Test iron Panasonic NI-W950

Attention to detail, quality materials. Emphasis on ergonomics. Comfortable ironing plus active steam. Security.

Getting to know

The iron is quite heavy, when ironing requires less effort to achieve the desired result. Handle is comfortable, under it there is a thermostat. It even feels good to make adjustments, perhaps due to the moderately tight stroke and clicking sound that accompanies every movement. The inscriptions on the regulator are in English.

Large spray and steam squeeze buttons are located on the front of the handle, just under your thumb. I would like to mention the stroke of the buttons – they are soft and bouncy, very convincing. There is a steam regulator in front of the buttons, it has three positions – no steam, medium and maximum.

The lever of the regulator is high, but holding the handle with the thumb is not so convenient to move it – the buttons interfere, it is better to use the index finger.

The window to fill the water is traditionally located on the spout. The lid opens easily from the bottom upwards, it is intentionally shorter than the recess where it is mounted – easy to grasp with the finger. The lid snaps on tightly thanks to the rubberized bottleneck.

To keep the iron upright, it has two stable legs, plus the appliance fixes the end of the handle. It’s a very sturdy construction.

The plastic of the model is nice, durable, partly it is matte, partly shiny, some of the elements are silver. Cord in textile wrap with articulated attachment to the body. To secure the coiled cord there is a Velcro fastener attached to it.

Power

The new model has a high power, which in practice means that it quickly reaches the desired temperature. We check the speed of heating up to the maximum value, following the indicator light. It is known to go out when it reaches the desired temperature. For the sake of intrigue, let’s compare the readings with the other iron – my home one, which has the same power, but is 7 years older. Measurements with a stopwatch showed these results:

Panasonic

NI

W

950

A

– 1min. 7 sec.

Test iron 1 min.13 sec.

The benefit seems minor, but in the morning when every second counts, it is noticeable.

THE SPOUT

The iron has a new and very unusual soleplate. It’s made of anodized aluminum, the kind used in car engines. What you pay attention to right away is quite a sharp edge of the soleplate, you can damage delicate fabrics.

But more interesting is the shape of the soleplate – in the form of a petal, and it has not one, but two spouts. This is done in order to make the appliance more maneuverable when ironing, and in secluded places can be climbed both when moving forward and backward. To make the rear spout clearly visible, the bottom part of the heel is open, it looks like a pair of skis. Let’s test the maneuverability of the sole on a shirt. The second spout is most effective on symmetrical parts, such as back and shelf, even without aiming, you can in a few seconds well iron these elements on both sides. Small details, folds, pockets are more used to ironing with the movement forward.

Another, no less surprising feature is not a flat surface, but a convex one. If you put a ruler to it, you can clearly see that the central part protrudes by 4 mm compared to the edges. This bulge should get rid of wrinkles when the iron moves to the sides. Let’s make sure of that with a thin scarf. We choose the appropriate temperature mode, iron forward, backward and sideways. Indeed, no creases are formed during movement, including lateral movements, even on such a thin fabric.

It is interesting how the soleplate behaves on a not very soft ironing board let’s put a terry towel over the board in one layer , let’s continue the test with our scarf. As it turns out on such a board, the iron works even more effectively, rides more freely and intensively. There is no crease in the movement.

Another feature – increased soleplate area. Let’s compare how many simple movements you can iron a pillowcase with the iron

Panasonic

and my family. They have the same width – about 12,5 cm, but the length of the soleplate

Panasonic

More than 4 cm – what does it give to a housewife? Practice showed it is a real time gain. The pillowcase is ironed in two wide cross motions, my iron requires two cross motions and another longitudinal.

Ironing

Now let’s test the model at different temperature settings. Acrylic things can be seen on the first mark, when sliding, you have a feeling that the surface of the soleplate is rough. The thing is a little bit electrified. Medium mode is good.

The high-temperature mode is great. The soleplate relates best to cotton and linen and steam ironing is always more fun. I would like to note that the soleplate cools down very slowly, delicate garments can be cleaned after turning off.

Steam

Auto Valve system prevents water from dripping down when you don’t need it. Fill the entire container and turn steam regulator all the way to the left. We proceed to the ironing – no water.

The steam function of the iron is realized at a modern level – good constant steam and a strong steam impact. If the steam function is activated, the water in the iron’s tank is enough for about 8 minutes. If you give full steam in the steam blow mode for 2 minutes with a little. Steam can even be turned on at a low temperature. Steam comes on within 50 seconds when the iron is switched on.

Constant steam is enough for ironing: the iron puffs up, steam is very active, enough to iron clothes that are too dry, with lots of folds. Vertical steam works by pressing the steam button discretely, the soleplate must be held flat, this way the fibres are well spread.

Safety

The iron has an automatic switch off system which is activated after a set time:

• 10 minutes – if the iron is on the heel,
• 1 minute if resting on the soleplate or on the side.

Another experiment with stopwatch. We leave iron without moving, standing vertically on ironing board. Steam stops escaping almost immediately. The iron heats up for another 10 minutes, but according to the indicator, this happens quickly and rarely. We wait 10 seconds more, take the iron in our hands, iron – the indicator does not light up, the device is off.

During the test, we simulate the fall of the device and create a fire situation, put a sheet of paper under the soleplate and leave. The light does not go off and the iron slowly cools down, the paper is not hurt, neither is the iron. The system works. The iron turns off by itself.

PRICE: 3999 Dollars.