Customer Reviews

Reliable V95 Digital Velocity 1500-Watt Steam Iron

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Back in July, I purchased this iron as my latest, expensive Rowenta iron started leaking like a sieve (at just over 1 year old). This iron is fantastic! From the first time I used it, it has been great.

The Reliable iron has a separate chamber and heat source for the water that generates the steam. This means that steam is available at a lower heat setting than usual. Also, the steam is consistent - no spitting, leaking or dribbling. The steam can be used with the iron in a vertical position (for steam-pressing a garment). The iron has two steam settings. The higher steam setting puts forth a tremendous amount of steam - just like a steam generator iron but without having a separate water tank to deal with.

The manufacturer does recommend using distilled water (really the only downside). The iron has removable/replaceable filters to extend the life of the iron by filtering out the mineral deposits that can prematurely gunk up an iron.

All in all, this is one terrific iron. I highly recommend it to anyone, especially to anyone who does sewing/quilting. Fantastic iron!

I also replaced a B & D with this wonderful new iron. It does everything it promises. But one thing I would change is the length of time it takes before it times out. Three minutes is a very short time if you are doing anything like quilting or sewing where you need the iron to be hot every 5 or 10 minutes. It seems I am always punching the button to get it to 'wake up' again. My old B&D had a 10 minute timer which was a lot better for what I use it for. Ironing yards of fabric, ironing shirts, etc when you are constantly using it, you can't beat the heat control and steaming action. But if you are doing crafts, look for one that has a longer 'time-out'. If there is a way to reprogram it for longer run time, I would love to know about it.

UPDATE: So, we've had this iron for a couple of months now, and BAM she's broken! :( While it was working, it did great! Lots of steam, heated quickly, nice features, very comfortable to hold. But, because I couldn't find anyone else who had reviewed it, I was a bit concerned. Well, I bought one and also (thankfully!) got the extended service guarantee from Brookstone.

Well, I came home last week and my hubby says the iron is dead! Won't heat up, keeps doing all these weird beeps, and the steam thing is pumping anymore. So, sadly, we're taking it back and will hopefully get a new one that works.

The Amazon thing won't let me drop my rating from 5 stars, so please don't be confused. I'm feeling 2 stars right now... :(

ORIGINAL REVIEW: I was waffling between the Reliable Digital Velocity, a B&D recommended by ConsumerReports, and a fancy looking Rowenta. I was almost swayed to the B&D, but if you read some of the reviews, several people had problems after a few months, so I decided to go with a more-expensive brand... In the end, I tried the Digital Velocity, and I love it! We've only had it for about 2 weeks, so I can't say if it will last for years on end, but it feels very well built, sturdy, and well designed. And, so far, I'm not regretting a bit of the cost.

The thing I like the most is the steam generator! It's really cool that the amount of steam can change independently of the temperature. So, you can set low heat with lots of steam, or high heat with low steam. When you turn it on, a little machine inside pumps out the steam. It makes a little pumping noise which was interesting at first (I was just used to the hiss of steam from my old junky iron.)

It does a great job with ironing, and is very comfortable to hold. It's weighty, but not overly heavy, and it glides nicely along the garment without bunching them up. And, the iron plate is not a teflon surface (I think it's stainless?) so you don't have to worry about it flaking off after a few months of use. As for how it works, it does nicely! I ironed a decent pair of wool slacks, and they came out nice and smooth, a crisp crease, but not overly hot (thanks to separate heat and steam settings.) And, my hubby says it does a great job too. And, it will go into "sleep" mode in just about 2 or 3 minutes, but wakes right back up when you pick it up. And it beeps to tell you when it's changed modes... Pretty cool for an iron!

I'm loving the iron so far! If something goes wrong, I'll update my review. But, if not, know it's working great since late Nov, 2007. :)

Iron is too heavy and you must manually turn on the steam when you want to use it. does have good steam action