We Tried the Iron That’s Perfect for People Who Hate Ironing

Welcome to Skimm Tested, where we put products to the test and then give 'em a report card. (Check out all of our tried-and-tested faves here.)

The assignment…

To see if the Nori Press, a handheld, flatiron-inspired steamer-iron duo, effectively removes wrinkles from clothes and fabrics. (If you’re picturing Lauren Conrad in the first episode of “The Hills”...you’re exactly right.) We also tested the brand’s fabric shaver, the Nori Trim, to see how well it removed extra pilling and lint from clothes.

Straight A’s in…

• Ease of use. If you’ve ever straightened your hair, you’ll instantly get the hang of the Nori Press: You just run the press through, over, and under your clothes. With its two nonstick aluminum plates, you can simultaneously iron the front and back of a piece at once. 

• Effectiveness. Spoiler: The Press really works. Our testers successfully removed wrinkles and creases from their clothing in minutes. 

• Safety. It’s got built-in sensors that ensure automatic shut-off after 10 minutes of no movement. So you won’t have to panic that you’ve accidentally left it on if you leave home.  

• Versatility. It has six specific fabric settings for ironing: poly, silk, wool, cotton, denim, and linen — so you can ensure you’re getting the right amount of heat for your item. Plus, it has a steamer function that’s super easy to use.

• Being travel-friendly. No ironing boards needed, which also makes it ideal for anyone living in a small space. It packs up tightly just like a straightener would.

Room for growth…

• Use with larger items. It’s best for shirts and small items. In order for the plates to reach the middle of a big sheet, towel, or blanket, you'd have to bunch up the sides of your fabric in the handle to reach (therefore creasing those parts of whatever you’re ironing). And while the handle is elongated, it’s really not large enough to reach to the center of a bedsheet.

• The steamer spout. It was difficult to fill up without getting water everywhere. Once the liquid was in, there wasn’t much leakage, but filling up the gauge was a little tricky. The brand recs purchasing their steam solution to either use it as the steamer fluid itself or as a spray on your wrinkled garment before you steam (the added moisture’s supposed to improve the Nori’s ironing performance). And if you don’t purchase that, Nori recs using distilled water — which our testers didn’t have. Both used tap water and had no issues. 

• Weight. At 1.4 pounds, it’s not heavyweight, but it’s also not the lightest thing ever. So though it packs up nicely for travel, it will add some heft to your bags — and give you a little arm workout if you’re plowing through a ton of pieces.

Our thoughts on the Nori Trim…

• The fabric shaver works exactly as expected. And if you’ve never used one before it’s a game changer. It lets you kiss all the pilling on your beloved scarves, towels, and fabrics goodbye thanks to its six precision razor blades. 

• And it truly works wonders — our testers successfully removed pet hair, lint, and mounds of old pilling off of sweaters, blankets, and towels. We can’t recommend it enough. Though one of our testers did note they had a bit of trouble using it on their beloved Lululemon Wunder Unders.  

• The Trim comes with a charging cord, canvas carrying bag, and two extra blades. It also has an accompanying blade cover for safe storage.

Plays well with…

• Anyone who thought they hated ironing. The Press really does make it fun and easy. 

• Small-space dwellers. The compact size, steamer functionality, and no ironing board needed? Unbeatable. 

• People who live with animals and have fur all over their clothes or couch. The Trim is *chef’s kiss*. 

• Those who want to revitalize some old pieces instead of tossing ’em. 

Gets extra credit for…

• Packaging and design. The Press comes in a sleek box we simply didn’t wanna throw away. Plus, the branding is genius. Nori = iron spelled backwards? This is not your grandma’s iron. We repeat. This is not your grandma’s iron.

• Its 8-foot power cord. So you can easily maneuver the Press sans any tangles or tugs. 

• Heating up quickly. If you’re short on time, you can turn it on, iron your item, and be out the door in minutes.

How we did our homework…

• We had two Skimm HQ’rs test the Nori Press and Nori Trim over the course of a month, using both on a variety of clothes and fabrics. We paid particular attention to how hot the Press got, how quickly it turned on, how it worked on a variety of materials, and how easy it was to switch modes. We used the Trim on different materials and noted how successful it was at actually removing pilling and dust, and how easy it was to empty the piled-up lint once it accumulated. 

Footnotes…

• The Nori Press: $120. Comes in five colors — white, black, blue, green, and pink. 

• The Nori Trim: $59. Comes in white and blue.  

• The Nori bundle (both the Press and the Trim): $155.