I have a Rowenta as well as a Euro Pro that I use for both clothing and sewing. I consider both to be fairly heavy irons. I like a heavy iron as well. My grandmother's adage...let the iron do the work for you. My experience with water/irons is that you really need to use the proper water as recommended by the manufacturer. Even within the Rowenta brand (and probably others but Rowenta I know for a fact) some models require tap water; others require distilled. The only reason my previous Rowentas have died is due to droppage. I've never had a spitting/leaking issue with any of them (2 previous).