Best Desoldering Tools for Retro Repairs (2026 Comparison)

After a year of putting the Hakko FR-301 through its paces, it’s time for a rematch. I’ve assembled seven different desoldering tools—from the legendary (and expensive) Hakko to a suspiciously cheap £17 “fire hazard”—to see which one is the true king of vintage PCB repair. In this episode, I’m put these tools through the “Desoldering Hunger Games.” I’m testing heat-up times, maintenance requirements, and a brutal, unscientific desoldering test on a sacrificial Issue 2 ZX Spectrum board. On test: The costly Hakko FR-301 (and the Japanese import “hack”) The modded ZD-915 (Is the “Moo Gun” still the value king?) The surprisingly quiet Yihua 948 The Gaojie S-993A and the terrifying 845 Plus manual options like the Engineer SS-02 and the Yihua 929D WARNING! Working on vintage hardware requires care. Please don’t treat your working boards the way I treat this sacrificial Spectrum!