DW7180 Everlast Anticalc Steam Iron

Well, everything is not made in China. This sleek looking sample of ironing engineering is made in Germany, a country synonymous with technology. The design and color scheme is a cross somewhere between a high-speed yacht and a jet fighter.General observations: The base is mirror finish, glass smooth stainless steel with more teeny holes that I could be bothered to count. Compared to our current irons, there are at least 4x as many. There's a nice stress relief on the power cord that also keeps the wire away from the iron. The temp dial is large and easy to read. There are two large buttons on top for the water and steam. That's my only complaint - they are difficult to press. After using the iron for around 15 minutes my thumb felt the effects of pressing the buttons. Compared to the iron we use the most (over the years we've collected a few) it takes twice the effort to press.Filling: The face of the iron has a door that flips open exposing a scoop shaped opening that funnels water to a hole for the water tank. This is obviously designed to be filled while holding in your hand - otherwise the angle does not work. I filled it from the tap and using a syrup container. Either worked well. It's impossible to fill standing up, and very messy to try if it's laying down.Ease of use: Well, I cheated here. I don't iron much. I'm a walking wrinkle-fest. My GF irons, so she tried this out. Her observations: glides over material, very even steam pattern, easy to use. Buttons are hard to press. Easy to fill. The shape of the tip is great for "tight spaces" and points. A lot lighter than she thought it would be (I weighed it - 4lbs. 1 oz filled.) The dark blue makes it difficult to see the current fill level. She had to get the lighting "just right" to see it.By far the best iron we have.

Like Rowenta? So do I. I've had a number of their irons over the years, and have always been happy with them. But in recent years, Rowenta has given into market forces, and they now make a bunch of their irons in China. Happily, that does not apply to this model. This one is actually still made in Germany, and you feel it the minute you pick it up. It's as solid as a rock and performs wonderfully. I am noticing less water seepage as I iron as compared to even previous Rowenta models, and the handling and gliding over the suface is just fine. (Note that this model, like many Rowenta's, uses a stainless steel plate, not a Teflon-coated plate, so be careful not to scratch it up, or it won't be smooth and can then wear your fabric.) The water compartment holds a lot of water, although truth be told, when you are heavily steaming, you'll be refilling a lot, too, because it is passing all that water to the clothing via steam. One minor downside is that if you get the blue-gree model it can be a little difficult to easily check the water level due to the darkness of the plastic used: you almost need a light source of some type behind the iron when checking. Controls work reassuring well, and there is even a nifty "calc catcher" that is removable: we'll have to see how well this works over time, as we have very heavy water here where I live. It's a bit pricier than some other irons, but then again, less expensive than a lot of others I've seen. It works fantatic, and is still made in Germany. I can highly recommend it.

I'm a quilter by hobby so picking out an iron is a very important thing. This is my second Rowenta Iron - the only reason I had to choose a new one was the old one I kept dropping (always my fault for banging into the ironing board to have everything fall over) anyway, it went through 4 years of hard falls before the casing finally cracked. If you knew how many times I tipped over the ironing board, you would be impressed with that. So I finally got smart, moved the ironing board (and furniture) so I can no longer tip it over. This new iron is more impressive, does a much better job of ironing and makes for a smooth maneuver over the material. The only "thing" I can find fault for, is that the steam (water in the tank) does not last long due to that at the beginning it over steams the material and is using up the water faster. Not sure if there is a way to control that at the beginning to make it last longer. Now that I've got it (my ironing board and iron) in a safer place, I expect that this will last me for years. Thank you for developing a sturdy, safe and long lasting iron!