What to look for/consider when buying an iron?

[BertieBotts]

I am an iron novice, but the time has come to buy my own

I quite like ironing and I think I would prefer a steam iron but the other features, what is worth paying for?

Would like to keep a fairly low budget but not buy the cheapest thing if it's going to last 5 minutes.

Steam irons changed my life!

I LOATHE ironing with a passion but we bought a Tefal iron with the big water tank and in comparison to normal irons, it's a dream!

here

Looks nice Quite expensive though (And I have to LOL at that site's idea of a sale!)

An automatic cut off feature is quite important to me as I'm a bit flakey (understatement).

I'd always go for the steam generator now. Mine's quite heavy but is amazingly fast at getting creases out.

Good point Slubber. I have a 10 month old DS as well so would be useful in case he suddenly distracts me from ironing.

i bought a tefal ultra glide iron,its got great steam,a big water tank,and a ceramic plate so it glides easier,
argos have it on offer atm too,

My iron (Tefal) has a big hole to fill up the water tank quickly, rather than dribbling down a tiny channel on the top. That's useful, because it can get through a refill of water in 15 minutes!