This is a very nice piece of kit all around. It's well built, sturdy and works amazingly. It's not inexpensive, but neither is the quality.The magnetic clamps are easy to position, but also hold things in place quite well. They also stick well to the base (almost too well).The clamping arm is also easy to use/position, but does a fantastic job. It'll hold your heat gun, light, or anything else that'll fit and do it so easily.The fan is what surprised me the most. It has some serious power for the size. It's only a carbon filter, so adequate ventilation is would still be recommended, but it's a good first-stage solution.Overall, I'm quite impressed with this kit. It may seem expensive for what it is, but it's well worth it in my opinion. I wish it came with PCB standoffs/clamps, but I already have some from other kits so it's not a major complaint. Comparable kits that are half the price don't even come close to the quality or functionality... I've wasted plenty of money on said kits. As the saying goes, buy once, cry once.

Sainsmart makes a lot of good products and this one is no different. The complete kit is a great addition to any electronic repair workbench. I really like all of the "helping hands" clamps. The base of the station is solid and feels very sturdy. For hot air rework, or even regular soldering, this is a must have. I use mine all the time and I'm very happy with it; I highly recommend it.

Good set. It came with pretty much everything one would need for assisting smaller solder jobs. The gooseneck arms work well enough that things don't wobble all crazy and the exhaust fan is effective enough to dissipate any fumes. The base is sturdy and level, the clip heads have protective rubber on them to protect whatever I'm soldering, and everything feels like it's going to last, at least for a while. I'm hoping this kit will wind up lasting me for many years because it's been quite useful for getting small solder jobs done.

Perfect size for soldering . Just wanted to let you know the base is painted not anodized. When you drip alcohol it gets sticky and smears. Modified mine with a foldable and lit magnifying glass attached at the corner.

This entire kit has been working great and keeping my projects secure, and my air clean. The arms and carbon exhaust fan work great and smoothly.Only thing I could wish for is that it came in a hard case for easy storage, but that's something I could make myself.I'm really happy with this kit.

This is a full productivity kit for any electronics workbench! Although I already own many of the individual accessories that come included in this set, I tend to find that I mix-and-match or just can’t find a particular accessory far more often than I’d like. For example, I have a giant silicone soldering mat that measures 23.7”x13.8” and usually use a USB-C powered smart (pen-style) soldering iron. The tiny “holders” that come with those soldering irons just never seems to stay put, so having a builtin spot to drop your soldering iron into is a big plus, especially when it leaves more room on the bench! The metallic base plate is fairly large, especially if microsoldering is your forte. I currently have Weller’s “Helping Hands” (P/N: WLACCHHM-02), but their base is a meager 9”x6” as opposed to the 13.7”x9” that you’re getting here. The “wide application arm” will be a new addition to my bench and will likely be used to get focused light exactly where I will need it, but I’m looking forward to discovering all of the available options! Additionally, the “heat gun frame” option looks like it could prove to be very useful! Finally, although I already have two high quality fume extractors, it never hurts to have yet another option, especially when considering that I prefer traditional tin-lead solder for its reduced melting point!Now, get this, there are FOUR replacement filters for the fume extractor. One already comes installed, so that’s five total filters! Additionally, the included DC charger is actually UL Listed! When they say that this is a “premium” kit, they are being very literal! What I will likely do is keep this soldering station fully setup on a cart next to my bench and move it over when needed. Something tells me that will actually be quite often! Although I have a ton of room a top the silicone soldering mat, this setup will likely keep me far more organized going forward.The bottomline is that I really like what I see and although only time will tell how useful this setup will truly be, I am extremely impressed after only unboxing it! This is an amazing value for anyone that doesn’t have the included accessories as you’re getting high quality, full-size pieces, and enough of them to be extremely useful! It will also make a great upgrade for anyone like myself that already has smaller accessories here-and-there without any real cohesive design. I think being able to have this setup fully assembled for when you need it will make all the difference and could be a tremendous time saver. All said, this is an easy five star product that I couldn’t recommend more!

I am a jack of all trades, master of none, and one of the skills I've acquired along the way is soldering. I don't go and build circuit boards and electronics. Rather I do a lot of repairs. I can't tell you the number of times this kit would have come in handy. To be able to have a 3rd hand, a 4th hand even or more. Plus the added fan to draw away all the soldering fumes I wish I had so many times before.The base would be better being a little larger, at least to fill the box to the edges it comes in. The big 360° arm secures nicely to the post in the base. Everything else magnetically attaches. With that said, keep your credit cards and computers/hard drives away from these magnets, they are strong. There are multiple alligator clips for the 4 flexible arms. And there is a soldering iron holder that can also attach magnetically.I really like this kit. I give 5/5 stars.

This is an incredibly well-thought-out set that is ideal for me. I don't do a lot of soldering or rework, but when I do, I often find myself working awkwardly with whatever tools I have on hand. This kit feels like having another person assisting me. The magnets are nice and strong, and the components have a good amount of weight. The clips and everything else are exceptionally well-made.The fan is adequate for safety, but I plan to direct it outside using a vent duct attached to the back. It's great that they include extra filters as well. The threading and finishes on everything are of outstanding quality. Overall, this kit is well worth the investment, and you'd be hard-pressed to assemble such a well-built set for less.The set is very easy to recommend.

This review is for the SainSmart Magnetic Helping Hands Soldering, with Solder Fume Extractor. This kit supplies various magnetic gooseneck arms that can be located and bent to where ever you want on its 13.7"x9" metal base. The metal base has 4 rubber feet to prevent slippage. The rare earth magnets located on the bottom of the gooseneck arms are very strong and hold extremely well. Each arm has an alligator clip on its end. These are fairly robust clips, much stronger than the ones you normally get on the end of a jumper wire. Additionally, the jaws of the alligator clips are covered with a plastic sleeve so that they will not damage the surface of the object they are holding. This is important if holding a delicate circuit board. Also included is a soldering iron holder that is similarly attached with a strong rare earth magnet, so it can be placed in whatever location is most convenient to you. Mounted at the middle rear of the base is a multi-jointed arm which has a "claw" on it's end that can be used to hold the hot air gun used to de-solder components from a circuit board. Of course you can also use it to hold larger objects that are too big to be held by the alligator clips. The final included accessory is a fairly robust metal box housing a 3800 rpm 4.5" fan. The input air side holds a carbon filter and this whole apparatus is used to suck dangerous solder fumes away from the work area and away from you. It also has 2 rare earth magnets on it's base for firmly holding it in place. 4 additional carbon filters are included for future use. I also found 2 additional spare alligator clips in case one breaks or gets lost, which is a nice touch for SainSmart to include.I found the heavy base quite adequate to hold everything in place and there was absolutely no tendancy to be tippy or top heavy. The fan which is rated at 12v and 750 mah is powered by an included 12v 1000 mah power supply and when turned on it runs at full speed. It is not a variable speed fan, but that might be something SainSmart could add in a future model. It has sufficient airflow to suck fumes through it from at least 8" away! It is a bit loud, but nothing too annoying. I would rather have an effective somewhat noisy fan that a quiet one that doesn't suck the fumes away adequately.I wish I had these “helping hands” years ago. I have had "helping hand devices" over the years, but they were always small, cheaply made, tippy, and had alligator clips that were hard to postion just right. I have found the SainSmart kit to be many times better than anything I have ever used before. This unit takes up a bit of space on the workbench, but it can very quickly be put back in the box for safe keeping when not in use.If you are into soldering anything, de-soldering smd components, holding wires together to get soldered, etc, I highly recommend the SainSmart helping hands kit. You will be able to tackle that tricky soldering job by yourself, without having to ask someone for a helping hand to " Please hold this just like this so I can solder it."

I like that this soldering station is fully customizable to suit my needs as everything except for the heat gun holder uses magnets to attach to the baseplate. The baseplate is made of 2 mm thick steel with rubber feet and it doesn't bend or flex during use. The magnets on the accessories are very strong and the arms are able to hold large circuit boards without falling over.The arms are made of corrugated steel and are quite stiff so they stay exactly where I bend them without moving. The alligator clips securely screw on to the arms so they won't fall out which is an issue I have with my older soldering station. The heat gun holder is fully adjustable and is easy to adjust using wing nuts. The heat gun holder is able to move freely and it uses springs to hold its shape. The soldering station doesn't feel top heavy and it doesn't tip over or slide around on my workbench easily.The fume extractor uses a 12v power supply and it isn't battery operated which was something I was wondering. The fan is primarily made of steel and has strong magnetic feet. However, I use the fan laying beside the soldering station as I find that it takes up quite a bit of workspace when it's attached to the metal base. The fume extractor works well for filtering solder fumes and it includes replacement foam filters. The fan is somewhat noisy and the speed isn't adjustable, although I don't find it to be excessively loud when it's running. Overall this is a versatile, sturdy and helpful soldering station. I also like that the heat gun holder can be used to hold a light, microscope or a circuit board, etc.