Question Soldering Iron Suggestions

[Supreme Device]

Hey, I need a new soldering iron and was wondering which brand I should get. I was thinking about getting this one http://a.co/cROX3zl as it had pretty good reviews, but was wondering if I should try to get a Hakko or Weller iron instead as they seem to be the standard on these forums.

 

[Stitches]

Can't go wrong with a Hakko, but make sure it's legit. There are a lot of fakes floating around.

 

[Supreme Device]

Would you have any specific recommendations for Hakko irons or can I go with the cheapest legit one and be fine?

 

[Stitches]

The Hakko fx-888D is the best value for functionality.

 

[GingerOfOz]

The Hakko 888 is a really nice iron that people here recommend. I actually just ordered one through a Black Friday add, but it maybe too late for that now. If you have a Fry's near you, then you could check and see if they have any left. If the 888 is out of your price range, then check out this iron.

I would not order that iron you linked to. If it comes with a lot of accessories and is really cheap, then every part of that kit is going to be awful. I learned this the hard way. If it's too good to be true, then it is. Save yourself a headache, money, and time and order a nice iron.

Good luck!

 

[Crazzyleprechaun]

I have had the Hakko 888-D for around 2 years now maybe more and its been working great since I bought it. You wont regret your purchase you may have to buy a new tip every once and awhile but they are cheap and with all the money I saved on crappy radio shack irons I spent on more Wiis!

 

[fibbef]

I’m not going to dump on the 888 because I’m sure it’s a quality tool, but even the lowliest of the Hakko brand is good stuff. I have a Hakko 508 that I got 3 years ago and it works great! I may not use it as much as some other modders would, but it has held up and I haven’t needed to change the tip on it yet.

 

[The Save State Gamer]

I have THIS soldering iron and I love it. Once you use a digital display, you will never go back to a dial. The tip is really fine and super durable; I have had this iron for over a year now and I haven't had to replace the tip. The iron also uses a ceramic heating element, so it is way more efficient than the regular wire-wound heating element irons. Features include temperature calibration, 3 savable temperature presets, and power usage notifier. $60 at MicroCenter.

 

[Herma]

If you can spring a couple hundred I'd highly suggest a Metcal/OKI station.

And I agree with the talks of Hakko. I use an FM203 occasionally at work and I dig it, though I would understand if it's a bit out of your budget.

I've had mixed results with Tenma. Fairly good for the price point, but I always felt like I was compromising for price.

 

[The Save State Gamer]

I've had mixed results with Tenma. Fairly good for the price point, but I always felt like I was compromising for price.

That may be the case, but I still haven't found a job that the Tenma soldering iron wasn't good for. Additionally, both my solder-sucker and multimeter are Tenma products (all three from MicroCenter as I live quite near there) and I love them both. Perhaps there is a logarithmic curve that explains the price to quality relationship, but with that in mind I don't think that I would spend $100+ on a soldering iron as I don't think the quality would be that much better or make my work that much easier for the price.

EDIT: Price most definitely matters though. Don't EVER buy a RadioShack soldering iron or anything cheap like that. They are total crap! I can't even recount how much time (through frustration and bad joints) or money (through damaged products) that the RadioShack iron cost me.

 

[cheese]

Don't EVER buy a RadioShack soldering iron or anything cheap like that. They are total crap! I can't even recount how much time (through frustration and bad joints) or money (through damaged products) that the RadioShack iron cost me.

Any iron that directly plugs into the wall will fail like these, but I actually have a radioshack adjustable iron (one with a station and shit) and it's lasted for years without issue (granted it was like 100 bucks).

Though at this point, it kinda doesn't matter, since radioshack is essentially gone from everywhere...