Oliso TG1100 Review

Performance Comparison

Ironing Performance

The Oliso occupied one of the bottom slots in our ironing performance testing, scoring a 5. This was significantly worse than the top scorer, which earned a 9. This was mostly due to its glide. Our tester found that the Oliso's chromium soleplate just didn't glide nearly as well as polished stainless steel. It provided the most friction of any model when sliding it across garments, making an annoying chore just a bit more annoying. We found all the models we tested to be very similar in their ability to remove wrinkles. However, the Oliso was just a bit behind the curve in this regard. Overall, this lack of glide and relative difficulty in wrinkle reduction made this the least favorite model amongst our testers.

Steam Output

The Oiso was again the worst performer in our steam output testing, scoring a 3. This was well behind the top score of 9. The Oliso put out a measly 11 grams of steam per minute in our test. This was the lowest output we measured by far, and was less than a third of what the top scorer produced. The soleplate also has a very small number of actual steam holes to utilize that output. There are a number of holes that are covered by a second metal plate within the soleplate, which don't seem to transfer steam very well. This was the one model that really felt like it lacked power and punch when ironing set-in wrinkles.

Ease of Use

Ease of use is one category where the Oliso did not receive the bottom score. It earned a 7, putting it towards the top of a metric that had scores between 5 and 8. It has some thoughtful features, like a long 10'8" cord and a water tank that is very easy to fill, even if you have a very shallow sink. The interface is easy with the standard knobs for temperature and steam output adjustments, and buttons for misting and bursts of steam. It lost points for its handle, which most of our testers found to be less comfortable than that of other models.

Obviously, the selling point of this iron is the foot that automatically lifts the soleplate off the ironing board when you remove your hand from the handle. Some of our testers loved this as it ensures you don't scorch any fabric by leaving the iron unattended for a few seconds. Others found this feature annoying as it engaged when they tried to switch hands or change their grip a bit, interrupting the flow of their ironing. This feature could be turned off, so it wasn't a deal breaker for those that didn't like it. From a safety perspective, this feature does not really offer much more protection that the auto-off features present in all of the irons we tested, including this one.

Heating

The Oliso shared the bottom score of 5 in our heating test with two other models, though this still wasn't too far off from the top score of 8. It reached a temperature of 380˚F after two minutes of preheating in its highest setting. Therefore, it would take a bit over two minutes to reach the 400˚F required for ironing cotton garments. This isn't much slower than the fastest models, which take a bit under two minutes, but it may be noticeable for those of us that are particularly impatient.

Value

The Oliso is selling for $150 at the time of this writing, making it far and away the most expensive iron in our test. If you really love the Oliso's self-lifting feature, then this may be worth it. However, outside of this feature the Oliso is a poor performer and thus a very poor value.

Conclusion