The Panasonic NI-780R has features that at first glance make it seem as if it's the perfect iron:

Steam/dry ironing
Anti-calcium forming design
Detachable water tank
Self-cleaning
Retractable cord
Auto shut-off

But upon further review, I discovered that some of these features really are useful and others are not quite what they seem.

Let's start with the useful ones. Obviously, that it can steam or dry iron is a good (if common) feature. It has 2 steam levels plus a strong jet steam option for a quick, strong burst of steam, as well as a water spray feature. All well and good; all work as they should.

The anti-calcium forming system, designed to keep calcium from water forming in the iron's vents and clogging them, is also useful.

I like the detachable water tank, although it's not entirely necessary, unless you have a small sink near where you iron. This is a fairly large iron and may not fit under certain faucets to fill with water.

And finally, the auto shut-off is always a useful feature as well. The iron goes back on after auto shut-off if you pick it up.

Now, on to to the less-than-perfect features. The self-cleaning feature is deceptively named because in actuality, it is you who has to care for and clean the iron. There are specific directions to follow each time you finish steam ironing, and that is, to fill the water halfway, shut the steam vent, heat up the iron on a high setting, then unplug and hold over the sink while pressing the jet steam button quickly and repeatedly for 30 seconds or so, clearing out the steam vents and cleaning them. Then the iron must be wiped off because it's all wet from the steam that just came out. The manufacturer recommends that this be done EVERY time after using the steam feature. I don't know about your ironing habits, but I always use the steam and I usually iron no more than 4 garments at a time, so I would be doing this a couple of times a week. It doesn't seem like much, but believe me, it will get on your nerves and you will stop doing it. So, the self-cleaning feature is more or less non-existent if the user doesn't do it.

The other somewhat useful feature is the retractable cord. It is a good idea, better than dealing with the cord every time you iron, but the directions say to wait until the iron is completely cool before retracting the cord. Again, a pain for me, because I have an iron rack that can hold a hot iron, so when I put it away I can't retract the cord. I have to come back when it's cool to do it? Who has so much time to spend on iron maintenance?

As for the actual ironing abilities, it works quite well, I can't complain there. Please also note, the iron is a bit big because the cord is stored at the base, so it may not fit in all iron racks.

Recommended: No