Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Fyi, this review is focused on using this iron for quilting. My old Sunbeam has literally worn out (there's a the hole in the handle plastic where the power button is and it keeps stepping the heat down while I'm ironing). I had been wanting to try a cordless and I always get a ceramic plate, so I bought this model of Panasonic. I've put it to the test by using it for hours over the last two days while joining a queen size quilt. Pressing 80" seams open gives one lots of time to consider the pluses and minuses of a new iron. I gave this 4 stars based on the type of iron it is (cordless, ceramic plate, w/steam) and what I expected from those features. BUT, the simple star rating doesn't capture some key issues, particularly if this will be your only iron. First the minuses. There are only two so far, but they count. The nature of cordless powering meant it just didn't stay hot as I worked my way slowly across the board. The heat is maintained well over relatively short ironing periods, followed by regular docking. That's what naturally occurs as you iron and then rearrange a garment, but that rhythm doesn't happen while pressing long quilt row seams open and re-pressing the block seams as you go to get a nice, flat quilt top (it is a zen process). I found this iron had lost its heat by the time I got across the quilt. This brings me to my biggest negative for this specific iron: the indicator light is inactive when it's off the dock. There's no feedback (a blinking light is what I would expect) to say "time to re-dock." I found I could test the heat by hitting steam burst. I've learned to dock when my bursts diminish, but that feels very imprecise compared to a visual indicator. Overall, I dont like having to stop and dock at times when I wouldn't stop naturally. I don't like losing my groove and waiting 10 seconds for a recharge. This is only a problem if you tend to keep the iron in use for long periods of time. That being said, I can accept the need to dock as a tradeoff for the ease of manipulating a cordless iron. Cordless is wonderful! I chose this cordless model for its two-way plate. It's a great feature! I had a lot fewer crunched seams that happen when the flat rear end of a typical plate pushes on a seam nearby while you're focusing on the tip. The smaller body size also helped avoid that. It's a lot easier to see exactly where you're ironing. I took a couple of photos with my old iron so you can see the size differences. I don't have specs, but they feel pretty close to the same weight in the hand. I mentioned always getting ceramic. Every listing explains the general benefits, but I'll add that it's a huge factor if you glue baste like I do, or use any other adhesive backed product. I don't bother to remove my glue dabs when I open the seams when pressing. A ceramic plate let's me iron right over the glue with no sticking or residue. I'm going to keep this iron, but I just ordered another corded iron at less than half the price. Not so crazy, because I have an ironing board on one side of the room where I iron clothes, yardage and big quilting pieces, and a wool mat next to my machine for pressing while piecing. This cordless one will live next to my sewing machine where the docking won't be a problem and the lack of cord and smaller size will be really helpful.