Soldering is a skill and an art form. I’ve learnt the skill and I can confidently solder most projects into life. As for artistry, I am still panting by numbers. Just like an artist has their favorite brush / pencil / tablet, those who solder have their preferred soldering iron. Originally, I was team Antex, and the XS25 served me well. But then I started using smart soldering irons. Starting with the original Pinecil, then the Pinecil V2, Minware TS101, and many more.

Fanttik’s $77 T1 Max wireless soldering iron isn’t as smart as others that I have used, but what it lacks in “smarts” it makes up for in ease of use. With just a dial and a push button, the T1 Max gets to work, but deep inside the soldering iron, there are quality of life improvements to save the 2600mAh battery and the soldering iron tips.

Join me as I put the Fanttik T1 Max through its paces on my new workbench.

Fanttik T1 Max Specifications

Fanttik T1 Max Look and Feel

The design of the Fanttik T1 Max is pleasingly simple for a portable soldering iron. There is no OLED screen or buttons. We just have a dial at the rear of the unit which selects the soldering temperature. Set your temperature, then press and hold the power button to start heating the soldering tip to your desired temperature. The power button is about a third of the way from the hot end of the soldering iron, and the rubberized grip.

The grip is large and somewhat comfortable to use, despite being nearly an inch thick. But because of the soldering iron's balance, with weight at the back, it feels off-center, and I found myself gripping nearer to the power button. This meant that I was gripping an area with little or no friction, and my hand easily slid around. I quickly learnt to move my grip to the correct position, but there were a few times where I shifted my grip.

Another issue that I noticed was with the grip itself. It does provide a small guard from the hot end of the soldering iron, there is no “real” guard that will stop your fingers sliding off. Sure, there is no guard on the TS101, Pinecil, or Fnirsi HS-01 and HS-02 soldering irons that I have tested, but they were smaller and had “grippier” grips, or the grip was further back.

I would’ve preferred to have seen a better guard on the Fanttik T1 Max, but it would ruin the aesthetic. The thickness of the Fanttik T1 Max and uneven weight make it uncomfortable for long soldering sessions. A smaller, lighter soldering iron is much better for those tasks. But for quick projects, the Fanttik T1 Max is fine.

Just in front of the grip is a ring of LED lights that illuminate where you are soldering. This is an interesting idea, and my HOTO electric screwdriver does the same thing, but for both tools, it adds little to the task at hand.

The power button also provides a basic level of indication, alerting you to low battery levels, charging status, heating up, etc.

The Fanttik T1 Max rests in a rather fancy-looking holder. The hot tip points down, and is a couple of centimeters from the base of the holder. The holder can be rotated to bring the iron nearer to your hand, and it can be positioned for left and right-handed persons.

The base itself hides a compartment for a selection of soldering tips. Press the drawer inwards and it pops out with three spare tips (knife, hooked point, and precision point). This is a really nice touch, and it provides somewhere to keep alternative tips, instead of adding them to my overflowing soldering drawer. I did notice that at certain angles, the base was a little wobbly; it only has three points of contact to the desk; four would’ve been a much better choice.

The included sponges, in black and yellow, are housed in a circular dish, and a few squirts of distilled water brought my test sponge to life. They work well enough, but I much prefer brass wool to clean the tip.

Also in the kit was a solder sucker, which looks similar to my Engineer-branded model. I did not use the solder sucker, as it was not pertinent to the review, but it was nice to have.

Soldering with the Fanttik T1 Max

I connected the Fanttik T1 Max soldering iron to my Pinepower desktop station and, using a USB Type-C lead, I charged the unit ready for a morning of soldering. I expected the unit to charge using USB Type C PD, but my unit charged at 5V 1A until it was full.

I selected a small knife-edge soldering tip from the pop-out tray, and I unscrewed the collet and slid the soldering iron tip until there was resistance. I screwed the collet in place and then powered up the soldering iron. A mere 12.14 seconds later, it was up to my working temperature (350 degrees C), and I was ready to go. I really like the auto-sleep function, which drops the tip temperature if the soldering iron’s vibration sensor doesn’t detect movement for 15 seconds. If left for a full 15 minutes, the soldering iron will shut off.

My goal for this test was to solder up an RC2040 Computer Kit from Extreme Electronics. This kit uses a Raspberry Pi Pico to emulate an RC2014 Z80 type system running CP/M-80. I have a thing for old computers and soldering, so the two married nicely.

The kit comprises through-hole and surface-mounted components. Through-hole is no problem for my aging eyes, but surface mount is a challenge for both my eyes and dexterity. Let's see how the Fanttik T1 Max holds up.

Through-hole parts were a breeze. My choice of leaded solder melted easily at 350 degrees C, and I soon had all of the shorter components on the board. Next up, I had to solder in the micro SD card slot and the Raspberry Pi Pico. I powered down the soldering iron and left it to cool. In 2 minutes and 10 seconds, the tip was cool enough for me to remove and replace with the hooked point. Heating the iron back to 350 C, I tinned and prepared the new tip, then started soldering the surface-mount components.

I started with the micro SD card slot and, surprisingly, it went perfectly! No bridges or cold joints, just finely soldered connections to the PCB. The Raspberry Pi Pico was a different story. The Pico has castellated edges for surface-mount soldering, and these are sometimes difficult to solder. This was one of those times. With the hooked tip, it was difficult to get heat into the castellated edge and the PCB pad. I managed it, but after a while, I swapped back to the knife-edge tip to give myself a little more thermal mass, but the tip would occasionally get stuck in the solder. This typically means that the tip has lost temperature and needs a moment to heat up.

This happens with battery-powered soldering irons. The power supply won’t just dump power into the tip until the battery dies. Instead, it regulates the tip temperature, but sometimes what we demand is not what it can constantly provide. For my own peace of mind, I had to check the connections between the castellated edges and the PCB pads. I didn’t want to go to all of this effort for the kit not to work. So I grabbed my trusty UNI-T UT58C multimeter and beeped out (continuity tested) the connections. Some were bad, so I reflowed them and retested. After that, all was good.

I finished off the rest of the connections, and the kit was built and, yes dear reader, it worked!

Next, I wanted to test the Fanttik T1 Max with a larger solder joint. So I dug into my maker box and found some 3mm (AWG 9) thick marine-grade copper wire that I got when a local store closed down. This is the kind of cable used to supply power, so it has multiple strands of pure copper running through it, making it tough to solder. Many makers just use mechanical connections or a really beefy soldering gun. Can the Fanttik T1 Max solder this cable? In a word, “barely.”

There was just enough power at 350 degrees C to get the wire to accept solder, so I bumped the temp up to 450 C and things went better, but it still took a very long time to even tin the copper. Joining two wires together was frustrating, and I never had enough power to make them stick. I retested with the Fanttik T1 Max connected to a USB-C power source, and the result was the same.

For precision soldering on circuit boards etc, the Fanttik T1 Max is a good option, but for beefier solder joints, you’ll need a more powerful soldering iron like iFixit’s Smart Soldering Hub.

Fanttik T1 Max User Interface

As I mentioned earlier, the only visual feedback on the Fanttik T1 Max is the power button LED. It has three colors, red, green, and white, identifying the soldering iron’s current status.

I like this, but sometimes I had to refer to the instructions to understand what was happening. After using the soldering iron for a while, I got a grasp as to what was going on, but it felt awkward.

One thing that didn’t feel awkward was the dial used to control the temperature. This was so simple to use, and luckily it had my preferred working temperature (350 C), but what if I preferred 315C or 360C? Well, I am out of luck as the dial uses 50-degree increments, so I would have to adapt my soldering speed to match the heat of the tip.

Fanttik T1 Max Soldering Tips

The C210 soldering tips are very different to those used on the TS100, Pinecil, and even my faithful Yihua soldering station. But they look similar to those used on the WEP 982 III soldering station and the Fnirsi HS-02 smart soldering iron. I checked, and yes, standard C210 type soldering iron tips can be used. That makes finding alternatives / replacements on Aliexpress or elsewhere very easy (and affordable).

Bottom Line: Who is the Fanttik T1 Max For?

The design of the Fanttik T1 Max makes it look and feel like a lifestyle product, for those who want to solder something but have never picked up a soldering iron before. The performance backs this up, as it only has power for small / light jobs. If you have a big soldering project in mind, then you should buy a more powerful kit.

I enjoyed using the Fanttik T1 Max. It is a great soldering iron for lighter tasks, but its size and uneven weight make it feel a little too “alien” in the hand. That said, the simplicity it affords means that it suits those new to soldering, or for quick and simple soldering projects.

You’ve taken a look at the best soldering irons and soldering stations, and you are ready to put some fresh solder into a project. But what are the “hot soldering tips” that you need before you get started? We’ve got them right here for you!

Safety First

Before you start soldering, you need to be safe. So let's make sure that you are! I know that this will read as a downer, you want to get soldering! But it is best to follow these safety steps first, rather than risk injury or accidents.

1. Don’t hold the hot end! We’ve all seen the meme. Heck, I parody it in the lead image. Seriously, soldering irons get hot. Don’t touch the hot end, even if you drop the soldering iron, don’t try and catch it. I have a scar between my fingers that proves soldering irons are hot!

2. A clear workspace is a must. Move everything that you don’t need. Clutter can be distracting, especially when you are trying to work around it. Give yourself space to work.

3. Put your equipment within easy reach. Think about it. You’ve got a 350 °C soldering iron in your hand, and you need to grab something. Put the tools within easy reach and make sure that your dominant/soldering hand is near the soldering iron holster and that the wire is not across your body/lap/desk. Any tools should be out of the soldering area, but easily reachable. Use a silicone soldering mat to denote the soldering area, and protect your bench.

4. Solder fumes are bad! Soldering with lead or lead free solder means there are fumes. These fumes are typically made from the flux, used to flow the solder. The flux cleans and prepares the surface to receive solder and burns off as we apply heat. Get some good extraction, or at least open a window and solder near it!

5. Eye safety, because new eyeballs are expensive! Don’t do “the safety squint” (yes, I used to do that.) Get some safety glasses to protect your eyes! A splash of hot solder to your hand hurts, to your eyes it will be agony and require a trip to the ER.

The Right Tool for the Right Job!

As spoken by Chief Engineer Montgomery “Scotty” Scott, you need the right tools for the job at hand. Just like 3D printing needs tools, so does soldering. With the right tools you’ll have a pleasant experience building a project. The wrong kit will make it difficult and miserable, yes I have done that and learnt the hard way!

1. Pick a soldering iron that is up to the task. That 8W USB soldering iron is not going to solder any heavy duty cable, and a soldering gun is not a precision instrument. Personally, I favor a soldering station with a hot air wand, like the Yihua 938BD+. It covers 90% of the tasks that I need, but it isn’t portable, so what I am soldering has to be on the bench. If you need portability, iFixit’s portable soldering station is a capable piece of kit, but you’ll pay for it!

Smart soldering irons such as the Frnirsi HS-01 and HS-02 are a great balance of power and portability. I prefer the HS-01 as it feels much better in the hand, but both are viable. Pinecil v2 is a great soldering iron too, as is the Miniware TS101 which has both USB Type C and DC power inputs.

2. Pick the right soldering tip. If you want to lay down the heat, then you’ll need the power to do so, and the right tip. The go-to conical tip is great for most jobs, hence it comes as standard, but if you need precision then a sharp pointed tip is a must. The problem though is that there is very little surface area and that means it’ll take longer to heat up. Chisel tips are a good compromise. I use a 34 degree chisel tip that gives me surface area to lay down the heat, but the angle means I have a level of precision. The best thing you can do is buy a selection of soldering tips for your soldering iron.

3. Good flush cutters are a must. You’ve just soldered something beautiful, but it has ugly component legs that need to be cropped. Do you just buy a cheap pair of flush cutters? You can, and they will work, but a good pair of cutters will make your hard work look better. I use a set of Engineer NS-04 Micro Nippers and they produce clean cuts every time!

4. Components get hot, keep your hands safe. The human body is fragile and we don’t react to heat very well. You need some tweezers to hold components in place, because your fingers will get burnt. This is especially important when soldering surface mount components.

5. Keep your tip clean. Your soldering iron tip should be clean and free of debris. Any crud on the tip will ruin your soldering. Most soldering stations come with a sponge, add a little water and use that to keep the tip clean. I prefer a brass tip cleaner as it keeps the tip clean and removes any water from my bench. You should also periodically clean the tip, preparing it for the next soldering session. I use a tip tinner to remove crud and oxidation from the tip.

6. Choose the right solder. Solder comes in many different combinations, but it boils down to leaded or lead-free. Lead-free is perfectly useful, it melts and joins components together. It is a little trickier to work with, but you will adjust your soldering temperature and timings accordingly. The benefit of lead-free solder is that you can sell products that use it, unlike lead solder. Yes, lead solder does contain lead, and that is classed as a hazardous material, but if used safely and correctly, you will be fine. Ventilation is key, mainly for the flux fumes. In the UK you cannot sell products that use lead solder.

7. Get some isopropyl alcohol. Isopropyl alcohol is a wondrous thing. I use it to clean boards after a soldering session, it removes flux residue and makes the board shine. Pour a little into a cup and use a fresh toothbrush to scrub it onto the PCB. It also works really well on sticky residue and for general cleaning. Get a high strength bottle, it will last ages!

8. Buy lots of soldering kits. Nobody is instantly great at soldering. You need to learn, so go on Aliexpress / Temu / eBay and buy lots of cheap soldering kits. Sometimes known as “suites” these kits are a cheap way to learn soldering without risking the expensive stuff. Buy a load of through hole kits, and some surface mount (SMD) practice kits and have fun. The LED dice kit is a great way to learn soldering and have a useful tool at the end.

Soldering Time!

You’ve followed all the rules and now you are ready for soldering! So let's get you started and talk you through the key points on soldering components to a board.

1. Set your temperature. The working temperature of your soldering iron is a personal choice. I work at 350C as it gives me plenty of heat, and time to apply it. For larger joints I will boost up to 400C, but 99% of the time I am at 350C. However you set the temperature for your soldering iron, do it and let the tip stabilize before you put it to work.

2. Tin the tip. Bring a little solder to the soldering iron tip and let it melt. This will “tin” the iron and ready it for soldering. Wipe the excess from the tip.

3. Bring the soldering iron tip to where you want the heat. It should be touching the points of contact. For example the leg of an LED and the pad on the PCB.

4. Heat it for a second or so, then bring the solder to the points of contact. It will melt into place and flow around making a nice joint. Move the soldering iron and solder away from the joint and have a good look.

5. Check the solder joint. Does it flow around the joint? Are there gaps? Is the joint “hovering” above the point of contact? If so, bring the soldering iron back to the joint and reflow, add some more solder if you need to. In the pic you can see 40 solder joints for a Raspberry Pi Pico, all neat and tidy. Ok, bottom row, six in from the right is a bit ropey, but I fixed it.

6. Check it again, use a magnifying glass if you want.

7. Use your flush cutters to trim the component legs.

8. Personal preference, return the soldering iron to the joint and heat it up. This will smooth the freshly cut area and it looks nice.

Follow these tips and you will have a safe and fun soldering experience. Happy hacking!

Finding the best soldering iron or soldering station is subjective. I can tell you what I like, point you in the direction of a good choice, but ultimately it is how it feels in your hand that matters. I started soldering professionally with an Antex XS25. This simple soldering iron had no temperature control. but it was thermally balanced and a joy to solder with. But, it quickly burnt through tips.

Since the Antex XS25 I have used a slew of soldering iron, smart, dumb, hot air, soldering guns etc. The latest to cross my bench is the $99 WEP 982 III. A temperature controlled ESD safe soldering station with two soldering iron handles, and a selection of tips. The tips are “hot swappable” (pun intended) and the compact unit looks good, but how does it solder?

To find that out I need to put it on the bench and dig out a selection of soldering kits, including the last of my Maplin kits and a kit to prevent a Commodore 64 PSU from killing my beloved C64.

Serious note. The first unit that I received for review worked for a few hours, and I conducted 70% of the review using that unit. Unfortunately that unit had a fault on its power circuitry which resulted in deformation of the wire used as part of the power switch. The issues manifested themselves as intermittent power outages which triggered me to open it up and take a look inside. WEP has replaced this unit, and I have sent the original review unit back for inspection.

WEP 982 III Technical Specifications

WEP 982 III Look and Feel

A mix of plastic and metal, the WEP 982 III is a solid piece of kit which sees the soldering iron placed centrally, above a color LCD screen and two buttons to increment and decrement your chosen temperature.

The soldering iron connects to the rear of the station via a DIN style connector. Right next to the DIN connector is the power switch and the mains cable. On the side of the station is a grub screw, used to secure a “bungee” to the station. This bungee keeps the silicone cable out of the way. At the front of the unit is a bright and clear color screen, with two buttons. The buttons are responsive, perhaps a bit too responsive when held down. You can easily shoot past your target temperature, yes I did, many times. Single presses will notch the temperature up/down by a degree and the button press is very clicky and annoying.

Under the buttons is a brass “sponge” to clean the soldering iron tip, there is also a pot for a damp sponge. Your choice between brass and damp sponge for tip cleaning is up to you. I prefer the brass sponge as it doesn’t cool the soldering iron tip.

Soldering with the WEP 982 III

The WEP 982 III comes in a choice of two soldering iron handles. The WEP 706A is a larger unit and takes the larger C210 series tips. The smaller WEP 106A takes C115 tips. The two are not interchangeable and in the case of the WEP106A, if you try to insert a C210 tip it will break! Only one soldering iron can be used at any one time. I received both sets of tips and handles for this review, but retail units ship with your preferred choice. For this review I used the C210-K (knife) tip which has both precision and thermal mass. I also received the full range of tips, from needle-like tips to larger tips designed for thermal mass.

Soldering Iron Tips

Both soldering handles are plastic, with a rubber-like cable connecting to the soldering station. The handles have a dense foam grip, a bit like handlebars on a bike. At the end of the handle is where the tips are inserted. Both types are needle thin and secure using friction. Of the two, the 706A handles felt nicer in my hand, and allowed me the precision that I required. The cable from the soldering station to the soldering iron has a “bungee” which helpfully keeps the cable out of the way. It can be connected on the left or right side, and I really like it, which is a strange thing to say.

With everything setup and ready to go, I flicked the switch and the soldering iron heated up to its default sleep temperature of 200 degrees Celsius. This takes around 5 seconds, and the unit will go into a deep sleep if left for a few minutes. Heating up to 350C (it can reach a maximum of 450C), my preferred working temperature, takes 2.52 seconds! Wow! The WEP 982 III beats the Ifixit Portable Soldering Station by just half a second, and over $100! But we have to remember that the WEP 982 III is bound to your desktop, whereas the Ifixit can be taken with you.

The iron detects when it has been lifted by contacts between the metal collet of the iron and the frame of the soldering station breaking contact. I found this out because the foam grip was too low on the handle, causing it to not make contact with the frame.

Soldering the last of my Maplin kits, an Electronics starter kit consisting of multiple different circuits, was a joy. The lead solder just flowed to where it needed to be. The knife tip was the best choice for precision and thermal mass. The soldering iron (WEP 706A handle) felt comfortable and at no time did the wire get in the way, thanks to the “bungee” moving the wire away.
I also tested the WEP 982 III’s performance on large solder joints, specifically those of a 9-pin D-SUB connector from a PIC chip programmer. I had to leave the tip on the joint for around five seconds, but the solder did melt. Bumping the temperature to 400C would be a wise move for larger joints.

When I was done with the knife tip, I wanted to use the C210-SI tip. This is an angled tip for precision soldering, like SMD. Changing the tip while hot is usually a big no-no, but theWEP 982 III has a metal guide rail which is used to grip and remove the hot tips, and to push a new tip into place.

Slots and notches cut into the metal enable the removal and replacement of red hot tips. This was really easy to use, but you must always take great care when doing so. Sometimes removing the tip can be tricky, as the metal has expanded due to the heat. Using the V-slot, find the lip on the soldering iron tip and gently pull the soldering iron handle away from the station. It should drop off into the metal container. Now you can insert the new tip using a compatible notch on the metal guide. Do not directly insert the new tip with your fingers! Remember the soldering iron heats up to 250C in 2.5 seconds, and yes, it does hurt, as I found out!

Using the C210-SI tip I soldered up my C64 Saver PCB and it went together beautifully. The tip gave me the precision that I needed for a few tight solder joints. It also gave me some thermal mass to reflow joints after trimming the component legs.

Who is the WEP 982 III for?

The WEP 982 III is more for precision projects; this isn’t a soldering iron for chunky solder joints. It can do it, but you’re pushing the limits. This is a great soldering station for makers working on surface mount components, and electronic repair.

Bottom Line

I mentioned that our first unit arrived with a fault that manifested itself after a few hours soldering. I’m glad to say that this issue did not present itself on my second unit, but it does present a worry. Buying directly from WEP gives you a 12-month warranty but you will need to arrange for any returns to go back to China. In my dealings with WEP the customer service team has been extremely helpful.

So it boils down to, would I pay $99 for this soldering iron? Yes, but I would buy it from a UK reseller (or US if I were based there) so that I could return it should an issue arise. The unit also goes by the name of a Yihua 982 III on Amazon. In fact the unit is made by Yihua, a brand that I have used for well over three years now.

The WEP 982 III is a solid performer, and the tip selection and heat application are great. Swapping tips on the fly is an interesting idea, the application of which is possible if a little tricky. The soldering iron (706A) is comfortable, and the auto-sleep function keeps the iron ready for use, without burning the tip out. This is a good soldering station for precision electronics projects and I’ve enjoyed my time using it.

Soldering is one of, if not the most important maker skill and using the best soldering iron is the smart way to produce your best work. The best GPUs, CPUs and even 3D printers have components soldered to printed circuit boards (PCBs). Whether you are a seasoned pro, or new to soldering, you need the right iron for the task at hand, be it robotics, data science projects or arcade cabinets. But what is the best soldering iron?

On my bench I have a full hot air rework and temperature controlled soldering station, but I will often reach for a USB type C powered, smart soldering iron for quick fixes — the cheap and practical Fnirsi HS-01 has been my go to soldering iron since 2023. I've been soldering projects for well over 20 years, 15 years of that in a professional capacity and I know that a good soldering station is essential for larger soldering projects. But smart soldering irons are ideal for smaller projects, or for when you are on the move. They are quick to heat up and often have precision tips that we can use in surface mount projects.

I’ve personally tested more than 15 different soldering irons, measuring both their ease-of-use and the time it takes for them to get to an acceptable working temperature. Below, I’ve listed the best soldering irons, along with a guide to help you choose the right kind of soldering iron for your needs. This list is always changing, we've just reviewed a new precision soldering station for through hole and SMD soldering.

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Best Soldering Irons and Stations

The Best Soldering Irons 2026

Best Smart Soldering Iron

$26 isn’t a lot of money in the world of best soldering irons. It can buy you a cheap kit, loaded with accessories to sweeten the deal. Or it can buy you what is probably the most useful soldering iron a maker could have. We loved the Pinceil v2 so much we gave it an Innovation Award.

Pinecil V2, is a refinement of V1, and brings a fully temperature controlled soldering station into the palm of your hand. No really! Don’t let its size fool you. This is a capable iron that can be used for delicate soldering tasks, or for larger jobs such as speaker cables and other connections with a large thermal mass. Just change the tip (it is compatible with TS-100, TS-101 tips) and you can solder connections both small and large.

Pinecil V2 is quick to heat up, hitting 350 degrees Celsius in just 20 seconds when connected to a 20V USB-C power adapter. That's really fast for any soldering iron and great for those of us that need to do a job quickly.

The “smart” aspect of Pinecil v2 is the OS. Yes we have an OS on a soldering iron, and with it we can tweak the iron to our needs. Setting a custom temperature profile for specific tasks is just a few clicks away. Customizing the UI for left or right handed users, setting sleep times to keep the iron hot while waiting for the user, then reacting to movement and ramping the iron to your preferred working temperature.

The downside of Pinecil v2 is that it doesn’t come with a stand. The overall shape of the iron means that it does not roll around your bench. If you need a stand, they can be purchased for just a few more dollars.

Given the size of Pinecil v2 it is the ideal soldering iron for younger or inexperienced makers. It feels more like a pencil than a soldering iron and the quick heat up and cooldown times mean there is less chance of injury. That said, always supervise learners when using any new tool.

Best Soldering Station

Hakko are the Rolls-Royce of the best soldering irons. Its color-scheme may look a little Fisher-Price, but this soldering iron is a professional piece of kit. The Hakko FX-888D is a soldering station that offers excellent thermal performance, with a soldering iron that can reach 480 degrees Celsius. Tips can be easily sourced and changed, enabling precision or heavy duty soldering.

The soldering station control unit has only two buttons but from there we can change the temperature and create presets for quickly moving from one type of job to another. The soldering iron has a great feel, with a non-slip coating and a flexible silicone cord to reduce accidental melting.

We soldered up a Velleman kit (PIC experiment board K8048) and the Hakko worked rather well. The default 350 degrees Celsius felt a little too low for the rather thick PCB so we upped the temperature to 400 and the lead solder flowed perfectly.

This is a pro level soldering station and with that it commands a pro level price. If you are going to solder a lot, or for professional use then this should be on your wish list.

Best All Rounder

The TS101 continues the greatness of its progenitor, the TS100 but provides a greater choice of power supply options. The iron is easy-to-use, quick to heat up and precise in its output. It's also compatible with TS100 soldering tips, opening up a world of choice.

In our review we loved how the TS101 felt in the hand, the button placement is perfect and the tip compatibility with the plethora of Pinecil and TS100 tips means that it caters to every user. Younger or inexperienced makers will find the TS101 slightly larger than say Pinecil v2, but the button placement and balance make this an ideal alternative for makers learning to solder.

The $50 price tag is double that of Pinecil V2 and there isn’t much difference between them. Both soldering irons support the same power options and soldering iron tips. What does separate them is comfort. If we were soldering all-day long, then the TS101 would be our choice.

Best Soldering Iron for Beginners

A cheap soldering iron kit is how many of us start our soldering journey. It is how I started way back in the 1980s. Sometimes a cheap kit will put us off, other times it offers a low cost point of entry for a new skill. The Tabinger solder iron kit is low cost, under $20 and comes with plenty of extras. This is normally a warning on the quality, in this case the iron is rather good despite our first impression.

In the kit we get lead free solder, spare tips and a folding stand (which works but isn’t the nicest). Sure all of these aren’t the best quality, but if we are starting out they will do a good job until we move onwards.

The iron is light in the hand and features a dial to set your temperature. Tips can be easily changed, and the kit comes with a selection of precision and chunky tips. Changing a tip involves unscrewing the collar and sliding the cold tip off, reversing the process to secure your choice in place.

Tabinger’s soldering iron melts solder well; just increase the temperature on the dial to be a little over your ideal choice. We normally solder at 350 degrees Celsius, but the solder was a little tacky with this iron, so we went to 400 and all was well. We did notice that the tip became “scorched” rather quickly. In our experience cheaper soldering irons can burn out quite quickly, so bear that in mind. Replacements can be easily sourced from Amazon or Aliexpress.

The Tabinger 60W Soldering Iron is a decent iron to get you started. The low cost makes it ideal for dipping your toe into soldering.

Best Hot Air Rework Station

The best soldering station with a hot air rework is a dream purchase for most makers. You can buy brand names for hundreds of dollars, but the Yihua 995D+ offers brand name performance for a fraction of the price.

We’ll start with the soldering iron: a rather generic iron which uses the collar system to retain a tip over a heating element. In this case being generic is a good thing. Replacement tips can be easily sourced (even Haako tips will work). The iron feels good in the hand and the silicone cable never gets in the way thanks to its own weight keeping it fixed to the bench.

The hot air gun also feels good in the hand and has a similar cable. Controlling the iron and hot air is a little tricky at first, requiring the correct controls to be selected (on the left are the hot air controls, on the right the soldering iron) before using the central knob to set the temperature and air flow.

The tall, thin design keeps your bench space clear - the included soldering iron stand takes a little more space but that's ok. The included stand is solidly built, doesn't slip around the bench and has the choice of brass or sponge to clean the tip. The Yihua 995D+ is an excellent soldering station for beginners and pros alike. It gets the job done, looks good and keeps more cash in your pocket.

Best Soldering Gun

Weller is a known brand in the world of soldering irons. They produce good quality irons and this 140W soldering gun represents another quality product.

Soldering guns come in many forms, some feed solder to the tip, others, like this require us to manually feed the solder with a spare hand. The Weller 140W soldering gun is a beast, and lays down a surprising amount of heat in six seconds. From ambient to 480 degrees Celsius in six seconds, you can solder heavy, big joints. If you need to solder some speaker cables, large power connections on a robot or vehicle, then this gun will make the job so much easier.

Slightly pressing the trigger unleashes 140W of power to the tip of the iron. Talking of tips, it comes with a selection for precise and blunt tips for different soldering scenarios. This isn’t a general purpose soldering iron, but when you need raw power, for a large surface area, then this will do the job just fine.

Best Travelling Soldering Iron

Fnirsi’s HS-01 smart soldering iron is a challenger for Pinecil’s crown. It shares the same price-point, around $30 and it uses USB C power. But the HS-01 is a much better travel companion.

First of all is the cap. Instead of a stand we get a cap which firmly covers the hot tip of the soldering iron. Sure the cap will get hot if you put it on right after soldering, but the iron cools down quick, and heats up even quicker! The screw collet, designed to hold the tip in place, means that we do not need a screwdriver to replace tips, just wait for the iron to cool and you can swap the tip for a compatible replacement. TS100 / TS101 / Pinecil tip compatibility would be the ideal, but a set of Hs-01 compatible tips is around $15.

Soldering with the HS-01 is a joy. The included tip is a good all-rounder and for our review it performed great on solder joints big and small. For $30, if the Pinecil V2 is out of stock, or you need a soldering iron for your traveling maker kit, buy this instead!

Read: Fnirsi HS-01 Review

Best for the Professional Maker

The Ifixit Fixhub Portable Soldering Station is a great all-rounder. In your home workspace, the makerspace and the garage, the Ifixit Fixhub Portable Soldering Station has the power and precision for all of your soldering needs. It feels like a Hakko soldering station, but portable. The mix of portability, power and precision it is going to make a dent on your wallet. If you are a professional maker who needs a powerful soldering system around your shop, then the Ifixit Portable Soldering Station is for you.

The replaceable tips are great quality, and they can put the heat exactly where we need it. We used the conical, knife and bevel tips and each of them exceeded our expectations. The USB-C cable is great quality, and won’t get in the way when soldering. Take a look at our full review to learn everything about this great soldering station.

Read: Ifixit Fixhub Portable Soldering Station Review

Picking The Best Soldering Iron For You

Picking The Best Soldering Iron For You

Finding the best soldering iron for you is important. You need to be comfortable with the soldering iron in order to concentrate on the task at hand. But which type of soldering iron is for you?

• Basic Soldering irons: If you are just trying your hand with soldering then perhaps an advanced soldering setup is not for you, yet. A simple soldering iron heats up to a set temperature, giving you the confidence to start soldering without having to tweak the settings.
  
• Smart Soldering Irons: If space is at a premium, but you need a temperature controlled soldering station, then smart soldering irons are for you. Typically powered using USB C or DC power supplies, these irons provide precise temperature control without dominating the bench.
  
• Soldering Station: If you need a soldering iron with precise temperature control, along with the best thermal balance, then a soldering station is for you. Stations have an external control unit which contains the power circuitry necessary to deliver precise thermal output. The soldering iron is typically housed in a separate stand giving the user flexibility on the bench.
  
• Hot Air Soldering Station: These stations offer a temperature controlled soldering iron, along with a hot air gun that is used for surface mount soldering, reflowing circuits and desoldering components from boards.
  
• Soldering Gun: A soldering gun is a brute force tool, used for larger solder joints. If you are soldering heavy duty cables, speakers or terminals, then a soldering gun has the power you need. For finer, detailed work they are clumsy and awkward, so you will still probably want a soldering iron to go with your gun.

Other Soldering Irons We Tested

Other Soldering Irons We Tested

In our tests to find the best soldering iron we tested a number of other irons. Some from well known manufacturers, and others from some lesser known manufacturers. These didn’t make the grade in our tests but we have included the full results of the tests, so that you can make your own decision based on quality and price.

Fanttik T1 Max

This smart soldering iron is so simple to use, and it heats up and cools down fast. It is completely wireless and comes with a selection of soldering tips and kit to get you started. So why didn’t it make the cut? The handle is a little too thick, making it uncomfortable for smaller hands. The weight balance is a little off and despite the easy dial controls, the Fanttik T1 Max hasn’t got the grunt for larger solder joints. But this is a great soldering iron for gifting to a new maker. I’ve got a full review and analysis to help you make up your mind.

WEP 982 III Precision Soldering Station

I really liked this precision soldering station. It heats up fast, the 200C standby temperature keeps the iron ready for use. Tip selection is great, there are precision tips and big(ish) chisel tips for larger joints. You can “hot swap” the soldering tips using the stand. I also found this soldering iron to be very precise. So if it reviewed that well, why isn’t it on the list? The problems that I encountered were that it was easy to over shoot your soldering temperature, not a big deal, but it was irksome. But the biggest issue that I faced was that my review unit arrived damaged but the damage took a few hours to manifest itself. Hence I would only recommend buying this soldering iron from a retailer with a good returns policy.

Miniware TS80P

How did this iron not make the list? It looks great, feels great and it has a spring loaded tip ejection system. What let it down was the price, $95 is a lot for an iron. It can put down heat, but you need to change the included precision tip for something more general purpose in order to get it into a board. We love the iron’s user interface and it works really well, but so does Pinecil V2, which retails for a third of the price.

Weller WLSK3023G Soldering Station

Coming from the Weller pedigree we had high hopes for this soldering station. Alas it wasn’t meant to be. The LED light ring is annoying, the iron felt imprecise, and the hot tip of the iron pointing out from the stand felt counter-intuitive. It isn’t a bad iron, but compared to others, it just wasn’t worth the $70 asking price.

YIHUA 938BD+ Soldering Station

It was a tough call between the 938BD+ and the 995D+. The 938BD+ has a wider footprint, but the user interface felt a little less cumbersome. The call was tough, and if the 938BD+ is offered at a reduced price to the 995D+, then jump on it.

Preciva 8786D Hot Air Gun Rework Station

It may look a little dated, but this is a solid, low-cost soldering station. So why didn’t it make the list? The hot air rework gun felt weak, we had to ramp the temperature to the max in order to melt the solder on a heavy joint. The soldering iron felt fine, much like the Yihua stations (Preciva and Yihua are one and the same) but it lacked a silicone cord, instead using PVC. PVC cords are fine, but they are prone to creeping along your bench, getting in the way.

New Acalox Soldering Gun

This gun was the antithesis of the Weller. It took a while to heat up and required solder to be fed via a ratchet system, through the gun. It felt cheap, and the easily removable plastic cover exposed mains voltage connections. If you need a soldering gun, spend the extra money and get the Weller. This cheaper version is not safe for general use.

How We Test The Best Soldering Irons

How We Test The Best Soldering Irons

Each soldering iron was tested with a Velleman PCB kit, chosen for its mixture of small through-hole components and large soldering joints (mechanical joints to anchor components to the board). We used the same solder, lead based 60 / 40 with tin and rosin flux core across all tests, to ensure that our results were consistent.

From Cold to Hot: Getting to A Working Temperature

For each soldering iron / station / gun we tested how long it would take to get to a working temperature from cold. What is a working temperature? Well that is a personal choice. Some prefer to solder at 350 degrees Celsius, others much higher. Rather than set a temperature target, we chose to pick the moment where solder instantly melts on the tip of the iron. In the case of the hot air rework stations we chose the moment that a heavy solder joint would fully melt. All times are measured in seconds, and a lower time is better.

Basic Soldering Iron Times

These basic irons are there for “plug and play” soldering and the Tabiger 60W iron gets to a solder melting temperature much quicker (42 seconds) than the venerable Antex XS25 (116 seconds). The Tabiger has basic temperature control, and almost three times the power of the Antex iron. That said, Antex is a respected brand and offers superb performance, making it the ideal starter soldering iron. Its what I used for a very long time!

Hot Air Rework Station Times

These stations all feature a soldering iron and a hot air gun. The irons all heated up fast with the Yihua 995D taking first place in 24 seconds. The Yihua 938BD+ claimed second place at 33 seconds. For hot air, the 938BD+ was way slower than the others, 112 seconds versus a joint 92 seconds for the 995D and Preciva 8786D.

Smart Soldering Iron Times

Smart soldering irons are the F1 cars of the soldering world. They get hot, fast! The Fnirsi HS-01 took first place with a time of 9 seconds. Second was the Pinecil V2 which offers plenty of power for its low price! Any of these smart soldering irons would be a great addition to a maker’s toolbox. But for under $40, Pinecil v2 is hard to resist.

Soldering Gun Times

If you absolutely have to solder large solder joints, then a soldering gun is for you. These things get hot, and have the thermal mass to dump solder onto the target. Weller’s soldering gun is impressive. It heats up within six seconds, and can sustain large solder joints for a considerable amount of time. The Acalox soldering gun is slow to heat up (26 seconds) and it feels rather cheaply made. Avoid it and pay the extra for Weller.

Soldering Station Times

Weller may have won the soldering gun round, but here it loses out to Hakko’s FX888D. Heating up in 25 seconds, versus Weller’s 76 seconds, the Hakko FX888D is a sublime soldering experience, but we expect that given its price. If you are going to be soldering professionally it is always best to have the right tool for the job (as Star Trek’s Scotty can attest.)

Soldering irons frequently asked questions 2026

The world of soldering is replete with the best soldering irons and stations all vying for your attention and dollars. Soldering stations are big and bulky. If you have the desk space then they are solid workhorses that get the job done. But what if you need a soldering station, but lack the space? Miniware’s latest soldering station, the TS1C is a cordless smart soldering station which uses a super-capacitor inside the soldering iron. The super capacitor is good for many soldering joints, and we can keep an eye on the power and temperature status using the OLED display. The soldering iron and station are linked together using Bluetooth.

But is the $125 price tag justified, or are we best getting a soldering station with hot air rework? To find out this, and more we need to delve into our parts bin and pull out some more kits to solder up.

Miniware TS1C Specifications

Miniware TS1C Look and Feel

Right off the bat, this is a premium looking soldering station and the unboxing experience, while not really part of the review, feels equally premium. Moving the OLED screen and controls to the station means that we have only a single “boost” button on the iron itself. The soldering iron is largely made of plastic, and here is where a little quality control can be exercised. 

The seam along the length of our review iron had some sharp plastic flashing from the mold. This wasn’t unsightly, but it did cheapen the overall feel. Between the soldering tip and the main body are two brass colored bands. These bands are how the cordless soldering iron receives power from the station. Inside the soldering iron is a super capacitor which is charged when the soldering iron is placed into the station. But how do we set the temperature?

The soldering station part of the unit is where we have full control of the soldering iron. Placing the iron inside the station we can set the working temperature, up to 400 degrees Celsius (750 degrees Fahrenheit), pre-heat and sleep temperatures.Charging the soldering iron takes seven minutes, but in our tests we saw this time was much shorter, more on that later. The soldering station looks great.

The internal structure of the station is made from metal, but it is surrounded by plastic. Here is where we hit an issue. Many of the best soldering stations have a metal stand for the soldering iron, and this means that we can be a little “rough” when placing the iron in the stand. Not with the TS1C, the plastic case and OLED screen can easily be marked by a hot soldering iron. Ask us how we know! Instead of sliding the iron into the stand we need to place it slightly over the stand, and push it down until it is firmly grasped. The need for the tight fit are the two brass colored bands. These mechanical connections provide the only means to charge up the soldering iron, but they also introduce friction. Friction means that one-handed removal of the iron is possible, but you’ll need to be careful in order to remove the iron. The weight of the station isn’t enough to keep it fixed, requiring either a two-handed removal or a careful one-handed removal which sees our hand pulling the iron and pushing the station in one go.

Enough of the issues, let's look at the controls. There are two buttons (A and B) that provide direct access to controlling the soldering iron and setting up the station. A dial (most likely a rotary encoder) provides smooth control of iron temperatures. In the setup, we can set the temperature steps taken when we rotate the dial. The default is 1 degree per “click”, but it can be turned up to 25 degrees per click. If precision is what you crave, keep the value low, or make sure that your preferred soldering temperature is divisible by your chosen step. For us, 350°C is our working temperature and that is indeed divisible. 

The soldering station also comes with a sponge to clean the soldering iron tip.ure this isn’t the most exciting aspect of the kit, but the fact that we can have it in one of three positions makes it useful for left and right-handed makers.

Soldering with the Miniware TS1C

Soldering with the TS1C is sublime. Remove the issues that we’ve already touched upon and let's get down to making something with the TS1C. I was never a fan of the TS-B02 tip used with the TS80Pl; it felt a little weak. But with the TS1C, it is a precise and robust tip. It is capable of some fine soldering, and we tested that by soldering an RC2014 Classic II computer kit. Yes, we made an entire Zilog 80 powered computer from scratch with this iron. 

In the station, the soldering iron sat at 250°C, removing the iron and it jumped to 350°C, our preferred working temperature. There were many solder joints, some fine, some large. From a single charge, we managed to solder 80 fine joints before the iron forced us to recharge. This is where the cool bit comes in:. the soldering iron and station can communicate with each other via Bluetooth. 

The station shows live temperature and power status. When we push the soldering iron to its limits, we get an audible beep and a flashing warning message before the iron starts to cool. In our tests, we got 80 precision joints before having to recharge.The sales brochure states that it can solder 180 surface mount components (0805 size) from one charge. We don’t have any surface mount parts to test, but 80 through hole components is enough to ensure that we can solder on. Larger joints, with more thermal mass, will drop this number down so your mileage will vary. Speaking of larger joints, if you need a little more heat, press the “boost” button on the soldering iron and it will jump up to 400°C, but it will drain the super capacitor faster.

We threw a full Z80 computer kit, some beefy joints from an old Velleman PIC programming kit, and a quick electronic dice kit and the TS1C didn’t skip a beat. It just chugged along soldering everything we threw at it. Sure we can solder 80 - 180 solder joints from one charge, but most makers will solder a few joints, wipe the tip and then replace the iron into the stand, so it isn’t a big issue.

What about changing the soldering temperature when the iron is not in the station? Sure you can do that. The Bluetooth connection is two-way and that means we can turn the dial and adjust our temperature without replacing the iron. Note that a temperature reduction will shorten the soldering time.

Miniware TS1C Software

Software for the TS1C requires two firmware files. One for the station and another for the soldering iron. “But where is the USB port for the soldering iron?” we hear you ask. Hidden under a silver Miniware logo disc is a USB C port that we can use to update the firmware. We updated the firmware before we started the review and it was a simple task of plugging in, copying the firmware and then ejecting the drives. Job done, and our TS1C is now a little smarter.

The software also allows us to make our own logo appear on the screen. Save a two color 128 x 64 pixel bitmap (BMP) to the soldering station USB drive and you have your own branded soldering station.

Miniware TS1C Soldering Tips

The TS1C is from the same stables as the TS100 and TS101, but it uses the soldering tips designed for the TS80P. What’s the difference? Well the former are more typical, using friction to provide a connection. The TS80P and the TS1C use a TRS (Tip, Ring Sleeve) more commonly used for 3.5mm headphone jacks.

This connection is robust and easy to use, but it does limit the number of available tips.That said, we used two tips, the default conical TS-B02 and a chisel tip TS-K4 and that performed all of the tasks that we set it. Changing tips, obviously when the iron is cold, is a simple matter of pulling the soldering tip out, then replacing it. But we kind of miss the ejection system used in the TS80P.

Bottom Line: Who is the Miniware TS1C For?

For $125, the TS1C is an expensive soldering station. The big draw is the cordless nature of the product. It is truly wonderful to not have to worry about a trailing cable across your project / desk. But, is that enough for $125? Well that depends on how much you value freedom. For the same price, we can get a well specced soldering and hot air rework station. It may not be smart, and it will have cables, but it will get the job done, and much more.

If you need a small soldering station that runs from USB-C, then the TS1C is a great soldering iron. It handles well and will make short work of the task at hand. The premium price tag is an early adopter tax for the super capacitor technology.

Don’t get us wrong, this is a great soldering iron, but $125 is a little hard to swallow, especially given the pedigree of Miniware’s previous smart soldering irons. If you want a smart soldering iron on the go, then the Fnirsi HS-01, Pine64 Pinecil V2 and Miniware’s TS101 are all great alternatives that do the same work as the TS1C.

Our time with the TS1C was great and we love the speed at which we can work and the quality of the solder joints. We just wish the price was a little lower.

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There are now a plethora of smart soldering irons available. By ‘smart’ we mean that they are running an operating system and have a temperature control system. The first smart soldering iron that came our way was Miniware’s TS100, followed swiftly by Pine64’s Pinecil and Pinecil v2. Mniware fired off two more smart soldering irons, the TS80P and the TS101 and for a time that was the pool from which makers could choose from.

Fnirsi’s HS-01, a $30 entry to the smart soldering iron scene shares the Pinecil price point, but how does it perform against Pinecil against the best soldering irons and soldering stations? To learn that, and more we had to break out some more soldering kits, and get making!

Fnirsi HS-01 Specifications

Fnirsi HS-01 Look and Feel

The Fnirsi HS-01 is a larger soldering iron than the TS101 and the Pinecil V2, but that is not to the detriment of its design. The $30 smart soldering iron has a metal body, rubberized finger guard and a screw collet to retain the soldering tip. The added length gives us plenty of space between the inputs and the business end of the iron. 

Keeping our fingers away from the buttons, unlike with the TS101, means we don’t accidentally catch a button and change the temperature. That said, changing temperature requires two button pushes, one to activate the menu, and the other to change the temp. Increasing the temperature means we have to push the button pointing to the USB-C port, decreasing, towards the tip. This felt counterintuitive but after setting our temperature to 350 degrees Celsius we rarely used the buttons.

The aforementioned USB-C port is the only means to power the soldering iron but there is no included USB C cable.The Fnirsi HS-01 works with many USB PD voltages, from 9 to 24V. Using our Pine Power USB C power source we had a stable 20V. The omission of a DC jack is unfortunate but not a deal-breaker. There are now many compatible USB C PD battery packs that can be used to power the iron. 

The soldering iron tip is held in place using two mechanisms. Firstly a friction fit keeps the bit secure in the body of the iron. Secondly the collet screws into place and locks the tip. On the TS101 and Pinecil v2 we need to secure the tips using a screw, but not with the Fnirsi HS-01.

In the box is a cap used to cover the soldering iron tip when not in use. The cap is a great idea, and yes, it does get hot if you put it in right after using the soldering iron. The cap reinforces the idea that this is a portable soldering iron, and while we would’ve preferred a stand, the cap is a decent alternative. Just remember to let the soldering iron cool a little before putting it on.

Soldering with the Finirsi HS-01

The short answer is that soldering with the Finirsi HS-01 is great. The included HS01-BC2, a chiselled / conical tip which provides precision and a larger thermal mass, is great for general purpose soldering.

Connecting the USB-C power supply to the soldering iron, the OLED screen sprang to life. We connected the tip, screwed down the collet and started to heat up the tip to 350°C. To get to a working temperature it took a measly nine seconds. Shaving one second off the Pinecil v2’s ten seconds. Sure a second isn’t a lot, but we do love a speedy startup.

Compared to the TS101’s 15 seconds, the Fnirsi HS-01 is a speed demon. With the included tip we set about soldering a Pocketmoneytronics quiz machine. This is a typical small kit with through-hole components and a 556 chip. Everything soldered with ease and precision.

For more of a challenge, we broke out a Velleman PIC programmer kit and attempted to desolder the DB9 ports meaty fastening posts. These posts are soldered directly to the board, and while not electrically connected, provide a challenge given their mass. At our typical soldering temperature of 350°C, the joint took around six seconds, and a little wiggling to get heat into it. Bumping the temperature to 420°C and the solder on the other post melted instantly.

Unlike the TS101 which had a temporary boost feature, the HS-01 relies on setting the temperature in the usual manner. The TS101 boost function is rather handy for when you just need a little more power, for a brief amount of time.

Fnirsi HS-01 Software

The “smart” part of a smart soldering iron lies in its software, and the Fnirsi HS-01 has a similar user interface to that of the Pinecil and Miniware (TS100, TS80P, TS101) soldering irons. except we couldn’t find the firmware on the Fnirsi website. That meant we stuck to the stock firmware. It has animations and reminders to show us how to attach the tip, and then to press the button to heat it up. After that it is a quick press of the buttons to increase/decrease the temperature.

Accessing the menu requires pressing both buttons, and navigation is then a series of quick taps to move, and long presses to confirm a command. It all flows well, it never feels overwhelming.

The software has all the usual smart features of sleep timers, angle detection and changing the OLED for left and right handed users. Temperature calibration is also available via the firmware, but this will require an external soldering iron temperature sensor to verify the temperature.

Fnirsi HS-01 Soldering Tips

The included tip is more than enough for most makers, but every artist has their favorite brush, and makers have their favorite soldering tip. We purchased a series of compatible tips, ranging from precision needle-like (FM65-ILS) to brutally large FM65-K65. Tip changes are easy, obviously when the iron is cool.

Unscrew the collet, remove the tip, put in the new tip and screw down the collet. Done! Swapping tips generally means that we change the thermal properties of the soldering iron, this can cause an increase / decrease in the time it takes to heat up and cool down. The FM65-K65 tip is rather stocky and on the first attempt it didn’t heat up. Re-inserting the tip, the Fnirsi HS-01 detected the tip and heated up to 350°C in 11 seconds.

Tips for the Fnirsi HS-01 are only compatible with itself. We tried tips from the TS100, TS101 and Pinecil v2, all of which are interchangeable, and found that they did not fully connect to the Fnirsi, and the firmware did not recognize that a tip had been inserted.

Bottom Line: Who is Fnirsi HS-01 For?

The Fnirsi HS-01 is a great soldering iron. All of our joints were well soldered, and we only had to turn up the heat when working with greater thermal mass joints.

It is a true multi-purpose soldering iron. The easily interchangeable tips and power that this iron can deliver makes it a great alternative to the venerable Pinecil v2. With both offering a similar price point and features, it boils down to personal preference. Pinecil v2 is a smaller soldering iron with the bonus of a DC power supply. The Fnirsi HS-01 is larger and has only USB C power input. If you’ve already bought into the USB-C power system, then the Fnirsi is a good buy. That said, if you are looking to “upgrade” from a TS100 and already have a selection of tips, then the Pinecil V2 is compatible, saving you a few dollars.

If you are just starting your soldering journey, or just need a spare soldering iron, then the Fnirisi HS-01 is a cost-effective and solid soldering iron that will be at home on your desk, and in your kit bag. The $30 price tag just makes it a sweet deal. If we were going to buy a new smart soldering iron, our money would be on the Fnirsi HS-01.

Soldering irons are an essential part of the maker toolkit and without one, we cannot create anything. Your television, computer, even your Raspberry Pi are all made using various forms of soldering irons / systems. 

Soldering is about more than just fusing metal and components. It gives you an understanding of electronics, enabling you to see how components work together in a larger circuit. Seasoned makers will know the benefit of the best soldering irons. Heck, they will probably already own multiple soldering irons and stations. But what is a good soldering iron for beginners and for makers short on bench space? For that, a smart soldering iron – one with a screen and digital temperature menus on device (rather than on a station) – is a plus.

Miniware is well known in the smart soldering iron world. Its TS100 introduced smart soldering irons to the mainstream. Over the years, Miniware has released the TS80, which replaced the DC5525 power jack of the TS100 with USB-C. But now we have the TS101, a $50 smart soldering iron that offers temperature control and dual power options.

Is the Miniware TS101 ready to take the best all rounder title from the TS100? Can it beat the Pinecil V2? For that we need to grab some soldering kits and start building!

Miniware TS101 Hardware Specifications

Look and Feel of the Miniware TS101

The plastic body of the TS101 has a slight texture to it. This lends itself rather well to a firm grip of the iron. The two buttons are comfortably placed, and the 128 x 32-pixel OLED screen is easy to read under bench lights. A “collar” is between the iron’s body and the soldering tip that prevents the iron from rolling around the bench, and provides a natural rest for our grip. The omission of a stand is somewhat troublesome. Sure the iron won’t roll around, but beginners will need to buy a third-party stand so there’s a safe place for the iron to rest. The included USB-C cable claims to be silicone, and it certainly feels like silicone. While we can’t safely test the heat resistance of the cable (silicone is much better than PVC) we can confirm that despite its short length, it never got in the way when soldering.

Soldering with Miniware TS101

Heating up in 15 seconds, the TS101 is just as fast as the TS100 and TS80. The only smart soldering iron to beat it is Pinecil V2 (10 seconds). Waiting 15 seconds to heat up is nothing as larger soldering stations can take minutes. The short start time means we can get down to soldering in moments. The included TS-B2 conical tip is a good mix of precision and large thermal mass. This means we can make neat work of soldering up a circuit, or dump a load heat into a joint.

 We soldered up the Arduino Make Your Uno kit with the TS101 and we had no issues. Small and large components were soldered with ease, and the only issues during our soldering were more human error than the TS101. The soldering action felt neat and it matched our pace of soldering, especially when soldering a long line of DIP pins.

If you need a little boost, the TS101 can boost up to 400 degrees Celsius. Just press and hold button A for as long as you need it. In our tests, we found that our USB-C bench supply could only muster enough power to reach 380 degrees Celsius.We have noted that there is a firmware update for compatible USB-C power supplies which can bring 28V at 5A, but we had no compatible power source to test this.

This leads us nicely to button placement. On the TS101, we have both buttons within easy reach of our index finger. We can’t accidentally turn off the soldering iron by pressing the buttons; at worst we can boost the temperature. 

The placement repeats the design choice of the TS100, and it feels right, unlike with the TS80 which was a little too near the center mass of the iron to feel right. We really like the TS101 button placement, which is much better than the Pinecil V2 which has them on either side of the OLED display.

Miniware TS101 Software

The “smart” part of the TS101 is the software and with just two buttons it could be seen as tricky to use. Thankfully it is not. 

The button nearest the soldering tip “A”, will start heating the iron up to your preferred temperature. Button B, nearest to the power, is where we can access a menu of features that includes setting custom soldering temperatures, sleep timers and tweaking the power settings. 

We needed to tweak our TS101 to remove a low current warning which caused the iron to “reboot” mid-solder. This has happened with other smart soldering irons and is not specifically a TS101 issue. The fact that we could easily tweak this is a credit to the firmware. The interface is easy to use, but it will take you a little while to get used to.

Flashing Firmware to Miniware TS101

Flashing firmware is a simple task. All it requires is a DFU file from the Miniware website. Plug the TS101 into your PC via the USB C connector and it will appear as a drive. Copy the DFU file across and in a few moments your soldering iron is running the latest firmware. It is advisable to keep your soldering iron firmware updated as it can provide new features and upgrades, including adding additional power options.

We can also alter the configuration of the TS101 directly from a configuration file stored in the root of the TS101_APP drive. All of the options found in the TS101 configuration menu can be easily tweaked using any text editor. Save the change, connect the TS101 to a power source and you have a custom soldering profile for your needs.

Powering the Miniware TS101

Miniware’s previous soldering irons, the TS100 and TS80 used just a single power connector, respectively DC 5525 and USB-C. With the TS101 we see both as available power sources. But which one is better? 

For most soldering tasks, it all depends on what you are soldering and what the nearest power source is. Heating up to a stable 350 degrees Celsius was identical in our tests, with both power sources hitting the magic temperature in 15 seconds. We tested this with a USB-C bench power supply (Pine’s Pine Power) that provided 20V at 2.6A (52W) and a DC PSU which provided 19V at 2.1A (39.9W). 

The TS101’s two power inputs give us between 45W (USB) and 65W (DC) of possible output. The higher output is only achievable with a 24V PSU. We would only need that power for large solder joints and multi-layer boards which can soak a lot of heat before soldering.

According to the product page, the TS101 can support up to 28V via USB-C. This requires a firmware upgrade and a power supply that supports PD3.1 28V at 5A. We were unable to verify this claim as we did not have a compatible power supply.

For portable use, the TS101 can be powered by a compatible USB-C PD battery pack or via a LiPo battery, such as those used in radio controlled cars, using the DC jack. All of these choices make the TS101 a versatile soldering iron for the field.

Miniware TS101 Soldering Tips

The TS101 comes with a TS-B2 10mm conical tip and can use the same soldering tips as the venerable TS100 (but not the TS80) and both versions of Pinecil. This means that we have access to a plethora of soldering tips you can buy. From fine needlepoint tips (TS-ILS) to flat tip cones (TS-BC2, TS-C1, TS-C4) and more akin to flat blades (TS-D24, TS-K, TS-KU), there is a tip for every type of soldering scenario.

Changing a tip is an easy task. Use a flat blade screwdriver to loosen the screw, then slide the soldering tip. Reverse the process to insert a new soldering tip. Obviously do this when the iron is cold!

Bottom Line

The TS100’s reign as Best All-Rounder is coming to an end. The TS101 continues the greatness of the TS100 but provides a greater choice of power supply options. The iron is precise, quick to heat and easy to use. Compatibility with TS100 soldering tips is a great feature, and opens up a world of choice. 

The $50 price tag is double that of Pinecil V2 and there isn’t much difference between them. They both support the same power options and soldering iron tips. What does separate them is comfort. 

The grip on the Pinecil is good – the rubberized plastic shroud prevents slip – but the TS101’s textured grip and button placement just feels better. The Miniware TS101 is a great iron and we enjoyed using it and it will do 99% of the tasks that a maker requires.

If price is no barrier, then Miniware’s TS101 is a great smart soldering iron and well worth your money. The choice of tips, the comfortable button placement and multiple power options elevate it over its predecessors. That said, Pinecil V2 is half the price and our only issue is the button placement. For $25 in your pocket you could easily adapt.

The humble soldering iron has come a long way. From a simple piece of hot metal which melts a mixture of tin and lead, to RISC-V powered, temperature controlled precision instruments. Soldering is a great skill to learn, it can be used to create custom circuits, or to solder the GPIO pins on your Raspberry Pi Pico W. But which soldering iron do you buy?

In the past, when choosing a soldering iron, it was a decision between a cheap “getting started” solder iron, or a brand leader such as Weller or Haako.The cheaper irons often had a fixed temperature. In stepped Pine64, mostly known for its range of Raspberry Pi alternative single board computers, Linux powered phones and Arm laptops, with its Pinecil temperature controlled soldering iron. Version 1, released in 2020 was a lower cost alternative to similar irons from Waveshare. But Pinecil introduced a RISC-V CPU inside the low-cost soldering iron.

Pinecil V2, released in August 2022 for $26, is more of an update on the original model. The two look the same, with only a shorter soldering tip and a colored band to distinguish them. Under the hood there is a more powerful RISC-V CPU, more memory, and the option to use higher wattages for those heavier connections.

We took Pinecil V2 to the bench and put it through its paces as we soldered, and desoldered a selection of boards.

Pinecil V2 Specifications

Pinecil V2 Look and Feel

Pinecil V2 doesn’t look any different than its predecessor. Apart from the green sleeve of the V2, the two are virtually identical. The body of the iron is simple, with just two buttons (+ and -) which are our only interface with the iron’s OS. The business end of Pinecil is the tip, and this is held in place via an M2 screw. The supplied tip, a conical general purpose tip, is a ST (short tip) B2 that is much shorter than the stock tip supplied with the Pinecil V1. 

The Pinecil V2 measures 157mm with the supplied tip. The V1 comes in at 175mm. The size difference is impressive, but it isn’t a reason to throw away your Pinecil V1. The body size is the same between V1 and 2. At 103mm long, the body is comfortable to hold for extended periods. Button placement, with + at the hot end of the iron, - at the opposite, is decent. It keeps the buttons away from our fingers, minimizing the chance of a stray finger changing the temperature. 

When powered up, Pinecil V2 defaults to a basic start screen, waiting for user input. Pressing the - button will open the configuration menu and additional pushes will navigate the main menus. Pressing + will go into a menu and enable us to tweak the settings, of which there are many. 

We can configure the power source, set the soldering tip to auto heat up to a lower sleep temperature (150 degrees Celsius by default), or have it heat to your preferred temperature. The sleep mode menu is how we configure the iron to go into low temperature mode if left for a user determined time. The user interface menu is used to change animation speeds, temperature units and to set a detailed standby screen (we recommend this as it shows the voltage and temperature.) The advanced menu is where we can calibrate the iron’s temperature and voltages.The onboard accelerometer can detect the orientation of the iron, flipping the UI on the OLED display accordingly.

Soldering with Pinecil V2

We’ve been through the menus, so now let's get Pinecil V2 ready to solder. Pressing the + button will heat the iron to your preferred temperature. Subsequent short presses of the + and - buttons will adjust the temperature by single digits, long presses will adjust by 10 degrees. 

The Pinecil V2 is quick to heat up. Using the included conical tip and connected to a 20V USB-C power source, Pinecil went from 35 degrees Celsius to 350 degrees Celsius in 20 seconds. This is great for those of us that need to solder something quickly. Pinecil V2 is a temperature-controlled soldering iron, and typically irons of this standard come with a large base unit where we control the temperature. Waveshare’s TS100 (and later TS80) set the standard for temperature controlled soldering irons, without a base unit. Pinecil offers the same features, but at half the cost.

We tested Pinecil V2 with a simple flashing LED project kit. We used the supplied conical short tip and connected the iron to a PinePower desktop power supply with a USB C port capable of delivering 65 Watts. Pinecil V2 made short work of the kit, the lead solder melted perfectly, with peaks that connected the PCB to the component. There were no cold solder joints (where the solder doesn’t bridge between the PCB and component) and our LEDs flashed happily. 

For 90% of the projects Pinecil will be used for, it will sail through with no issue, but where it could struggle are boards that soak heat via large ground plains or multi-layer boards with huge amounts of copper. PC motherboards are notorious for soaking every last degree of heat from a soldering iron, trust us, we’ve tried to desolder a capacitor from an early 2000s Asus motherboard and it required a heat gun and a soldering iron. We tested the power of Pinecil V2 by trying to desolder the alignment tabs of a USB 2.0 port on a dead Raspberry Pi 3. Our normal soldering temperature of 350 degrees Celsius didn’t work, even flowing fresh lead solder did nothing. We bumped the temperature up to 400 degrees Celsius and repeated the steps. It worked! Taking the iron to 450 degrees Celsius produced better results, with less time stressing the components, reducing the risk of damaging the PCB.

A RISC-V CPU in a Soldering Iron?

Pinecil V1 introduced a 32-bit RV32IMAC RISC-V “Bumblebee Core” CPU running at 108 MHz. This CPU was the brains that worked with IronOS (the soldering iron’s operating system) to coordinate reading temperature, voltage and motion sensors, all of which are necessary for using the iron. For Pinecil V2, we get a spec bump to a 32-bit RV32IMAFC RISC-V “SiFive E24 Core '' running at 144 MHz.

An optional breakout board, which plugs into the USB C port and passes power through it, provides GPIO pins which can be used to test, debug and create projects using the iron as a controller. The RISC-V CPU doesn’t really come into play for most users. We turn on the iron, heat it up, and start soldering. Its inclusion is more of an example of what can be done with the alternative architecture, an architecture which is steadily gaining ground in open source projects.

Flashing IronOS to Pinecil V2

Did you ever think that you would need to update the firmware of your soldering iron? Well you can. Our Pinecil V2 came with version 2.18 of IronOS, and we went to Pine64’s wiki to learn what the latest version was (2.19 at the time of writing) and how to update Pinecil.

The Pine64 Updater app, for Windows and Mac is the tool for the job. You can just download and run the app, elect our Pinecil, then power the iron on while holding the - button. But when we tried this, nothing happened. Was our Pinecil V2 faulty? Did we do something wrong? Luckily we have a V1, so we performed the same steps. The updater detected the iron and proceeded to update V1 to the latest firmware. For now, V2 is either stuck at v2.18, or there is a bug in the updater. Time will tell.

Powering Pinecil V2

Pinecil V2, like its predecessor, can work with voltages between 12 and 24 Volts. The higher the voltage, the faster the iron will heat up. The DC5525 barrel jack offers flexibility for those of us soldering in the field. DC power supplies with 5525 jacks are common and that means we are never far away from a viable power source.

If you are truly “in the field” with no access to an outlet, you can power Pinecil V2 from a USB C powerbank, as long as it can produce the necessary voltage. You can also use LiPo batteries in 3 / 4 or 5S configurations, or in a pinch an 18-20V Lithium Ion tool battery can be used.

Pinecil V2 is capable of reaching 450 degrees Celsius, and at that temperature, the iron is pulling 66 Watts (20 Volts at 3.3 Amps), the maximum we can supply from our USB-C power source. Pinecil V2 differs from V1 in its power range. With V1, we could get between 17 and 65 Watts. V2 takes this further with a range of 18 to 88 Watts. You’ll need a decent power source to reach the 88W target (24V at 3.66 Amps), and soldering at this level of power is not the norm.

Pinecil V2 Soldering Tips

Every maker has their preferred soldering iron tip, and the Pinecil V2 comes with a decent conical short tip that will do the job. It isn’t the most precise tip, but it is able to solder through hole components, and the GPIO of a Raspberry Pi.

The tips of the Pinecil V2 are compatible with those of the V1, and by extension they are also compatible with Waveshare’s TS100 soldering iron. Pine64 offers a selection of replacement tips, and Waveshare TS100 tips can also be found via Aliexpress.

We have a range of soldering iron tips as we own each of the aforementioned soldering irons. The ones that we use the most are a chisel tip and bevel. Both provide enough thermal mass to make contact with the component and PCB, but the chisel affords a little more precision. When purchasing a soldering iron, it is wise to grab a few different types and take them for a test drive before settling on just one.

Bottom Line: Who is Pinecil V2 For?

If you have a Pinecil V1, there isn’t much reason to upgrade to V2. The extra power (88W) is nice to have, but how often do we really need it? On the other hand if you are looking for a soldering iron, then Pinecil V2 is an ideal starter iron. We get a low cost iron, with high-end features.

We don’t need to dedicate a spot on our workbench, but we get the benefits of a temperature controlled iron. Even a cheaper soldering iron will come in at around $15-20, so for the little bit extra, we get a lot more functionality.If you are getting started, or a seasoned maker, Pinecil V2 is a great iron for your workshop.