As requested by you, the readers, the followers, we continue to diversify and add something new to the site. Now it’s not that often we try an iron out here at TechNuovo but this could be the start of something new and to kick things off, we’re looking at the Russell Hobbs Freedom Cordless Iron.
Russell Hobbs are a huge name in the UK household appliances market. They manufacture not only irons, but kettles, toasters, vacuum cleaners and coffee machines. In fact, if you looked on their website now you will see they have 30 different irons in their inventory, with the Freedom Cordless being one of their most expensive. I say the most expensive but it still only costs a mere £64.99 RRP. There is a pile of ironing in the corner of my bedroom, full of work shirts and children’s school uniforms, so let’s unbox this and give it a go.
Tech Spec
- Ready to steam in 30 seconds (5-second fast re-charge)
- 2400W total power
- Ceramic non-stick soleplate
- 300ml water tank (135ml steam shot / 40ml continuous steam)
- Auto shut off / anti calc / anti drip
- 1.8m power lead to base
- 2yr warranty
Look and Feel
It looks like an iron, it feels like an iron and it includes all the usual buttons and knobs you’d expect to see. The key options with this iron are the temperature control (rotary knob), steam control and steam buttons. All of which are well-positioned and easy to use. Although this does have a steam option, this is not a traditional ‘steam generating’ iron with the large water tank base.
The colour scheme for the iron is white and purple, with a hint of chrome on the curves. The handle is thick, it’s got a decent grip and it’s overall quite light and easy to move around.
The USP for this iron is that is it cordless, or wireless you could say. There is a corded base plate that needs to be plugged into the mains and then the iron sits within the base plate (the sides rise up) and locks into places via three metal prongs. The base plate is relatively compact and has space underneath for you to wind the power cable within it. It’s very easy to put the iron on and take it off the base plate. Although those metal prongs are about an inch in length, the iron can wobble while on the base and if knocked, it would fall out.
Performance
The iron performs well and I’m impressed with how well the iron gets rid of creases in a variety of garments. I tried a number of shirts, t-shirts, trousers, different materials, on your average ironing board or standing up with the steam feature.
The iron includes a 300ml water tank, which is more than enough for a few sessions (for me anyway) and as stated before, offers a 135g burst of steam or 40g continuous shot of steam, which helps get creases out of troublesome materials. You can also hold the iron vertically for steaming hung garments or curtains and as this is cordless, made it so much easier to use. Both the steam and spray functions are controlled via the two large push buttons at the top of the handle, which you can press with your thumb easily enough.
The iron has an adjustable temperature, a low, medium and high, which you can adjust with the rotary knob under the handle to suit what you’re ironing. It’s very easy to adjust and at the highest temperature, the ceramic plate hits around the 175C mark.
Now, this is a cordless iron and with that, comes some limitations. Once turned on, there is a ring around the base plate that will go red. When it goes green, the iron is hot enough to use. After about 30 seconds, that same ring then flashes red, indicating that the iron is losing heat slowly but there is enough heat for you to iron a little longer. If the ring goes solid red, it’s time to return the iron to the base immediately. In reality, this is ok, as I would iron one mark of a shirt, return the iron for a small top-up while I move the shirt to the next section, use the iron and repeat that process. You really do have to return the iron to the base whenever possible and not leave it on the ironing board, as the heat will not remain. My issue with this, is I would see the base flash red, which made me think I had to hurry up, how long should I keep using this or how fast is it losing heat. Because of what/how I was ironing, there wasn’t a time where the iron lost a lot of heat and underperformed.
Verdict
It held up well against any garment I gave it, it’s incredibly easy to use as it’s cordless and at just £64.99, it’s a pretty good deal when compared with its competition. Ideal for amateur or intermediate keen ironer.
For more info, head over to the official Russell Hobbs website.
