I purchased a Rowenta travel iron for classes and vacation sewing/quilting. It is great, it gets super hot. I got this idea from Sharon Schamber during one of her classes. It has a long handle. Sharon had a small board covered in carpet type material and just layed the iron down on its side after each use. I use a hot pad on a towel. I never unplug it and keep it next to my machine on the towel. You can use steam or not.
For patchwork it is excellent.
When purchasing an iron, it depends on your intended use. For ironging cloting you would need a larger iron than this travel iron.
Diana