Steam irons: Compare features & prices Russell Hobbs 14995 Steam Glide Professional review http://www.which.co.uk/home-and-garden/laundry-and-cleaning/reviews/steam-irons/russell-hobbs-14995-steam-glide-professional/review/

I bought this iron as I do a lot of sewing and it sounded as though it would be good for pressing. However, I've foinf the steam setting is much hotter than my previous iron ( a Very reliable Philips, which fell on the floor once too often). Consequently I am constantly having to adjust the heat and clean the foot plate so not a very satisfactory tool for me. I'm now looking at Which best buys to replace it.

I bought this Russell Hobbs iron as a replacement for a Phillips Azur GC4013 which had just blown up. I've used it 3 times and have the following comments:PROs Long flex, heats up very quickly and maintains heat i.e. doesn't keep having to heat up again; good weight of iron which helps do the work for you; works very well on heavy fabrics such as jeans; iron is easy to fill.CONs Very little steam produced, except, annoyingly, when the iron is put to stand on its heal when you get a good, if short, shot of steam - exactly when you don't need it! I had to keep using the extra steam button on clothes that were at all creased, making heavy work of ironing. Water marks appear on fabric when using steam and the iron needed frequent top-ups.The coating on the base drags, rather than glides, across fabrics, again makes heavy work of a dull job.The water spray is low-powered and produces blobs of water as well as spray.You can't see how full the iron is, although that's not a problem if you just use the measuring cup as that is marked.The flex could do with a cord-grip for storage.I've just noticed that this iron is named Steam Glide - neither of which it does successfully! I'm also trying to understand why Morphy Richards uses 'professional' as part of the model name (or indeed why this iron appears in the Which? best buy tables). As a semi-professional dressmaker I find this iron well short of my requirements; if one was a 'professional' ironer it wouldn't be up to the job either. I shall probably return it to Comet where it was on offer at £24.99 and get a Phillips.

I have been very dissapointed with this iron, and am in the process of returning it to the retailer for the second time. It is heavy and impossible to read the water level even with my reading glasses on. However the worst aspect is the intermittent steaming. When I start ironing it steams fine for five to ten minutes and then completely stops steaming even though it is more than half full of water. The only way I can get it to steam again is by pressing the burst of stem button several time, and I have to do this every half minute or so for the rest of the ironing period. Very irritating

Ordered this because of the special offer by Tesco as I wanted the replacement to have the higher wattage, ceramic coated sole, longer lead and larger tank capacity. I liked the weight for ironing but can do with the non-slip grip or rib extending to the underside of the handle or slightly wider to make it easier to maneuver it about without holding it tight. As the review advised, I did find the steam output wanting when trying to iron out the creases on dried linen. Could have done with actual steam outlet holes in those inner row of recesses on the sole plate. But it does not drip- unlike the old Philips. The poor visibility through the dark translucent body is a pain. I had to bring it up close and shake the iron to make out the water level everytime I wish to check. But heat control and retention is good as the warming light didn't always start whenever I started pumping through for more steam.