Laurastar Smart I

Brilliant product. Highly recommended

This is the most advanced domestic ironing system on the market. Laurastar are a Swiss based International company who manufacture high end, technology featured professional irons. Firmly placed between demanding domestic and professional ironing services, this system combines the best of irons with the latest technology. To make ironing less of a chore, Laurastar offer a bookable personalised demonstration to help you after purchase. Not only that but they also offer a very comprehensive training guide covering a wide range of garments from shirts to sequins, tablecloths to bedding. They have thought of so much to assist you in making ironing easier. Another benefit comes from the Laurastar club. Free to owners, you would have a 3 year guarantee (free upgrade current offer), dedicated tech support, offers on accessories along with regular hints and tips to get the most out of ownership. On their website you can purchase accessories such as sole plate protectors, garment covers and board covers. No doubt Amazon will host the whole range shortly, just type 'Laurastar' into the search box. Upon setup you find 6 height levels. The board has a blower underneath and a movement detector in the iron, so only the required amount of steam is used when ironing. The water for steam is filtered by cartridge and the unit is ready to use within 3 minutes. It's also 2200w (2.2kw) so pretty much in line with the European drive for more energy efficient electrical equipment. The unit is easy to use, store and move. The castors make it great to move around. What really sets this apart from the rest is the app. It tracks your ironing time, reminds you to check the filter, connects to the training guides and helps you iron silk, cotton and wool. The iron itself weighs 1.1kg and is sturdy enough to grip and glide across the imprinted board guide lines for perfect creases. Moving onto unit operation, the blower under the cover helps the iron glide effortlessly and the steam is 3 bar, very powerful for an iron, in line with commercial units actually. Use with the app and not forgetting to always use filtered water, or the iron can be damaged. Do spend time with the training videos, online resources and around the members club. They are all worth it for getting the best out of this capable and robust unit. For a great demonstration prior to purchase, paste the following onto youtube 'Laurastar Smart: Connected for smarter ironing'. In conclusion, this is a real innovation classic. The cost may be above general basic irons, however, this is a system which helps you get the best for your clothing, is full of useful guides and in my opinion is by far the very best ironing system on the market today.

First things first then; the box is huge an weighs a ton; unboxing is even more of a chore as you need a 12ft long space to slide it out. Once extracted, the system itself, although hefty, is at least more manageable as they have put wheels on the bottom of one of the legs, so it can easily be rolled around. This is the first inkling that you'll have that the designers have thought through the design extremely thoroughly. It also indicates the quality of the build; it is built to last. The next thing to do is install the Laurastar app which walks you through the set up the system, and later on, tutorials on how to iron. You'll need to install the anti-calcium filter (which protects the system) and run filtered water through the steam generator, before you get going. Here again I realised how well thought through the design was, as the top cover is shaped to also be used as a 'bucket' to catch the water flowing out of the bottom. In fact there are tonnes of similar, small examples of attention to detail throughout the design. There are attachments to suspend the steam tube above the table, keeping it out of the way, and a clip on baseplate for the ironing dedicates. Once you get going, ironing is noticeably faster than on a conventional board; the inflating board cover seems to help aligning the clothes correctly, and the steam iron works extremely quickly - moreso than a handheld steam iron I have. One of the key features of this iron is the bluetooth connectivity, which is used in a clever way; the system can detect what you're doing. For example the tutorials instruct you in how fast to move the iron, with feedback if you're going too quickly. However, while clever, I'm not convinced that having a connected iron adds a huge amount of value. Finally, the price tag. I try not to mention price in my reviews as it often changes and you the reader can make a judgement about value without my help. So normally I just focus on the product itself. However, it's hard to get past £1399 (present price) for an iron. I might be in a minority of one, but I think that there is an argument that it does represent value for money, when it's design, performance and build quality is balanced against the cost of, for example, a smartphone that costs almost as much and is replaced every year. However, for the majority of people a simpler and significantly cheaper alternative will give 90% of the results.