Bundle Includes Soldering Station and CHP170 Cutter

Not near as useful as Weller soldering station since the Hakko heat recovery time is much longer and not a production shop tool. Works ok for limited casual use. If you set it for 700 degrees and start a job it will quit soldering and you have to wait for it to catch up. Very irritating for someone needing to do 4 hours worth of work. I tried two different size tips. Same results. I quit using this dud and went back to my old Weller.

No instructions about certain parts of the unit. Nothing about it on the manufacturers website. No response to emails.

I dont love a lot of products, theres usually too many annoying quirks for my low tolerance of quirks. But this gadget has really made my soldering experience much, much better. Iron heats quickly, has easy controls, nice cleaning accessories, long cables. Its great. I started on cheap Radio Shack pencils, moved up to $30 entry level stations, they never heated fast enough or apparently hot enough. Thus I was always holding the iron to the components way longer than I should have, often burning traces off PCBs. This iron is perfect, soldering is fast, stress free. Writing this review makes me want to go solder something, its a joy to use this. And Im going to enjoy being able to easily source tips when that day comes.

I have used this for soldering, de-soldering, burning random patches of skin on my arm and much more, and its done each job with ease. I especially like the long, heat-resistant cord connecting the iron itself to the base unit. Its very flexible, doesnt melt or smoke if you accidentally hit it with the iron, and is long enough the keep the base unit back and out of the way and still reach your work. Temperature adjustment is a cinch, and it holds temp very well, with a fairly quick heat up time, and it reheats in a snap. Its not a real-time temp display of the tip, but it does give you a ballpark, which is good enough for most work. The chisel tip is a good size for most projects as well, Ive done through-hole and a couple larger SMD components with no problem, desoldered large wire groups from a PSU board, and even put together a couple large PL-259 connectors and its been more than adequate. The bundled side-cutters are nice and sharp too, with a good spring action.

Do yourself a favor and just buy it! Great temperature control and easy to set temp. Other reviewers may have commented on the two button interface for the more complicated settings (which probably 90% of us would never use, a password, really???), but really its a reading comprehension thing. Never read one word about how to set the temp, and push and push/hold some buttons and there you go. Wet sponge and wire sponge work great and the power unit and holder are substantially heavy that things dont move around on you. I love using it and feel I made a great decision based on the other Amazon reviews. Thanks guys :) P.S. The bonus CHP170 cutter is excellent and I use it all the time!

If you need to solder SMD or very fine components, or you just want to make regular through-hole soldering a worry-free pleasure, get this and get the T18 BR02 tip (conical but with a shoulder, so you can get in anywhere and just heat what you need). I know Im jinxing myself, but I havent lifted a pad yet, in several weekends of fooling around with SOIC-8s. This iron is just worlds better than any radio shack special Id ever used before. The included cutters are actually very nice - flush instead of slightly inset like most diagonal cutters, and they feel solid and well made.

not a single complaint.

I have been fumbling around with cheap Radio Shack soldering irons and junk for years and decided to get serious and order this. This is like driving a luxury vehicle. You realize what you have been missing with inferior stuff. If you solder a lot like I do, this station will make your life so much easier. It heats up to 750 degrees in a few seconds (in a cold garage). The iron tip is easy to clean with the included base, and most important of all it houses the hot iron securely and has a longer, very flexible cord. The iron is very light, so using it in different angles and for longer periods of time is no problem. Ive been using it for a few weeks now and I can never go back to anything else. I read a review that said replacement tips for Hakko are more expensive than other brands, but I found some here on Amazon for around 5 bucks so I dont see an issue.

Heats up fast. Great selection of quality tips. Solid construction. Nice display. Beefy metal stand. Controls are not exactly intuitive, but manageable. Excellent value; I sold my 20 year old plain-jane no-frills Weller and bought this, no regrets.

I was very much on the fence about this station vs. the comparable Weller one, and am happy with this. It looks like a cheap toy in the photos, but once you get past that its very nice to use. Heats up very fast, takes inexpensive tips, and the stand is very sturdy. No complaints, I bought a second one for my other bench.