Review on Delcast Watt Precision Soldering Iron by Travis Coffman

OK. First off, I should note that this is cheap hardware. Not necessarily cheap, as in "bad", but inexpensive. I only got it a few days ago and am fairly new to soldering so all I know is that it works and is inexpensive. I've had several cheaper Radio Shack soldering irons over the years and never liked them for that much money. I'm pretty sure they're always around $10 (maybe a little more) and I've always felt it was too much to pay for what they were. As far as I can tell, this $6 hardware is just as good, and maybe a little better. The only thing I don't really like is how the lace stays in place. It doesn't seem to be making good contact with the metal it's heating. It's held on with two screws (one on each side) and doesn't look as good as some of the more expensive irons. Of course, this is not about more expensive hardware. I bought this cheap iron to practice with. I bought a weller that costs several times more than this one, but I really don't want to use it much until I get better at soldering. If I kill this one due to my inexperience, $6 doesn't bite that much. Unfortunately I'm not sure if the tip can be replaced. Although it comes out, iron improvement tips often cost as much as the whole iron, so I think it's effectively disposable. However. When the iron arrived I noticed that the packaging said it would smoke a bit the first time I used it. It was like this. I remember cheap irons being smoked in the past when they were new so I wasn't expecting anything like this. The smoke was a bit thicker and more plentiful than I was expecting, but eventually died down. It takes a little longer to heat up, but it really isn't that bad. Again for the price I didn't know what to expect and it seems fine. It will probably get about as hot as it gets in 3-5 minutes. The handle does not heat up with short-term use. Haven't tried longer jobs. The grip and ergonomics are pretty good. It's easy to hold in your hand and thin enough that it doesn't feel like you're trying to solder with a putty knife. That's easy. If anything, I wish it had a bit more weight to offset the weight of the cord. I can't complain about the price. I've learned more since I bought this than I've learned in the last 20 years. I didn't buy it to fix things that are irreplaceable. I bought it for practice and I think it's the best use for it. If you're good at soldering, you probably aren't reading this review. But if you're good at soldering and you know what you're doing, you're probably better off spending more. Unless, for some reason, you just don't need a low-power disposable iron.