Auto-Lift iron won't char your threads unless you tell it to
By Darren Murph 
posted January 23rd 2010 5:39AM
posted January 23rd 2010 5:39AM
Watch out, Earthlings -- Ariete's 2,400 watt Auto-Lift iron is just a Stateside-release away from being Anthony Sullivan's next big hit. The concept here is pretty simple (and pretty genius): users have to physically press down on the iron to make it touch whatever piece of wrinkled clothing is beneath, and as soon as they release pressure, the iron pops up to prevent accidental charring. It'll set you back €65 ($92), but considering that one toasted dress shirt is probably far more expensive than that to replace, the forgetful among us should probably make the investment.
With that much heat, it will make a great grill cheese sandwich.
@KGB
You'd smash the bread before it would get a chance to cook :(
Auto-Lift iron for Dummies!
@One Love looks like those feet will prove impossible to iron silk, lace, or anything with holes... did they think it through? no
@KGB
This idea isn't new at all. As a kid the only TV shows that were on some mornings were the new yankee workshop and sewing with nancy, and when the new yankee workshop went to commercial, the nancy lady always had an iron with feet like that.
That was a few years back.... why is engadget reporting OLD news about irons?
Sad that we've had the iron roughly since the 17th century and only now are we stopping the burning clothes haha
@Federaly
No. of inept in today's society >>>> No. of inept in 1700
@Sam of the Sun That's because the inept died quicker in the 1600s
@Federaly
Point still stands.
@Sam of the Sun No I agree. I wasn't saying the 1600s had it wrong.
@Federaly
'Tis indeed ironic.
Typical American receptacles can only put out 1800W (120V*15A).
Plus there are already too many things to protect people from thier own stupidity, I say let em learn the hard way.
Engadget editors appreciate the fine threads.
that's definition of "genius"
A total simple easy idea that no one though before
This makes being a man 2% easier.
@Atkins
Now they just need a car that prevents accidents, that way you can be more prone to let your wife drive more often.
Sorry ladies, just going with the sexist theme of the above comment ;-)
How is this different from the Oliso iron, which has been around for years? http://www.dexigner.com/product/news-g7310.html
@stickboy Nice find. Looks like the exact same thing. The patent probably just got re-licensed to Ariete, so they're announcing it as a new (to them) product.
I got one of those oliso things or whatever. I haven't used it in a year. it's completely useless.
@stickboy
I completely agree with Dreamscape. I've had the Oliso one for about 2 years, and it looks to be completely identical. Unlike Helicity, however, I love mine. Because you leave it lying down, it is almost impossible to accidentally knock it off the ironing board. Also, you don't have to 'press' on it; it's touch-sensitive. The little feet retract as soon as you grip the handle.
Mine doesn't work properly, sometimes when you take your hand off, it stays down, foe a few seconds, then when i put my hand back on the feet don't retract for a while, sometimes they just never react. There's always lag, and it just doesn't get hot enough to iron my clothes properly. Maybe mine's a weaker model.
@stickboy
Thank you for posting about the Oliso iron! I love this iron. We use it in my sewing class. I find the auto-life function to be nice when I have to press seams: it makes the process go by much faster. I wish I had purchased the Oliso instead of my Reliable V95. The V95 is big, bulky, and dims the lights in the house when I turn it on because it sucks up so much power. The Oliso is great for either the standard consumer or the project seamster.
I've no idea how this is supposed to work. If you have to put pressure on the iron to retract the legs then you have to "press" rather than iron. I've watched my wife (quilter) iron a million miles of fabric for various projects and often she has to lightly touch the fabric to prevent distortion.
An interesting idea but I'd have to see it in action before buying.
@daqman: The video shows the grip has some sort of sensor, so perhaps you don't have to put that much downwards pressure.
Who pays more than $92 for a dress shirt??? Cmon lets at least live in the real world! My shirts NEVER cost more than $50 AT THE MOST! These "rich" people who spend that kind of money on a dress shirt probably do NOT iron their shirts, they send them to the cleaners...
@dranon: Agreed. If I spent that much money on a single shirt, I'd let the dry cleaners take care of it.
@dranon
I pay more than $100 per shirt because I have to have them custom made (big neck, short arms). I don't send them to the cleaners because I learned a long time ago that the best intentioned dry cleaner will wreck a shirt after about a year of weekly cleanings (wear and shrinking). By laundering and ironing my own shirts (and pants) I can get around 2.5 years out of a shirt and my $250 Rowenta steam pressure iron has paid for itself many times over.
As for the product in this posting, what moron leaves an iron laying on the article of clothing they're ironing? They deserve to ruin it just to teach them a lesson.
@dranon
Crud...I came all the way in here to make the same comment. If you can afford 100 bones on a shirt, why can't you dry clean them.....
@johnnj
Since when does custom making clothes cost so much? There's a billion chinese and another few billion from other more 'do-it-yourself' style poorer countries who do a fine job at a lower price, and they live in every western country.
Not to mention your older retired female relatives with plenty of time on their hands.
@Wwhat
Yeah, but there aren't a billion Chinese at my local mall. There is, however, a Brooks Brothers. The BB shirts are somewhat of bargain in comparison to a place like Turnbull and Asser. Oh, and I haven't actually paid for them in several years. I accumulate enough "Thank You" points from Citibank to supply me with a fresh inventory of shirts every two years. But I do appreciate you caring enough to advise me on how to spend my money. Oh, and my remaining "older female relative" has a PhD in education, not shirtmaking.
@johnnj
1) Brooks Brothers are a total rip off. They charge $80 for hats and $400+ for jackets.
2) Any dry cleaner that shrinks and wears out your clothing won't stay in business for long. I'm sure there is at least one good dry cleaner near you.
@WAldenIV
Thanks for the info.
I always thought that BB was pretty reasonably priced compared to some of the other options. Just because something is a rip off to you doesn't make it a bargain for someone else. It's awesome how other commenters are so interested on how much people pay for dress shirts and how they enforce their beliefs on how others should spend their money. I especially like the comment about how I should go to the Chinese community and have them make me my shirts. Racism anyone?
This actually got me interested in ironing again, but I know this interest won't last.
Hope you've got some 120VAC outlets bigger than 20A...or maybe they'll make a 240VAC unit to keep the amperage down....yeah, that sounds safe...unplug the dryer to use the iron.
if you can't get the average iron to work for you and not "char" your clothes, you're a moron.
this product is for morons.
As stated by others Olision has been making these for years. Sharper Image- remember them - used to be one of the resellers in the States.
http://www.oliso.com/iron.aspx
@charlied Ya, I picked up the same one around $30 when the Sharper Image was closing out. It's a nice iron, surprisingly works exactly as described.
Why can't they use accelerometers and shut off if movement is not detected for a period of few seconds and the iron is not vertical (if vertical then it should shut off in say 5 mins). Hmm a more advanced version should detect CO2 .. and shut off though at that point it may be too late.
Hmm I should patent that.
@JS
This was assuming that the lift off feature is also there. And/or the bottom surface of the iron had extremely low heat capacity so it cools down fast.
I think I still prefer my old iron, which has a motion sensor of some sort and turns off if in like half a minute if you don't move it. It also turns off in eight minutes if you leave it in an upright position.
"It'll set you back €65 ($92), but considering that one toasted dress shirt is probably far more expensive than that to replace, the forgetful among us should probably make the investment"
Uh, just wondering where are you buying $100+ dress shirts. And then, why if you can buy $100 shirts are you ironing them yourself? If this is normal, then I must live in poverty. o_O
@Merikov
Uh, your logic is flawed. Just because someone can afford custom shirts, doesn't preclude them from laundering and ironing themselves.
In some situations, it might be the very fact that someone is willing to do their own ironing that they can then afford custom shirts. In other situations, one may feel they are better able to care for the garments themselves. In yet other situations, the money saved by doing the ironing may free up income for other things, like sports cars and working on paying down one's debt. Or, it may be easier for one to spend a half hour a week doing ironing whenever it's convenient rather than having to drop off and pick up based on the dry cleaner's schedule.
Oliso is a U.S.-based company with really amazing people. Their products are pretty innovative and quite useful. Check them out at http://www.oliso.com/
Thats Hot :)
I've had one for more than 1.5 years. It's great. doesn't get hot enough tho, more of a steam iron. Takes too long to iron clothes haha. But it's dangerous getting use to these, I was back at my rents house for a weekend and I was ironing some shirts and I left it facing down like I always do at home... I remembered just in time and grabbed it haha.
gosh darn it, I didn't see the video http://www.autolift.it/how_to.htm
looks like it has some sort of laser sensor like a mouse, that tells it when your done moving? hmmm
I'm amazed one hundred thousand people haven't jumped on here and at least been honest: "Why didn't I think of that?"
Costco has been selling this in Canada for like 8 months - hardly news at all. Good iron though.
Hey I remember this gadget! I saw this at Sharper Image store.... before they closed down.... like 2-3 years ago... but I must say it was fun to play around with! Touch it, it drops, let go it rises, hahaha! Ooops, no sexual pun intended.