The Original X-Tronic 3020-XTS • 75W Soldering Iron Station Kit • 2 Helping Hands • 5 Extra Tips • Roll of Solder • Brass Sponge & Flux • Tweezers • Solder Sucker • °C/°F Toggle & Sleep Features!

This is high quality. I am exremely pleased with it.

Great value. You get a lot for the price. Well designed and organized. You get everything you probably will ever need.

Out of the Box:The unit came with the base station, hot pen holder, Tip Cleaning scrub with Rosin basin, Cleaning Sponge, Solder Roll holder/dispenser, and Manual.Pros:I found these to be very well design elements of this unit both before, during and after using it:Base unit: The base unit has a holder for your brass filings tip cleaning with rosin on the bottom, large spring pen holder, built in reservoir for the cleaning sponge, adjustable temperature setting, and a soldering roll holder/dispenser.Sleep Mode: I found this very useful. During my DIY project I often find myself getting side tracked by non soldering activities. The device goes into a sleep mode after about 10 minutes of non use. Then somehow, not sure how, it knows that you have picked up the pen for use and immediately reactivates. Granted it doesn't instantly go back to the temperature you set, but for this feature I can wait a few seconds.Long Pen Cord: This is very important when working with soldering project, not having to fight the power cord. The Pen cord is totally separate from the power cord which both are connect via the base unit. Not to mention that the pen cord seems to be tangle free!Pen: The manufacturer doesn't use cheap hard plastic here, they went the extra mile to provide comfortable and heat resistant materials on the pen. Not one time did I get fatigued or felt as though the pen was getting hot. Nicely done!Cons:Temperature Knob: This really isn't a con but more of a I wished they would have done something different. The knob has a smooth rotation, and getting a precise temperature is rather hard to do. Sometimes the temp advances multiple degrees at the slightest movement. But at the end of the day, how often are you going to need an exact temperature for soldering.Manual: This has to be the first time I have listed a manual as a con for a device, but in my opinion this needs to be updated with a bit more information on the product and descriptions of the accessories and their uses.Wish List:This is my own personal things I wished would have been included on this product that would have put my rating over the top.Extra Soldering tips: The unit comes with just a basic needle point tip. A set of an additional 5 basic tips would have been perfect for inclusion within this package.Adding a clicking feature to the temperature knob. In my opinion this would allow for better control of the temperature setting feature of the unit. Again, this is just a wish they would have included this, but this seems to their basic model, and for what you get, it is most impressive.They also assume that you already know how to solder and therefore know how to set up a soldering pen/iron by "tinning" it. Unfortunately they do not have a procedure for how to do this in the manual. There is a section in the manual on page 4 is a sort of trouble shooting of why solder isn't sticking, but the all important method of tinning isn't described in detail and I wished it was. This would be a nice item to have in the manual, and I hope they read my review and act on some of these items!Assembly: Really, this has to be one of the easiest parts of the whole thing. Within minutes you are up and running and ready to go!Maintenance:Tip maintenance is required as it is with all soldering units. other than that and adding water to the cleaning sponge before use, there really isn't any.Personal experience:I'm building a DIY powerwall for my house, and a lot of soldering is required. The needle tip the unit came with will not work for the project I'm doing, which lead me to ordering a extra set of tips. Once I got the new tips, the unit has performed perfectly and my project is moving at a nice pace.Bottom Line:Overall this product works as advertised, and performs perfectly on both large and small jobs.Recommendation:Damn Good Buy!

I got this as my first introduction to soldering. It seemed to come with just about everything I needed. I appreciate the temp control, including flux, sponge, wire sponge, tips, helping hands, etc. The solder holder is cool as I carry this kit around a lot, but I don't think it's necessary and I wouldn't mind not having it.The helping hands aren't super precise. Making extremely small adjustments while soldering some headphone drivers was a bit annoying as they need to be moved *past* where you want them. I wish the solder came lead-free. The industry is trying to move away from lead as it's a bit more expensive and not safe. I immediately bought some lead-free solder after receiving this, and I recommend you do the same. The iron does need to be a bit hotter - I found about 200C for the leaded and about 260 for the lead-free, but this iron can handle that with no problem.I turned the sleep mode down to 1 minute - it's awesome that you can adjust it or even turn it off - and tested how it works. It does cool down (I didn't test how hot it remains) and when you pick up the iron it automatically shoots back up to the temp you had set.I'm not sure why there is a "Low" and "High" power mode. I understand it is to achieve higher temps, but I am not sure why that switch is needed and why it doesn't just go that high and low in one mode. Even the sleep timer only cools to 200C in "High" mode while it gets down to 90C in "Low". I can only assume it's for a different power supply switch, but the unit is so small I can't imagine there are two. Oh well.I love the idea of replacing my iron's heat element when it dies. However, you need a soldering iron to do so.... This makes sense, technically, however, could it be a plug instead? For a lot of people, this is going to be their only soldering iron. Meaning when the element dies (only a matter of time) I'll need to either know someone with an iron (I don't currently) or buy a new one while attempting to replace my element. Doesn't that sound a bit goofy? I guess it's like the American way of using war to fight war and make peace. You need the exact thing you are fixing to fix the thing you are fixing.I also don't like that the iron is permanently attached to the unit - I wish it was a socketed plug - even if it was proprietary. Assuming I'll need to solder the wire back if this ever gets damaged (again, needing a soldering iron) I could just redo the end using the provided one. The only issue is if the end itself is damaged. I'm not sure if there is a more standard plug available for something like that with high power throughout, and obviously, it would need to be recessed for safety. One of the reasons people even purchase soldering irons is to *fix things*. The "Right to Repair". Making this iron extremely easy to repair would make it one of the best options out there. "It has some flaws, but it is easily the best option for longevity and repair." It would just make storage so much easier. I have nowhere to put this unit. It doesn't fit back in its box when assembled. That leads me to my next point.The solder holder is great - but not necessary. I know you could just not use it, and it's not necessary to the unit's function. However, the way it attaches is *terrible*. It screws into two plastic holes with no threads. Meaning, it's effectively a one-time-attach. If you remove it, it may not go back on right, or at least not several times before the plastic "threads" you have just created with the provided screws are worn out. Two tiny metal threads would be excellent and I could attach/detach the holder. The "helping hands" mounting threads are metal, just two more are needed. Better yet, make the screws a form of T-pin instead and have it kind of "slide" on and off for easy removal.The same goes for the flux cup. I cannot get it out of my unit. I'm not sure if it's just an extremely tight fit or if it's glued in. I feel it should be able to come out without potentially damaging the unit by prying or pulling with pliers.If this is your first soldering experience, I would recommend this iron - however - there are some things the company should fix in either future production of this model or at least a V2. Include non-leaded solder, make the screw threads for the solder holder metal instead of plastic, maybe improve the helping hands flexibility, look into pluggable options for the iron cable and maybe the element (if it's possible).