I've used Pace, Weller, and various junk amazingly referred to as soldering irons over the years. I think Weller is overrated, Pace is great but not viable unless as a business ($$$). For occasional / hobbyist work (and perhaps a good pro candidate), this Hakko 888D is FANTASTIC. Heats quickly, sturdy heavy base and a holder that stays put, sponge AND wire pad to clean.
I've had this nearly a year now, and it is SO nice to use.
My ONLY complaint is the sponge. It has these weird cuts in it (not the slots). The slots in the sponge are OK, but the near ends are where that will wear out. The weird cutting of the sponge (half circles off the slots), I don't get. The dampened sponge is a little softer than I'd like, but this is a very minor issue. To be clear, I haven't bothered to find a better sponge yet, but when it wears out, I'll find something more suitable.
Tip for sponges - you want it wet all the way through (at the least, to expand and stay put in the holder), but wring / squeeze out excess until JUST damp. Too much water will shock the tip and draw out heat, too little will allow the iron to burn the sponge. Re-dampen as needed.
That said, nothing else comes close for the money. Tip holds heat well, power is more than adequate, got an assorted set of Hakko tips, good quality.
A tip for your tips: always wipe and add fresh solder BEFORE returning to the holder, then wipe and add fresh when removing to use. I still have a 30 year old 25W Radio Shack iron I was using until this (it actually worked better than others I tried over the years), original tip, and while certainly not used for production, hundreds of times over many hours would not be an overstatement. The #1 mistake I have seen of ppl soldering is wiping a tip clean and putting in holder. This isn't like "clean before you put it away" things - oxidation attacks metal, heat accelerates oxidation, a wiped-clean tip has no buffer of sacrificial solder to protect it as it bakes in the holder.
Another tip tip, use the biggest wedge you can manage versus super fine tips, finer tips go through more thermal shock when soldering, and erode faster than fatter tips - and finer tips don't transfer heat as well. I recall fighting Weller fine tips in my earlier days that just seemed to like to burn. On the Hakko, I'm using a small wedge I turn on edge when I need to work in a tight area, still like new.
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