Laurastar! Anytime again and again!
My friend and me, we decided for Laurastar. Swiss made, swiss manufactured, swiss precision. No other around to beat that. We had the i-S5 system, nowaday's i-S6 is just more lightweight and has a better sole to it, otherwise no big difference.
What a dream: A real pressure boiler with automatic re-feeding (no simple pump-style steamer) The pump will draw water from a fill tank while the boiler is still under pressure, the iron itself has several sensors and will automatically adjust to what you do, the iron board has a blower/suction fan in it and it just does what it is supposed to do: We iron more than 40 shirts in one go, that thing will just hum and go, no irritations.
I just love that brrrrrrrt sound, when the pump goes on again and draws more water in, the best of all: Once you are done, you throw the iron in the heatproof iron-chamber and push that one shut, that was it, you tilt the whole unit with that gravity joint and fold the ironing board down like there was nothing to it, you roll it away on its own casters, hardly any thicker than a regular board.
The Laurastar unit has now been working for us for more than 5-6 years without one single flaw - sturdy, weekly, reliably. Would never want any other. Minor drawback: Once you want to do more than 40 shirts and you use excessive steam all the time, some condensed water may accumulate in the board and sweat back to the fabric surface, this leads to unpleasant moisture spots and undue ironing times on those wetted areas.
Other than that: No complaints. Decalcification is a snap: Open boiler top and bottom orifices and flush with some fresh water. The gray stuff will rinse and flush out in the bottom tray.
Tell you: 799,- Euros was not cheap (actually more than a gasp), but worth every single cent.
No other, I am convinced. Anytime again.
Cheers, Joe
Oh, and btw.: If you want to look at their marketing videos back from that time we purchased it, I downloaded them back then, use the link. (you need Quicktime to view them).
On one of them I added english subtitles, so you guys can read them. Download and view.
And NO, I am not working for them, I just love that steamer, not love, I ADORE it.
Worth every penny. Best you can get. One of the few companies still producing themselves, you will notice once you've seen it live. Enjoy.
Joe
http://homepage.mac.com/wetterwolf1/Laurastar/laurastar-clips.zip
