what sodering iron should I get

I have had two soldering stations in the thirty five years I have been joining wires and PCBs together.

The first was a relatively cheap chain store offering that lasted 33 years and is irrelevant except it shows you that you don't have to pay big bucks for something that lasts! It had temperature control and indicated the current temp on a little analog meter that gave you a reasonable indication.  I learned to tell the usable temperature by the heat the tip gave off and the appearance of the solder on the tip eg oxidation rate and color.  But I looked after it and changed tips when needed. It still works!

I decided to get a new lighter weight iron for smd and decided on two Hakko units namely the 888D. One for me and one for my partner. They are nice! Light and yet hold enough heat for most except large ground planes and terminal lugs etc. yet they are pretty quick to recover.

The years will tell but I would go one of these again or a similarly priced Weller unit.

If you are happy with performance then you are half way there. You only have to look after it to make it last.

I have had two soldering stations in the thirty five years I have been joining wires and PCBs together.

The first was a relatively cheap chain store offering that lasted 33 years and is irrelevant except it shows you that you don't have to pay big bucks for something that lasts! It had temperature control and indicated the current temp on a little analog meter that gave you a reasonable indication.  I learned to tell the usable temperature by the heat the tip gave off and the appearance of the solder on the tip eg oxidation rate and color.  But I looked after it and changed tips when needed. It still works!

I decided to get a new lighter weight iron for smd and decided on two Hakko units namely the 888D. One for me and one for my partner. They are nice! Light and yet hold enough heat for most except large ground planes and terminal lugs etc. yet they are pretty quick to recover.

The years will tell but I would go one of these again or a similarly priced Weller unit.

If you are happy with performance then you are half way there. You only have to look after it to make it last.