Rowenta DW7180 Everlast Review

Performance Comparison

Ironing Performance

The Everlast was one of the top scorers in our ironing performance testing. Its score of 8 was just behind the top score of 9, and well ahead of the bottom score of 5. Its soleplate provided top quality glide, though not quite as good as it sibling, the DW5080 Focus. While all the irons we tested were almost identical in terms of their ability to reduce wrinkles, the Everlast was just slightly better than all the rest in this regard. Even the most demanding of users will be happy with the Everlast's performance.

Steam Output

The Everlast again scored an 8 in our steam output test. This was just off the top score of 9 and much better than the low score of 3. In our testing it put out an impressive 29 grams per minute of steam, which was the second highest rate we measured. This was appreciably less than the top scorer, which produced 38 grams per minute. However, combine this output with a high quality soleplate featuring many steam holes and a powerful burst of steam function, and you certainly won't be feeling like you need more power when using the Everlast.

Ease of Use

In order to make it a clean sweep, the Everlast decided to pick up an 8 in our ease of use testing as well. This was the top score in another closely contested metric that had all scores falling between 5 and 8. The interface is intuitive. A dial on the body set the temperature delineated by fabric type, and a knob on the top of the handle controls steam output. The handle is very comfortable and allows you to easily push the burst of steam and misting buttons without any hassle. A yellow light on the side clearly indicates when the soleplate is up to temperature. The soleplate itself has a wide base and a pointed nose. This allows for efficient passes on larger garments, and gives you the flexibility of fine maneuvering when the need arises. The shape of the water tank opening serves as a built in funnel, making this one of the more splash proof models we tested. Additionally, it is easy to fill the water tank straight from the faucet. The only real drawback of the Everlast is its propensity to leak some water when using the burst of steam button on lower temperature settings. This was a problem with all the irons we tested, but it was the worst with the Everlast. However, using the burst of steam button at lower temperatures is not advisable anyway, so this is a very minor issue.

Heating

The Everlast earned an 8 in our heating test (seeing a trend here?). This put it at the top of a closely contested metric that saw scores ranging from 5 to 8. It reached a temperature of 430˚F after two minutes preheating in our testing. This was the highest temperature achieved in our two minute preheating test, and indicates that it would be ready for ironing cottons at the requisite 400˚F in less than two minutes. While this is only about 45 seconds faster than the slowest heating iron we tested, it is impressive nonetheless.

Value

The Everlast, at the time of this writing, fetches a market price of $114. This makes it one of the most expensive irons we tested. While it does offer top notch performance, its sibling, the Rowenta DW5080 Focus does as well. Additionally, the focus only costs $84. The Everlast's price is a fair reflection of its quality, but you can get the same quality for $30 less, making this a fairly poor value.

Conclusion

With the Everlast Rowenta again knocked it out of the park. However, this model is significantly more expensive than the other Rowenta model that offers almost identical appearance, functionality, and performance. If you're looking for a high end iron, we suggest you save a little money and go with the DW5080 Focus, you won't be disappointed. However, if you already own the Everlast, rest assured that you chose a great iron.