The 3 Best Clothing Irons of 2025

Also great

This durable and easy-to-use iron is ideal for marathon laundry sessions. It has a convenient, retractable cord and a long auto shutoff that’s helpful for back-and-forth crafting and sewing projects. But it can be harder to find.

This is an almost identical version of the 13102 above, but without a digital display or temperature indicator light. If you can’t find the 13102, this is a suitable replacement.

The 1,700-watt Chi Electronic Iron with Retractable Cord 13102 is a fantastic steam iron. It’s more expensive than our top pick, but it’s performed so reliably since 2019 that we think it’s a worthwhile investment. If you can’t find the 13102, we recommend the almost identical 13106 model.

It glides with ease. The Chi 13102 is one of the most comfortable irons I’ve ever used. The ceramic soleplate (Chi’s marketing says it’s “titanium infused,” whatever that means) glides more easily across most fabrics than the stainless steel plates of the Black+Decker, and it gets hot enough for tasks where you need high heat, like pressing clothes.

It’s comfortable and ergonomic. The Chi is heavier than our top pick, the Black+Decker D3030 (it weighs 3 pounds 8.6 ounces, compared with 2 pounds 13 ounces for the D3030), but it’s so well-balanced that it doesn’t require as much elbow grease to push out wrinkles. One of our testers, a 70-something woman who prefers a lightweight iron, still preferred the Chi to the Black+Decker because of the comfortable handle, the way the weight is distributed through the iron, and the stability of the hot iron when you sit it vertically on its heel.

It has a retractable cord and other thoughtful features. The Chi has a retractable cord for easy storage—our top pick, by contrast, does not—and its controls offer more options for levels of steam and heat for different fabrics than most irons I’ve tested. A dial controls the fabric settings, which are shown on a light-up display at the top of the iron (instead of on the dial itself). It’s bigger, brighter, and much easier to read than on irons with the settings printed in tiny letters on the dial.

Our 70-something tester found the red-tinted plastic water tank easier to see than the Black+Decker’s dark gray-tinted tank, making it easier to read the MAX line when filling it. The water tank cover has a sliding latch instead of a flip top like most irons, which testers found was easier to open.

It whooshes powerful steam. The Chi’s steam bursts are long and smooth, applying consistent steam to the surface of fabrics. It also has many more steam holes on the soleplate than the Black+Decker, so the bursts are more powerful and abundant. I don’t have to push the steam button as often as I do with the Black+Decker, which is a thumb-saver during frequent use or long sessions at the ironing board.

It doesn’t drip. I’ve never had problems with drips from the Chi plate’s holes, which are a chronic issue with many irons I’ve tested, including our top pick. The Chi’s water tank holds 12 ounces, slightly less than the Black+Decker’s 14 ounces. But because it gives off so much steam, it does need to be refilled more often. I ran out of water after about 15 minutes of ironing, but the Black+Decker can go for about 22 minutes.

It’s excellent for crafters. I love this iron for almost every craft project, from quilts to Halloween costumes. (For messier projects that might melt onto the iron’s soleplate, however, I’d opt for the cheaper, easily replaced Black+Decker.) My favorite feature is its 30-minute auto-shutoff time, one of the longest of any iron I’ve tried (most are about eight minutes). If you’re working on a project and constantly going back and forth to the ironing board, this feature is a time-saver, keeping the iron hotter for longer so it’s ready when you are—this is especially helpful for the Chi 13102 because it’s the slowest of our picks to heat up and produce steam.

This Chi model also has the longest, narrowest tip of our picks, which helps it get into pesky tight spaces if you’re ironing, say, a complicated quilt block or working on a curved garment seam. Like the Black+Decker, it comes with a two-year limited warranty from the manufacturer (PDF).

Flaws but not dealbreakers

• The Chi 13102 is sometimes hard to find, but the company confirmed (in April 2024) that it’s not being discontinued. The nearly identical 13106 performs just as well, except it has a temperature control dial—instead of a display—and it doesn’t have an indicator light for when it reaches temperature. If you can’t find the 13102, we think the 13106 is a fine replacement.

• If you’re forgetful about shutting off your iron when you’re finished, or if you have young kids or curious pets around, the 30-minute auto-shutoff time might not be best for you.
• The Chi takes a minute-and-a-half to heat up to the hottest temperature (our top pick takes about 30 seconds).
• The Chi is heavier than our top pick, the Black+Decker D3030 (it weighs 3 pounds 8.6 ounces, compared with 2 pounds 13 ounces for the D3030).