Seb,
I think that I've used just about every iron on the market these days and I can say that all of them are pretty much the same. I haven't found one that would stand out in my mind as being better than the others. You should do fine with the one you listed.

As for using a hot sock. I use baby socks. I do a LOT of covering and a few dollars worth of socks lasts me for at least a couple of years. When I am covering I keep two covering irons heated up (well three if you count the trim iron). One iron has no sock on it and I use it for tacking down covering, sealing the edges of covering, and anything else that I need to heat and direct pressure to secure down. The other iron I use will have the covering sock on it. I keep this one heated up a little hotter to compensate for the sock being on the iron. I use this iron for adhering the covering down to the wood of the plane. After tacking down the covering I will then seal all around the edges. I then use my heat gun to shrink the material down. Then I use the iron with the sock on it to adhere the the covering down to the wood.

Hope this helps

Ken