HAKKO FX-888D Professional Soldering Station & Soldering Iron + Tip Set Soldering Kit 70W - 50°C to 480°C UK Plug – for Electronics, Stained Glass & Other Soldering, rework and desoldering

Really well designed and manufactured. You get what you pay for. Quick and easy to use. 5 programmable preset temperatures can be set for rapid recall. Or you can set manually. Once I had read the user guide - it was easy. Consistent temperature control. The tip is always just the right heat and ready to go. Unlike cheaper alternatives! The design works well. Soldering tips are quick and easy to change. The stand does its job well and the ‘pencil’ is just the right size and weight. The connecting cable is of the flexibility needed when you have 300 degrees C hot metal on the end of it! Unlike the cheaper ‘irons’ that often have dangerously stiff pvc cables that make it awkward and hazardous in use. This is the real thing. A solid reliable and professional product that is a joy to use. Worth every penny!

This soldering station is one of the best purchases I have made for my home lab. It’s reliable, heats up quickly and maintains a generous thermal capacity when compared to products of a similar level within the market.The outstanding build quality sets the benchmark for what a robust soldering station should feel like. Everything feels solid and the painted, cast metal dock for the iron is substantial enough to remain in place whilst cleaning the tip, so no more sliding around the bench! Storing the brass wire cleaning balls in the iron holder is a nice (and convenient) touch. The iron itself is also extremely comfortable to use for long periods without major hand fatigue setting in.The tips don’t heat us as fast as the newer direct heat irons but unless you are someone who is soldering a joint every second, or is soldering onto exceptionally large ground planes, it will make little difference. From room temperature to 350°c takes about 25 seconds or so and the station has a working range between 50-480°c.The conical tip that comes with the station doesn’t possess much thermal capacity, so I would recommend acquiring a 2mm (or larger) bevel, chisel or hoof tip to set you on your way. While the official tips are much more expensive than the cloned tips, there is a considerable difference in the performance and tolerances of the product. I tried out some cheap tips a while ago and while they seemed reasonable for the first couple of uses, I noticed some of the more eclectic tips had a miserable thermal capacity. The cheap J & K series tips had a temperature differential of 90° between the display of station and the value I was reading with a soldering iron thermometer at the irons tip – meaning that I would have to turn offset temperature of the station up to almost maximum in order to get 350°c. I’m not willing to do this in order to save a few pounds on tips, so from now on only official ones for me!The only significant downside I can see is the user interface is overly convoluted. To conserve space, Hakko have made some odd choices in regard to how the temperature of the station is adjusted and pre-sets are selected, which some people may find off putting. I generally solder at one temperature for most things (350°c) so it isn’t an issue that I have been butting heads with frequently, but anyone who likes to solder at multiple temperatures may find this awkward or even annoying while the learning curve is climbed.Is this soldering station expensive? Yes and no. It is a significant purchase and priced at perhaps four times the cost of a cheap clone station, but you are paying Hakko reliability and quality. I have no doubt that this station will last me 10 years or more. There is a reason why so many of the inexpensive soldering stations you can buy from various companies online are either direct clones of the legacy Hakko 936 stations or the companies gained their start making such copies. Hakko are the best, without a doubt.

I bought this as the cheaper irons I've had before just weren't cutting it for me. I needed something that would work straight away with ease to save time on repairs, and I got that with this little beauty. Its amazing, it heats up in seconds and also the main reason I bought it was for the awesomely fast thermal recovery.It truly does bring back the temperature much much quicker than any cheaper iron on the market. The tip it comes with is great, but I do suggest you buy more genuine tips to deal with other types of repair work. It also comes with a maximum of 5 presets which makes it easier to switch between temperatures and it also has the capability to set a password to protect the station from thieves and little ones if they manage to get into the repair room.The station itself is surprisingly heavy and sturdy, extremely well built. The iron is comfortable to hold and the 2m heat resistant cable gives you great freedom of movement.All in all I'm completely happy with this Hakko FX888D, it's expensive but designed to last a VERY long time.Don't waste your time and money on cheaper alternatives, they just don't cut it the way the hakko does.Very happy, thank you Hakko for creating this masterpiece. I just wish they still made the analogue version, maybe someday they'll bring that option back, who knows.

This is honestly the best soldering iron I've ever owned. If you solder electronics any more frequently than a few times a year, then it is definitely worth getting this.I went through a stream of other soldering irons from cheap Chinese no-names and up to Antec. I was fed up of tips dissolving, temperature being all over the place, tips coming loose with the slightest bit of pressure, collars melting and even entire irons falling apart in my hands.So out of frustration I decided to spend a bit more and got this Hakko... Wow!The temperature is feedback controlled. If I dial it down to 320 degrees C, I can solder chip pins without cooking them. The tip is solid and doesn't dissolve. The base is chunky and holds the iron well. The grip is an excellent heat insulator but is also antistatic. I have been able to easily solder surface mount components.The only reason I hesitated buying the Hakko was because it looks toy plasticy. However it's actually a really solid unit and the solder mount is all metal. They've just decided to go for glossy bright paint.

Excellent soldering iron, the options the review gave me to rate were, warmth value for money and thickness.As for warmth it's very warm and you can also adjust the warmth to get the best soldering performance. The tip it comes with isn't the best for anything other than intricate soldering jobs, but the tips are easy to come by and the cheapo ones you get for the Chinese solder stations work fine. As for its thickness well it's pretty solid and the grip is nice so for thickness I have it five stars. Value for money is also 5 stars. It sells out quick when it's in stock so get a we alert or add it to your basket.