I was sent an Oliso Pro smartiron TG1600 for this review.  I have to say, I am super excited to have a pink iron to match all my pink stuff!  I am not ashamed to admit that I love pink and have wished for this iron since it was released.  I had to snap this photo of the pink prints in my By Hand fabric collection, my stash of pink Aurifil thread, and my pink seam rippers, to show how at home my new pink iron feels in my sewing room.  If you use an iron all the time, you might as well choose one that makes you happy!

I have been an Oliso user now for four years.  My previous Oliso was the same model, the only difference was the color. It was yellow.  So I am sure that I will enjoy this iron every bit as much, plus a little more, since it is pink.  I gave my mom my yellow Oliso last week, after the pink one arrived.  She sent me a text a couple of days later saying, “It’s far better than my iron!  Gets wrinkles and creases out much better.  I’m sold.”  I think that’s a pretty great recommendation.

If you aren’t familiar with the Oliso, it’s a little bit different from other irons.  It has itouch technology.  What that means is, you do not need to set the iron down on its end, like you are used to doing.  Instead, you leave it horizontal.  When your hand moves away, the iron will lift up.  When your hand touches it again, the irons lowers and is ready to press.  My fear, when I first started using this iron, was that I wouldn’t be able to use a regular iron again. I thought I would forget to put it on end and burn through iron covers.  I am pleased to say that I have used many other irons at guild meetings and while teaching, etc. and have always remembered because it has been foremost in my mind!  So, I don’t think you need to worry about that too much.  If you press a lot or have any kind of wrist issues like carpal tunnel or arthritis, this is a real selling point. I do not have that issue, at this time, but I do have a long history of ruining irons.  Often, moving around in my tight space, I would knock irons off the board and they would get damaged.  I have found that the horizontal resting position of the Oliso makes it a lot more stable.  I haven’t dropped it once!  If you are a real creature of habit, you can slide the itouch button (pictured above) to the off position, then, the iron works just as a regular iron does and you can rest it on end.

With my old irons, I used to feel like I was racing to get to the iron before it shut off.  The Oliso has an automatic shut off, which is key, but it is set for a generous 30 minutes, which is helpful for a quilter!

Now, I only use my iron dry, so I can’t talk about how it performs over time with steam. I like working with a dry iron because I paper piece and don’t want the steam wrinkling and curling my paper foundations.  I can say, that it works very well as a dry iron, sometimes in conjunction with starch, to press my quilting really flat. I have been very happy with my iron’s performance.

I did have one problem with my last Oliso.  It started making an odd noise when it was supposed to lift and eventually stopped lifting properly.  I contacted the company and was happy with their customer service.  They were willing to replace my iron.  And the second iron is still working well.

Speaking of the noise that the Oliso makes, a reader once mentioned to me that her dog was bothered by the mechanical sound that the iron makes when it lifts and lowers.  My kids like to make the iron go up and down when I have it on, just for kicks.

I hope that you have found this review helpful!  Back to pressing!