I haven't had the Vidal Sassoon VS531OUK Pro-Elite straightners for very long but I have used them twice and was very impressed. They made my hair poker straight and didn't damage my hair as much as the GHD's did, the GHD's made them feel like straw!
It comes with a carry case which I haven't worked out how to get the straightners in yet, they have a very comfortable grip and are easy to use.

Vidal Sassoon VS531OUK Pro-Elite: I've had these straighteners for over a year now, after a friend recomended them to me. They've been good, but since I've got poker straight hair anyway, it didn't take much to straighten it. I would not recommend these sraighteners to anyone who has curly/thick hair, because even with mine, it tended to go out of shape in a matter of hours, especially in the wind.
Also I found my hair tends to dry up with these, compared to other straighteners.

Vidal Sassoon VS531OUK Pro-Elite: At first I was very impressed when I first tried them. They heated up to 220 degrees and left my hair poker straight, which is no easy task.

Then after a month the ceramic coating has started peeling, they also started snagging my hair and breaking it as the remaining coating on it has become rough.
They also seem to have lost heat leading to a less satisfactory result.

Vidal Sassoon VS531OUK Pro-Elite - I had these straighteners 6 weeks before the ceramic coating stared peeling off. They were really good at straightening my hair. I took them back to the shop and changed them for a new pair. I got the new version of them, the Vidal Sassoon Maximum with glass plates and they are complete rubbish! I would not recommend them to anybody. All my friends tried them on their hair and we ended putting them away and using somebody else's. I now have to pay for some new ones, after wasting £60.

Vidal Sassoon VS531OUK Pro-Elite - These straighteners work really well on my really curly hair - I was very impressed with the results. I particularly like the fact that you can change the heat setting, although I always use mine on the highest heat! I was a bit disappointed when the ceramic coating started to come off the plates after only a couple of months, although Argos were happy to replace them for me and they do come with a 2 year guarantee. I've never had any professional straighteners but I wouldn't want to after using these.

If you just want to have a break in spending lots of money on a pair, but I have now owned two of the Vidal Sassoon VS531OUK Pro-Elite all within a space of two months, each time either the heating went to cold or just gave up!!! That money I tried to save has now been spent taking them back to the shops....

Vidal Sassoon VS531OUK Pro-Elite - I had GHDs but I broke them for the second time so thought I should just get a cheaper pair in case I do it again. I never expected to get a pair as good as, maybe even better than, GHDs for £40! GHDs were good but I can't see how my Vidal Sassoon ones are any different except the price! And they look just as good if not better. Great buy!

Vidal Sassoon Straighteners were a great buy - good value for money - price £30 at Argos, maximium temperature approximately 110-120 on par with ghd's -can't argue with that!