Recommend to a Friend
Huge upgrade for me
5.0
I am not a professional solder-er-er but I am a hobbyist who solders things, this review comes from that perspective. I previously used, or struggled to use, the "cheapest I could find" Harbor Freight unit with a knob and no display. I never had any idea what temperature it really was compared to the numbers on the knob, if it had even heated up, and was always frustrated by inconsistent (and just darn ugly as sin) results because it wouldn't maintain heat, the tips would quickly oxidize or something and make it even harder to get heat to the tip. But I never knew any better, that's just how it was. Then I attended a class where this Pace unit was provided at my workstation. I really enjoyed not being angry for the first time while soldering, I didn't know that was possible. I scratched down the model info, and later down the road went ahead and bought my own to upgrade my home shop. Pretty quick, I ordered on a Saturday, it shipped that following Monday, arrived Wednesday. It is incredibly simple and easy to use, heats right up to temp instantly. On/off switch. Red up arrow hotter, blue down arrow colder. Temperature at the tip displayed in real time. I am not a smart man, so the simplicity is very suitable. The tool stand, although a good hunk of metal and stable on its own, can marry to the side of the unit (hardware is included in the package to do this) so it's a completely one-handed tool. It all sits together very neatly like this, which may be a rookie observation but it makes a world of difference to me as far as the layout of my workbench, and keeping my project area tidy so as to not be constantly knocking things over while I'm trying to solder multiple things at once that are held in place by a delicate arrary of helping hands, vises, tweezers, wires between my teeth, between my toes... My old cheap tool stand would fall over from the memory in the cord itself sometimes, and you had to hold on to it while cleaning the tip or it would run away on account of having no gravity to it. It wouldn't be a real tool review if I didn't say the magic phrase "feels good in the hand," but I'll add that it 100% does match its advertisement blurb. The handle doesn't even get warm, and it looks and feels like it is indeed suited for professional industrial/assembly use. Definitely feels like a pretty high-grade "buy-once-cry-once" for me as merely a hobby guy tinkering with wires and chips, someone with more skill and knowledge might be able to squeeze some more ability out of a cheap-o setup that I can't, but I am totally satisfied with this soldering station and the money spent. I have never written a review for a tool before, I just really like the thing. I usually seek out tool reviews from normal folks instead of Youtubers that bring you "unbiased" reviews of tools they got sent for free from the company to advertise, so if you're a kindred spirit in that aspect, I hope that this review finds you well. This one may not be the cheapest choice on the market, but by golly it was my choice, and I'm very glad I made it. 5/5 stars, highly recommend.
Verified Purchase
BRIAN SMITH on
Feb 19, 2024
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