# Pinecil soldering iron

10 Hacker News commenters recommended Pinecil soldering iron and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 5 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Recommended for fast heat-up, steady temperature control, and being usable without a wall socket. One critic reports the power input lacks strain relief, so the plug can fail.

## Why people recommend it

- Fast heat-up and quick to use (4 comments): "Not being tied to a socket is amazing and the device is good to go in literally seconds!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48107762)) "It's a really neat and fast soldering iron at a very cheap price." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48101447)) "its consistent temperature, sleep modes, and very quick heat-up" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48105339))
- Better than Weller and other irons (4 comments): "Both the FX-88 and the Pinecil are miles and miles ahead of the low-power, not-temperature-controlled soldering irons" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47929449)) "Switching from a Weller to a Pinecil was also pretty nice" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48101946)) "until I got the Pinecil, which was night and day" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47929544))
- Consistent temperature control (3 comments): "Both the FX-88 and the Pinecil are miles and miles ahead of the low-power, not-temperature-controlled soldering irons" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47929449)) "its consistent temperature, sleep modes, and very quick heat-up" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48105339)) "excellent temperature control and rapid heating" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48406589))
- Recommended as a useful tool (2 comments): "My recommendations for most useful tools are a Pinecil" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48109172)) "Use this, stop complaining" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48110057))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Hakko FX-888D soldering station](https://hackerapproved.com/p/hakko-soldering-iron.md): 8 recommend
- [Metcal soldering station](https://hackerapproved.com/p/metcal-soldering-iron.md): 7 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Pine64+Pinecil+V2+soldering+iron&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Official site](https://pine64.org/devices/pinecil/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Pinecil soldering iron", https://hackerapproved.com/p/pinecil-soldering-iron/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).