CHI Mini Travel Iron with Electronic Temperature Control

Was in the middle of a quilt for my granddaughter and my Oliso stopped giving me steam, so needed a new one ASAP! I have the Oliso mini project iron I exclusively use for piecing , so I was considering the new Mini Oliso as a replacement cause it was apparently an improvement when I ran across Chi and obviously decided on the Chi... it was a good choice. I'll say out of the box, when I first purchased the Oliso (about a year ago), I was a bit disappointed. The device feels mostly like cheap plastic, the steam buttons are hard to push and kind of wiggle and the steam holes are only at the point of the plate. Both the heat level dial and the steam buttons are made from cheap plastic, which is fine...but they squeaked right out of the box. Doesn't have an auto shut off. Extremely difficult to see the water level and it led to a lot of spilling. The cord comes out of the back, so you can only rest it on the silicone trivet it comes with. The hand grip is also plastic and can be hard to grip for the weight of the iron because it's so wide.... on top of that it gets TOO HOT, have burned myself a lot with this iron from grabbing too low on the grip. The worst part, is I have only used it for 5 quilts over the past year and the steam no longer works. I use only RO water, as my whole house is filtered and tried to descale it with water/vinegar, no luck. Sad face. At $80 for the "new and improved" one just kinda fell flat on me, so I was open to other brands. I've had a Chi hair straightener for almost 10 years and it has never failed me and I have tried a lot of other ones just cause I wanted something new....always returned to the Chi. I've had the iron for a couple of days now and have ironed through 360 2.5" HST's and here are my thoughts: Love the electronic temperature dial, makes it easy to see where your temp is (the dial on the Oliso often moved when you gripped it), steam buttons feel solid and smooth, easy to press but also has a 'steam on' function with a lever when I'm ironing through hundreds of pieces at a time so my finger joints don't get sore. The plate is beautifully made, glides over the fabric and seams and has steam vents throughout. Although it does spit a little it's tolerable, I've found if you overfill just a little bit it tends to do this. It is a little heavier, but the quality of it is completely worth it (and some quilters love heavy irons). The feel of it is substantial, quality plastic on the spine, a grippy silicone-like material on the sides. Grip does not get hot at all...not even a little bit, which makes me think something was wrong with my Oliso out of the box, or is every other quilter suffering through this? It's got a backstand. Large/wide window for the reservoir. Auto off in 30 seconds if you have it resting plate down. Auto off in 30min if standing up. I live in fire country and this, I found, is a must for me as I left my Oliso on quite a few times and almost had a heart attack when I realized it. Two things I can't comment on yet: longevity; and the point of the plate is rounded, so far with all the HST's I did, didn't seem to mind it, but will tell more over time. I was worried that the rounded point wouldn't give me a flat block, but it does! Overall, super happy with my purchase at half the price of the Oliso.

Love this little iron, works like a large one, takes regular tap water 💦, steam is great, very long cord , small enough to pack. Water is easy to view and easy to empty before storing.

Have used this iron for a couple of days and just fell in love with it. I’ve never owned a Chi but they get good reviews on my quilting sites, but I hate big heavy irons —I already have an old super heavy Rowenta Commercial I save for ironing bedsheets and such. This iron is lightweight, easy to hold, and gets hot super quick so I don’t mind turning it off between sewing longer rows or quilting pieces. I do use steam contrary to many quilters and it steams good, doesn’t seem to use much water or it holds more than I thought because I bought this to replace the Rowenta travel iron with stainless plate because it doesn’t hold much water, only up in the handle; it got plenty hot but without steam I don’t care—but also after a couple days use it stopped steaming without hitting the steam burst, not for me dude. The cord being extra long helps also to keep it out of the way. I can’t figure why Chi hasn’t jumped on the cordless bandwagon. I have a Panasonic cordless I loved but 1) many complain there’s died after 2 years and mine is that old so was looking for a backup and 2) it just doesn’t seem to get as hot as it used to. This Chi is much smaller than the Panasonic but does the job in the sewing room.

I love this little travel iron! It gets nice and hot, which is perfect for pressing quilt blocks. I also love the fact that it has a bit of heft to it, which is also useful when doing pressing for quilting. It is one of the few travel irons that comes with an automatic shut off, which for me is essential. (I had purchased another travel iron, and accidentally left it on all day which is dangerous - that's when I decided to get rid of that one and purchase this one instead). It's also a durable little iron - it's survived a tumble off a table and onto a hard floor without a chip or dent and still works perfectly.

Overall a good little iron. Unfortunately the first one I ordered leaked tremendously. The replacement sent by Amazon is perfect. I will caution to not overfill the water or you will have leaks. This heats up fast and has an auto shutoff in case you walk away for a while. Gets super hot on the cotton setting and is perfect for my quilting needs. Might be a bit large for travel to retreats, but fits nicely in the hand for a good press.

Loved this iron! Perfect size to do quick ironing at home without dragging out the ironing board🙂 Bought it for travel overseas, but didn’t use it for that until this past May. Took a trip to Sicily, plugged it in for 1st use there, worked great; second time I tried to use it made a beeping sound, settings flashed red and didn’t heat up at all. Very disappointed! I thought buying a quality name (used CHI hair supplies for many years) would mean it would last. That is not the case, it’s useless now~

Buy the iron. I have purchased several mini irons for my crafting and quilting projects...all have gone by the wayside. When I saw the price of the Chi iron I decided that it couldn't hurt to try it out as I wouldn't be out all that much if it didn't work out. I was so surprised by the quality of this iron. It feels solid and has some weight to it, but yet is very easy to handle. The fabric settings are easy to navigate and it heats up rapidly letting you know that it has reached the correct temp. One thing that is a tiny bit annoying is that if you are ironing for a bit without setting it down the automatic shut-off will happen. But it is easy with just a touch to keep going at correct temp. The steam feature is excellent and as good as the Oliso that I had previously without all the spitting and spilling. The only complaint that I have is that it doesn't come with a separate plastic "pitcher" so that you know how much water to put in. I had one from my other irons, so that wasn't a big deal, but it would be helpful as over filling the water reservoir is easy to do.

Excelente producto

THIS LITTLE IRON IS AMAZING!! I was looking for something more compact to use for my quilting purposes and this little iron knocks it out of the park!! Highly recommend! All settings, auto-turn-off, long cord (10ft), heats up immediately and great steaming function. I cannot rave enough about this! 10/10

Do not buy! Broke down after using only once, doesn’t heat up and keeps beeping. After I contacted Chi’s support team they said that “Unfortunately, the limited manufacturer's warranty does not extend past the United States and Canada.” and so United Kingdom is not covered.

Muy buena, práctica y calienta rapido

Love this little iron. It is far nicer to use than the Osilo min that I returned Auto shut off - dedicated steam! Neither of which were on the Osilo