When it comes to products such as an iron I won't pretend to know what I am talking about. I wouldn't say I am the keenest around when it comes to household work, I therefore don't know a great deal about what I am looking for when it comes to such products.

The Tesco Value IR08 Steam Iron cost me under a fiver when I bought it last year and it has lasted me well. The reason I bought it was partly due to the price, the look of the iron also drew me in. For this price I expected a plain and boring iron (probably white), but the attractive design sold itself to me. I wouldn't be confident in saying for definate what colour it is (!), although it seems like purple/pink/violet all rolled into one! I am a man but the colour doesn't put me off as it isn't something I intend to use outside the home! The 'girly' colour is complemented with a white band over the handle and to the skirt of the iron.

One of the other points that appeal to me is that the iron only has a couple of functions. The settings are easy to use on different materials and the steam button allows you to activate a short burst of steam as and when you need it. I use an extension cable with the iron, as I would recommend anyone to do as the flex isn't long enough to allow you to do your ironing anywhere other than right next to the plug socket. The flex feels robust enough to last a long time and even though the iron is lightweight it doesn't look or feel as cheap as it really was.

I find that the iron heats up quite quickly and I am soon ready to get to work :( . creases are easy to manage with the IR08 Steam Iron and as the iron is light it doesn't take a great deal of effort. Items such as t-shirts and work trousers are quite easy to iron, but when it comes to my jeans or a thick jumper the iron doesn't cope so well. That said, it just means I have to put a little more effort into it and the end result is acceptable. I think the weight of the iron plays a big role in this, but for under a fiver I can't really argue.

As the Tesco Value IR08 Steam Iron is quite basic this makes it an ideal iron for someone on their own. having few clothes to iron I don't use it as much as someone ironing for their whole family. I think if you fall under this category then you would be better advised to look for something a bit more robust and with a few more features. For my use, though, it is ideal and gets 4 stars due to its limitations.