iFixit Handheld Soldering Iron Review: Worthy of Your Desk

Right to Repair Movement has a catchy name, but before you can worry about right of repairYou need the ability to repair. If you don’t know how to take your device apart, there’s no need to worry about whether it’s legal. Without basic repair skills and an innate curiosity, the right to repair is useless.

This is where iFixit’s new Soldering Iron Hub enters the fray. iFixit, a longtime advocate for the right to repair, has thousands of instructions online to help you actually fix things. Now, the company has created a soldering iron to help you roll up your sleeves and enter the real world of repair.

Right to weld

I grew up around welding. My dad built his own tube-powered ham radio equipment, but for some reason I never actually got around to welding until late in life. my repair life. An electrician friend of mine was horrified that I didn’t weld regularly and gave me a rudimentary welder, which was all I had for an embarrassingly long time. Then I bought a pine treeMainly because of the compact, portable design, but that cheap welder was all I had for years.

While a cheap soldering iron is better than no soldering iron at all, I think the reason why many people are afraid of soldering or have problems when they first try is because of cheap soldering irons. Cheap tools are the source of many problems, but the biggest problem with soldering irons is that they don’t get hot enough, causing the solder to stick to the tip instead of flowing evenly where you want it. Cheap soldering irons also don’t have replaceable tips, which make soldering easier by fitting it exactly where you want it.

iFixit, the company that has made a name for itself in the repair world by creating guides, tutorials, and more designed to help consumers become more than just consumers, has launched a new store called Hub Repair. The first product is a USB-C handheld soldering iron.

Photo: Scott Gilbertson

iFixit’s new soldering iron is actually a few products. The core product is the $80 Smart Soldering Iron, which is powered via USB-C and comes with a 1.5mm, beveled tip. (There are six tips, and iFixit plans to make more.) Then there’s the $250 Portable Soldering Station, which includes the soldering iron and a battery pack specifically designed for the iron. The final option is the $300 Complete Toolkit, which includes everything from the soldering station package, along with helpful tools like wire strippers, cutters, solder, flux, wire holders, cleaner, and more.

The first thing you notice when you first open the kit is the magnetic cap. This is genius. Not only does it cover the soldering tip, but you can also attach it even when the tip is hot and it will automatically cool down to idle temperature (which you can set in the app). Every soldering iron should have a cap like this. This feature alone makes iFixit’s soldering iron great for beginners. The cap also has a wire connector that allows you to attach the battery pack.

There are other user-friendly features, like an LED light system that alerts you when the iron is hot and a motion sensor that detects when you set the iron down for a while (causing it to turn off automatically). The motion sensor can also detect if you drop the iron and will turn it off automatically. I tested all three of these features and they worked without any issues.