Used to laugh at guys who spent $300 on a soldering station. Then I bought a Hakko FX-888D and holy crap I was wrong.

I was hardcore team $30 Amazon special for like 5 years. Told everyone spending more was a scam. Then my buddy brought his Hakko to a group repair thing last month and I tried it. Temperature actually stayed where I set it. Tips didn't oxidize in a week. Finished a controller board rework in half the time. Went home and ordered one that night. Anyone else have a tool they were dead wrong about?

2 comments

2 Comments

henrycooper10d ago

Ha! Same exact thing happened to me with a torque wrench. Bought a cheap one from Harbor Freight, thought it was fine. Then stripped a bolt on my car and realized the damn thing never clicked right.

martin.felix10d ago

The thing nobody talks about is that even a good torque wrench needs to be calibrated every so often, you know? A cheap one might never have been set right from the factory, but a nice one can drift out of spec too if you drop it or leave it set too high. I wonder how many people blame the tool when the real problem is they never had it checked.