Bundle Includes Soldering Station and CHP170 Cutter

Im a solderin novice, but, with that caveat, this has worked very well (heats fast, easy to use).

I am thoroughly impressed with the quality of this product. You can feel that this iron is high quality as soon as you pick it up.... I am a shopper and looked at many options (actually own several options) and finally settled on this one. I am glad that I did...

I thought I just couldnt develop the skills to solder. Raised/burned traces, melted insulation, poor connections were my plagues. I also thought that a hot iron is a hot iron and thats all there is to it. I mean, why spend more than $10 on a soldering iron, right? I was wrong. I got this Hakko. And I can solder. And I dont burn away traces. Its got a funky and unpleasant control scheme like most digital devices these days with hidden or poorly documented required button press sequences for vital functions but thats the way it goes. I wish it had quickly manageable dials and dedicated control buttons but it seems designers prefer to do everything with one or two buttons instead of making devices effortlessly manageable. (Its like driving your car in heavy traffic at high speeds...youd like to just modify the sound shape in that raspy tune that just popped onto the airwaves but you cant quickly slide equalizer pots. Oh, no. Youve got to mingle multiple button presses with obscure icons on a LED display taking your eyes off of the dangerous traffic thereby imposing a threat against your life just so you can drop the treble a few log values.) Easy control is important to me because I will only use a soldering device a few times per year. Each time I drag it out, months will have passed and Ill have to refresh my understanding of its control sequences before I can expect to successfully perform micro-soldering of SMDs and such. However, once I get it under control, it performs like no other hot stick that Ive ever had in my hand. I really like its performance at the hot end of the stick but I hate its dashboard.

I like this station better than the last weller I had purchased.. it does a fine job of heat recovery, and so far has worked perfectly.

This is the best soldering iron Ive ever used. Would likely go for the slightly more expensive model next time as the simplified interface to set temp is too convoluted, but the product works great.

Works so much better than a basic soldering iron. Well worth the extra money.

very good unit

I think anyone who enjoys soldering and certainly anyone who, for whatever reason, needs to but hates doing it, like myself, will find this an invaluable investment that is worth every cent and probably even at twice the price. A skill that has eluded me and always a source of frustration, which I would attempt only as a last resort. Recently I developed an interest in quadcopters, a hobby that involves not only a great deal of soldering, but requires a level of precision I had never considered nor desired attaining. However, the satisfaction the hobby brings me has driven me to aquire six different soldering irons / stations and many types of solder in my effort to become efficient. Many hours of practice and 2 ruined flight control boards had finally allowed me to overcome the dread associated with the skill. Still not satisfied with the equipment I was using, I researched what the best copter builders were using and quickly found this to be the overall favorite. The only regret I have regarding the purchase of this unit, is that I didnt do my homework sooner because the difference is night and day. I can only imagine the time and frustration I might have saved by buying this early on. Overnight I went from viewing soldering as an accepted means to an end, to actually looking forward to doing it and being proud of the results. Having this unit and a little practice, along with the basic fundamentals of soldering is all that one needs to avoid much aggravation.

This is my first time using a Hakko product, and I have to say that I am most dissatisfied with it. Why is the metal portion of the soldering iron almost the same size as the rubber and plastic piece? To be fair this is not a problem with only the Hakko iron as other irons have about the same 1:1 size ratio of metal shaft to rubber and plastic. The first and second time I used this iron it burned my fingers as I would find my fingers slipping over the rubber piece onto the hot plastic piece (the ring with ridges) near the metal shaft. If you were designing this iron, common sense would tell you to design it so that it is held more like a pencil with your fingers closer to the tip. Holding the iron in this manner would give you better stability and control while using it. Consider this... no one writes with a pencil by holding it in the middle or near the eraser. You control the quality of your handwriting by keeping your fingers closer to the pencils tip, likewise, the quality of your soldering job by holding the iron closer to the tip. Another irritating feature of this unit is the digital interface. The engineer who designed this interface needs to have his brain examined. The unit has only two buttons, up and enter. There is no down button. Trying to set the temperature by simply using the up button does not work. You have to scratch your head, or read the manual to figure out how to change the temperature. This should be as easy as pressing a button, but it is not. Overall the quality of construction is very good, but the digital interface and the pencil surely disappoint. For me this unit, the FX-888D, fails when it comes to usability, hence the rating of only two stars. I place the fair market value of this unit at around $60 (my special price for this current economic climate). Lets get it there. I returned mine to Amazon for a refund.

Very high-end quality soldering iron, sleek, efficient and effective. Thanks!