I am a certified klutz. The kind of person who has so many dings and bruises that I often find myself looking at one unable to remember when, where, or how I got it. My talents are many. Leaving the oven on? ‘Editing’ my fingers when cooking? Wearing my food? Tripping on invisible banana peels? Check, check, check, check.
I’m also an avid sewist, which has meant quite a bit of time living in fear of my iron. Will I leave it down and scorch my ironing board, or worse, sewing project? How many times will I trip on the cord? My general unwillingness to risk it (combined with laziness) means I sometimes cut corners on my projects by avoiding important steps like washing and ironing the fabric before cutting, seam pressing, etc. My husband is braver than I, and his results are better too.
Enter the Oliso Smart Iron. In addition to standard safety features like a timed auto shutoff, this iron takes it to the next level with innovative design and technology. It really is ‘smart’–the iron senses when your hand is on the handle, and will physically raise the plate up when you release it. This means the iron will never sit on top of your project while it’s on, and you also don’t have to worry about curious dogs, cats, or toddlers tipping over an iron that’s been set upright.
While this Scorchguard feature is definitely the coolest, the Smart Iron packs in a lot of other innovations too. The 12 foot long cord is connected to the body of the iron by a ball socket joint, allowing it to pivot 360 degrees and be plugged in almost anywhere. At first I thought the cord length was a negative, but I really love being able to arrange the cord nicely out-of-the-way before I get started. I can’t say I’ve eliminated tripping, but it’s gone down.
I love to steam the heck out of things I press, especially when quilting. With my old iron sometimes I’d have to fill it up multiple times in a day of sewing. The Oliso’s water tank holds almost 13 ounces, giving me a lot of time to use the iron between fill-ups and a ton of steam. In fact, the iron can also be used as a clothing steamer. I used it this way to help break in a woven ring sling, and it worked great–even better than the clothing steamers I’ve used in the past.
The tip of the iron is thin and insertable into hard-to-reach spaces. I can’t say I use this feature much, as most of my projects are on a pretty large-scale. However, my husband has been using the iron while crafting his latest cosplay and is really enjoying being able to get in tight corners. (Keep in mind this is a man who vacuums the whole house with the wand and small brush attachment).
When we first received this iron to review, I was skeptical. There may have been a few jokes that this is what a clueless geek husband would buy his wife (I once received a programmable crock pot as a Christmas gift). I started using it expecting it to be gimmicky, and I was blown away. Even given the steep price tag, I’d absolutely buy this iron. It’s built to last, creatively designed, and solves a lot of my ironing woes. Now if they could just make one that wouldn’t burn my fingers I’d be set.
Here’s Oliso’s demo video in case you want to see the Iron’s features in action!
Note: I was sent a review unit but all thoughts and opinions above are my own.
