I don’t straighten my hair, personally, so I don’t have any first hand experience to speak of. I also wouldn’t spend so much money on a straightener, but here are some things I found around the web:
“The first flat iron produced by this company was the tourmaline flat iron. This company was one of the first to use tourmaline in its products. Tourmaline is a semi precious stone which has 6 times more quality of negative irons than the commonly used ceramic. Researches have shown that the high amount of negative ions produced in this metal aid in the break down of water droplets which is then absorbed into the hair shaft. This makes your hair look naturally silky and bouncy and also protects your hair” -http://ezinearticles.com/?T3-Flat-Iron-Review&id=2022903
“Ipurchased this product about few months ago and take extremely good care of it. HOWEVER, one of the plates has fallen out! It is a great iron when you first buy it, but beware. It has a high price tag ($160) and not so good quality. How many of us can afford a new one every year?” -customer review
*Over 70 percent of 1000 users of T3 tools have reported that even after three months of usage, T3 tools did not affect the condition of the hair – some even reported less damage or no damage to the hair. (Data based on a survey conducted by Impulse Research – February 2008)