and 3 dot heat settings, 70ml water tank, steam shot, 180cm flex, dual voltage: 240Vm or 120V, travel case.

Comments

Second heaviest iron tested. Doesn't have a handle, just a grip area on each side of the main body of the iron. The non-stick soleplate does not glide very smoothly. It is hard to see the water level in tank, but this tank had the largest capacity of all the irons tested. The steam burst is effective but there is no water spray. The temperature dial is at the back of the iron and slightly awkward to set. Accurate temperatures on all dot settings and good at removing creases on most fabrics. Pilot light is not easy to see when iron is on its heel. Zip up travel bag.

Stockist: 0870 060 2614 www.morphyrichards.com

GHI Test Report - Jun 08

Features

1000W, 604g (including flex and plug), non-stick soleplate, 1, 2 and 3 dot heat settings, 20ml water tank, water spray, 176cm flex, dual voltage: 230Vm or 120V, travel case.

Comments

Small water tank capacity and is hard to see water level. Handle folds down for storage/ travel and comes with a drawstring travel bag. Comes with an ironing mat, but mat does not fit into the travel bag with the iron. Satisfactory crease removal on most fabrics, but iron does not get hot enough on three dot setting. Not very smooth glide. Pilot light is easy to see. Controls are easy to line up, water spray is good but there is no steam burst.

Stockist: 0870 600 8784 www.argos.co.uk

GHI Test Report - Jun 08

Features

700-800W, 577g (including flex and plug),  non-stick soleplate, 1, 2 and 3 dot heat settings, 20ml water tank, water spray, 177cm flex, dual voltage: 230Vm or 120V.

Comments

This was the lightest of the steam irons tested.  Handle folds down for storage/ travel, but there is no travel bag.  Satisfactory crease removal on most fabrics, but iron does not get hot enough on the one or three dot settings. The water spray is not very fine and over-wets the fabric. There is no steam burst. Not very smooth glide. Small water tank is easy to over-fill.

Stockist: 0208 829 6354 www.micromark.co.uk

GHI Test Report - Jun 08

Features

760-830W, 673g (including flex and plug), stainless steel soleplate, 1, 2 and 3 dot heat settings, 80ml water tank, water spray, 187cm flex, dual voltage: 230Vm or 115V.

Comments

Handle doesn't fold down for storage/ travel and there is no storage/ travel bag. This was the heaviest iron tested, but also had the longest flex. It was fast to heat up, but didn't really get hot enough on the two and three dot settings. Satisfactory crease removal on most fabrics. No steam burst and we couldn't get the water spray to work on our sample. Pilot light is not easy to see when iron is on its heel. Glides fairly smoothly, but water leaks out of the filling hole. Small arrow makes it difficult to line up controls.

Stockist: 0845 658 9700 www.russellhobbs.co.uk

GHI Test Report - Jun 08