BLACK+DECKERAllure Professional Steam Iron, 30% More Steam, Precision Tip, Stainless Steel Soleplate, Vertical Steam Function

This BLACK+DECKER Allure Professional Steam Iron is hands down the best iron I’ve owned in 28 years of buying irons! Every function works flawlessly. It steams upright effortlessly, has precise temperature controls, and even features auto shut-off for safety. The auto-cleaning function is a great bonus, keeping it in top condition.The soleplate is incredibly smooth, gliding over fabrics with ease and leaving crisp, professional results. Whether I’m ironing delicate fabrics or tackling stubborn wrinkles, this iron handles it all like a pro.

I have been using Rowenta "pro" irons for 15 or 20 years. During that time I've had four of them. Because the Rowentas have a poorly designed water tank. Every one of them would develop a leak while the thing was standing on the board, on the heel. The tanks split because the adhesive fails. Because I'm an engineer, I fixed them several times - I found replacement tanks, and then found better adhesive for the tank that failed. I paid as much for a tank as I did for this Black and Decker iron. So I tried this iron instead.Those Rowenta were three times the price of this Black and Decker. The features of this iron are very competitive with my recently-failed Rowenta Pro - identical sole plate size, stainless steel, adjustable steam, nice heft (I prefer a heavier iron), good water capacity, well designed cord strain relief. The Rowenta was 1700 watts. This one is 1600 watts. I just got through my first Shirt Ironing Marathon and the B&D did a super job. Smooth glide, good steam (even on the low setting). The Rowenta has hundreds of steam holes and this has relatively few, but even so this did a great job on my shirts.So now we'll have to see how this one lasts. My last Rowenta is now 5 years old, use it about twice a month, for 12 or 15 shirts at a time. So basically one person.Update Aug 2021This B&D iron is still going strong. No leaks. Works GREAT. Uh Buh Uh Bye Rowenta...I would suggest running through the 'cleaning blast' process occasionally. I have somewhat hard water. I use a filtration / softener gadget to help with that. But still, I have found on two or maybe three occasions over the last 4 years that it would spit white minerals (aka 'scale'). As soon as you see that, it's time to get an old towel, crank the iron to high, and press the button to blast additional water to the sole plate. Iron the towel mercilessly, blasting away with the steam. This will help release the gunk. I was AMAZED at how much gunk came out the last time, and more amazed that more of that gunk didn't end up on my shirts.So Kudos to Black and Decker for a great product at a great price.Update Sept 2022It died this morning. :( . The sole plate does not heat. There are no replacement parts for these, and they used special screws to keep the curious out. But.... HAH! I took it apart anyway. Confirmed that the heater coil is toast.Oh well... I got five good years out of it. Far longer than any of the Rowentas I'd owned. Just ordered another one.

When my 15+yo B&D iron died, I decided that I would splash out for something really good. But after reading so many negative reviews of high-end irons (leaking, longevity, confusing), I decided to buy the next generation of the one I had, with its excellent reviews. It works great and does everything I want it to. The pointed front end for getting behind buttons and into small areas is a GREAT new feature. It heats up quickly, has a big water tank, and produces copious amounts of steam. It has a nice heft to it, which is essential to me since I work with thick fabrics, multiple layers and I exclusively wear linen (however the weight might be a problem for some people). I really wanted the 30 minute shut-off that some of the specialized sewing irons have, but despite this one's 8 min shut-off, it wakes with the slightest movement and heats so quickly it doesn't matter. I like this iron a lot and will keep it despite some irritating design features, some of which are regularly mentioned in other reviews. First, thanks to the unnecessarily enormous steam buttons on the handle, there is not much room for actual hands. My hands are small so I do not suffer the discomfort others have mentioned with the cord rubbing their wrists, but even my hands come in contact with the very poorly placed temperature button and I keep accidentally turning the iron off while I am working. Who's idea was that? What was wrong with leaving it where it used to be - above the steam buttons and below the temperature read-out? The second problem is the size of the iron. It is so big and oddly shaped that it does not fit into a standard sized, wall mounted holder. Most new irons are this size and shape, so I don't really want to look for an old school iron just because it fits my storage apparatus, but finding a new storage solution is not as easy as it should be. Most hangers do not specify the dimensions of the irons they can hold, or they mention only width, when thickness (Baseplate to top of handle) is just as problematic. Third, yes, it is difficult to read the water level. Most of the complaints about this are from people who bought the blue/black model. For this reason I paid the extra couple of dollars for the black/silver model and while it is still more difficult to read the water level than it should be, it can be done. Overall this is an excellent iron, and for the most part, the design flaws do not, for me at least, significantly affect my use of the iron. But the design changes do feel a bit cynical, as though they were suggested by a room full of business school interns who had never ironed a thing in their lives but expected to score points in the corporation by adding price inflating features (Great big steam buttons! Tinted windows on the water gauge! Monster truck silhouette!!!) while shaving a few cents off of production costs.

I don’t understand any of the negative reviews on this product. It is an extremely good iron which frankly delivers much more value than it costs.It is light weight but substantial.The Steam option works better than an iron I’ve used before - feel like you can almost steam clean clothes.Good temp regulationEasy to useSo again, this a 5-Star for me. Again, for what you’re paying, not sure what else you might want?

I iron my clothes every single day and have done so since I was 12 years old for Catholic School. I know a good iron and I did a lot of research before I bought this one. Every other iron I have used from the cheapest up to a Rowenta (which leaked all the time) has not performed well at all and usually leak and stain my clothes with rust after time.This one is perfect. The steam is the absolute best. The Consumer Reports review said the only problem is reading the dial settings. I agree but I knew that ahead of time so I won't hold it against the product. It works so brilliantly that it is worth it!! Price is good as well!