Travel Steamers

Handheld steamers for quick jobs

Travel steamers are handheld units that hold a much smaller amount of water -- just enough to steam a suit or a dress.

The Esteam Travel Series Jiffy Steamer (*Est. $50) does well in formal testing and consumer reviews, and it is a favorite of stylists. This unit resembles a thermos and weighs 3 pounds. It takes 8 ounces of plain tap water and heats up in about one minute for 15 minutes of steaming. Jiffy Esteam is the best of six travel steamers tested by Laura Moser for Slate.com. Moser states that it provides the hottest steam, even though it's only 600 watts -- less than all but one of the other tested steamers (which range from 200 to 1,000 watts). Moser concludes, "The Jiffy is the only steamer I tested that achieves anything like the power and precision of a regular iron."

The Jiffy Esteam is touted as small enough to pack in a suitcase. On Amazon.com, 70 reviewers give the Jiffy Esteam an average rating of four stars out of five, with more than half of the reviewers giving it a perfect five-star rating. Many compare it favorably to larger, home-use clothes steamers, though several complain that it doesn't steam long enough. The Jiffy Esteam is more expensive than other travel steamers, but reviewers agree it's the best of its kind. It has a limited one-year warranty.

The SteamFast Compact Fabric Steamer SF-435W (*Est. $30) receives the second-best rating in Moser's test for Slate. It weighs just over 2 pounds and holds 7 ounces of water for 12 minutes of steaming. The wattage is 800, but this unit produces merely "just-hot-enough steam," according to Moser. Nearly 30 owners on Walmart.com provide an average rating of four stars out of five for the SteamFast. Most comments are positive, with owners appreciating how well the unit removes wrinkles. Several mention that it's been great for traveling as it is small enough to fit in a suitcase. A few complain that this steamer can drip water on clothing during use. At about half of the price of the Jiffy Esteam, the SteamFast Compact unit might be fine for occasional use while traveling, but it doesn't get the same high ratings as the Jiffy Esteam.

Good Housekeeping recognizes the Rowenta Ultra Steam DR5020 (*Est. $40) as the best handheld steamer in its roundup of seven portable models, although this steamer gets mixed reviews by owners on Amazon.com. Like the SteamFast Compact Fabric Steamer, the Rowenta Ultra Steam has 800 watts, but Good Housekeeping says, "This little champ pumped out more steam with each press of the button than any other model we tested." In a test at The Wall Street Journal, the Rowenta Ultra Steam did a nice job removing wrinkles from a dress shirt, but it couldn't do much for deeper creases.

The Rowenta Ultra Steam travel steamer holds 1.7 ounces of water, so it may require frequent refilling if you're steaming multiple garments. Weighing only 1.5 pounds, it comes with a removable fabric brush, removable lint pad and a travel pouch. A third of the 45 reviewers on Amazon.com rate this product with only one star out of a possible five, and the model earns an overall average rating of three stars out of five. The most common complaint is that it spits water onto clothing, while many reviewers said their steamer stopped working altogether after only a short time. The Rowenta Ultra Steam has a limited one-year warranty.