Elite 1500W Steam Iron - Anti-Drip & Self-Cleaning, Anti-Calcium, Vertical Steam - Stainless Steel Soleplate - XL 300ML Tank - Steam, Spray, Dry - ETL Listed by Unity

Pros: Heats up quickly, uses tap water for steam. Has a built in rest so no worries about burning ironing board pad or clothes. Cleans it self, has a spritzer for dry laundry. Turns itself off if you leave it resting too long. Cons: It's a little big and would be nice if it had a retractable cord, but for the money I'm very happy.

I sew, and iron husband's shirts. In the past I have owned two Rowenta irons that have the ability to cancel the auto-off feature. As a sewist I like my iron to be ready to press seams at a moment's notice and not wait for it to reheat because it turned off while I was sewing. Finding any iron that has the optional Auto off or does not have any kind of Auto off is rare . Rowenta offers that option on at least one of their irons . After a couple of years my hundred dollar Rowenta irons each started leaking Lakes of water all over my ironing board. I will never own another one. Then I begin using the velocity brand iron which was even more expensive than the Rowenta and my husband practically had Cardiac Arrest when I was purchasing these. My first one lasted 2 years and then refused to heat. Fortunately I had purchased a two-year replacement contract and I still had a few weeks left on it. I received my replacement and I put another 2-year replacement contract on it. That iron lasted for years before it refused to heat. That particular iron has been my favorite because it had two heating elements, one for the iron and one for the water. It was heavy so it was very good with pressing whatever I was sewing. It never spit and had perfect immediate Steam. To replace that iron would have cost me a hundred and sixty nine bucks just for the iron not taxes or shipping or anything. After searching I found the Viasonic Elite. It isn't as heavy but it is functional in its weight. It doesn't produce quite the amount of steam as the velocity, but it does produce good Steam and it has the push button for the burst of steam. I like that and use it often. It does not have the option for canceling auto off because it does not need that option... It stays on until you turn it off. I have it plugged into the wall socket with a rocker switch which I switch off when I'm done in my sewing room. For the price my husband has suggested I buy a second and keep it on hand for the eventual day that this one might pass to the great appliance store in the sky. On the whole I am very pleased with this iron. My thanks to Viasonic for producing an iron that does not presuppose its users to be so inept at life that it has to second-guess them and turn off automatically. UPDATE 6/9/18 in less than 24 hours from contacting Unity-Frankford about iron dying at 8 months old, they contact me notifying me they have already sent out a replacement! Thank you, Brian!

This is a nice iron for the price. I like that it is made in the USA. I like that it doesn't have auto shut off. The reason I bought a new iron is because the Braun I was using turned off too easily, I often had to unplug it and plug it in again 2 or 3 times while ironing a shirt which was totally frustrating. Before that, I had a Rowenta that leaked. So I decided that price was not a reliable guideline, those were both expensive irons. This heats as it should and the steam function is good, lots of steam when I turn the steam on high. The soleplate glides easily. The reason for only 4 stars is because the handle design is not comfortable for me. I have large hands, I wear a mans size large gloves. The steam buttons are too large and in the way of a good grip. And there is no contouring to the handle for a thumb grip so while it is fine for ironing one shirt or pressing seams while sewing it would not be comfortable using it for any length of time. I don't plan to spend hours with stacks of ironing so for my needs it will be ok.

So far, I am loving it. It just glides over the fabric and has a large enough plate to whip out a shirt in minutes. I thought it might be too heavy but the design seems to make up for that. It sits back easily without a lot of wrist action. I am a quilter so I use the iron a lot! The steam function works well with no dripping. AND NO distilled water and we live in a high calcium area. When I compared it side by side with my old iron, the Viasonic looks like a Cruise ship! Good job!! I would recommend for quilters.

Absolutely one of the worst clothes irons ever made! Within days of initial use, steam openings on sole plate became visibly rusty even though iron was emptied of water after use. This iron consistently leaks and spits water in spite of it’s suppposed “anti-drip” system. I am soooo disappointed with this purchase and the resulting damage to so many of my favorite garments. Silly me, gave it a third chance and missed my opportunity to return it for a full refund! Would give it 0 stars if that were possible.

I purchased this iron on a recommendation outside of amazon. I was frustrated with my expensive rowenta not working. It was the third one in a series that broke down after a year. So I decided to purchase this iron. This iron is wonderful. No spits, no leaks smooth ironing and performs great! I love this iron. I use it for quilting, sewing and ironing clothes. You have to get it.

After more than a decade I still don't understand or have faith in the Amazon review system. This iron seemed rock solid, yet after a mere 3-4 months of very infrequent use (2x per week for 5 minutes) the bottom coating wore off making it stick to clothes, the steam function takes WAY too long to heat up, and finally last week.....it stopped turning on. Literally, from the moment it was first unboxed and used, it started falling apart.

First one I ordered was obviously a return as the box was damaged and there were water droplets in the water tank. I tried it out and it worked fine except that the "on" indicator light on top of the handle would not light. I liked it very much other than that, but I wanted the light to work, so I returned it and ordered another one. The second one arrived and this time it was in an unopened box. I plugged it in and it had the exact same problem. The light does not come on. I decided I will keep it anyway as it works well other than that. I guess the factory made a bad batch or had bad parts or something. Anyway, it was inexpensive and works very well otherwise. Hopefully nothing else will crap out on it after the returns period.