Bundle Includes Soldering Station and CHP170 Cutter

Way better then the cheapo hardware store version it replaces. A bit tricky to set up - as described in other reviews, but once that is out of the way, its easy to use. I do have to refresh my memory when I pull it out for a job if I havent used it in awhile.

As others have said, this is a great soldering station. I debated between this and a Weller, but was concerned about Wellers quality control issues. I am quite pleased with the Hakko from B+D Enterprises.

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

Hakko irons are generally well-regarded, and having used the analog FX-888 at work, this seemed like a winner when I was looking to purchase my own personal iron. However, the user interface is terrible. After reading through the included manual, I switched it on and tried to increase the temperature. One would naturally assume you do this by pressing the UP button. However, this does nothing. If you hold down the UP button, you are able to enter a temperature. Great! So I bump it up to 800°F and press enter... and the display starts counting down from 800 back to 750! Mystified, I try this a few more times before I go back and look at the manual. Turns out that was a HUGE mistake. What I was actually doing was adjusting the temperature calibration! Since I dont remember exactly how many times I tried setting the temperature, I cant easily undo those adjustments. So now I have a brand new iron whose temperature calibration is severely out of whack. There is an undocumented factory reset procedure, but this will not set the temperature calibration back to what it was when it was shipped to you, so you still might need to recalibrate it. Note that the tip thermometer you need to recalibrate it costs more than twice as much as the iron. It should not be this easy to royally mess up your iron.

Instantly made go from really crappy solder skills to mediocre solder skills! Heats up fast, digital controls for more bling, solid stand. Whats not to love? Dont skimp on a cheap iron, especially if you are wanting to improve your skills. With a good iron youll find yourself wanting to use it more.

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.

This is my first experience with a temperature controlled soldering iron. So much easier to use! I really like iy

Hakko could make a better looking unit, but it works amazing. The temp control function is annoying at first but goes away with further use.

This thing works great, it actually makes soldering fun for me. In addition to the small chisel tip that came with it, I purchased a 5.2mm chisel tip that is much larger and can transfer a lot more heat for soldering 12 gauge wire and brushless motor terminals and ESC terminals, works awesome. Just remember to always tin the tip and always put it away with a layer of solder on the tip.

I use this for wiring guitars. I dont do it every day, not even every weekend, but often enough that I should have bought something decent a long time ago. Guitars mainly use someting on the order of 20 gauge wire, sometimes lead-free stuff (on OEM wiring) and sometimes leaded (I use leaded solder... Im not exporting anything.) Ive had a few Wellers that I tried to take care of that were in pretty bad shape after 6 months, 40 watt dumb soldering irons that cooked pots and stuff because they couldnt stay hot enough when there were more than a couple of small wires involved. First I bought a 25-watt and I used it for quite a while, but it had trouble getting ground wires off the pot casings. Then I bought a 40-watt and it had the same trouble - though it did get the casing REALLY nice and hot for me (thats bad.) Finally I thought, Why not get yourself a nice soldering station, Dave? Maybe if you had something that maintained a constant temperature like the ones you used back in school... Boy, I am smart sometimes. I should listen to me more often. I have used and abused this thing for months now, and the tip looks brand new. Flip the switch on and it heats to 750 degrees in a matter of seconds (the digital readout is awesome!) and it can handle even the stupidest gigantic blob of wires and solder you throw at it with ease. Its absolutely fantastic, hands down. Sure it may look like a clown threw up on a Fischer Price My First Soldering Iron, but once you get past the yellow and blue coloring scheme this thing is first class. BTW its all metal, even though it kind of looks like plastic in the picture. This thing is quality. I like good stuff, I highly recommend this. Even if youre a hobbyist, if you have the money, buy this. You wont regret it.