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Why buy this for $250 when you get the same thing from a pinecil v2 and use it with any 20v 100w PD USB-c power pack? I'm not seeing any differentiating feature

Why buy this for $250 when you get the same thing from a pinecil v2 and use it with any 20v 100w PD USB-c power pack? I'm not seeing any differentiating features.

myrmidon 2y ago
Because I have more trust in ifixit then in pine64 to sell robust, quality tools. And most of what you are going to overpay (?) for this is going to ifixit, which is also a plus. It's like buying merch from a band you like.
- brailsafe 2y ago
  I love iFixit, but their tools, parts, and kits have been a bit mixed (bit of poor, bit of good) in terms of quality.
  - KingOfCoders 2y ago
    I think their tools are overhyped - not worth the price, you pay for the brand they have built by basically PR (repair scores for iPhones).
    - brailsafe 2y ago
      For me it's hard to reconcile what is a good initiative to ostensibly reduce waste, with the reality of ordering at least one of their products. For example I couldn't get a screen replacement at one point unless I ordered a kit, but I needed 2 screens, so I ordered 2 kits and now have redundant, specific, toxic, tools, only some of which actually helped perform the repair. I'm thinking of the heating liquid pad, which gave me a bit of a laugh and didn't work, the plastic spudgers that were too soft to be durable, the precut adhesive strips that almost seemed insultingly ineffective. The actual handles and screwdriver bits were great though, so mixed feelings, I just hate waste.
- bmurphy1976 2y ago
  I can see why somebody might think that of general pine64 offerings, but the Pinecil is anything but that. It's a significant improvement over my bucket of old soldering irons I inherited and purchased over the years. Unless you are doing some serious heavy duty work, I'm hard pressed to think of a better alternative.
spookie 2y ago
Honestly a pinecil is more than enought to deal with small electronics

Why buy this for $250 when you get the same thing from a pinecil v2 and use it with any 20v 100w PD USB-c power pack? I'm not seeing any differentiating features.

myrmidon 2y ago

Because I have more trust in ifixit then in pine64 to sell robust, quality tools. And most of what you are going to overpay (?) for this is going to ifixit, which is also a plus. It's like buying merch from a band you like.

brailsafe 2y ago
I love iFixit, but their tools, parts, and kits have been a bit mixed (bit of poor, bit of good) in terms of quality.
- KingOfCoders 2y ago
  I think their tools are overhyped - not worth the price, you pay for the brand they have built by basically PR (repair scores for iPhones).
  - brailsafe 2y ago
    For me it's hard to reconcile what is a good initiative to ostensibly reduce waste, with the reality of ordering at least one of their products. For example I couldn't get a screen replacement at one point unless I ordered a kit, but I needed 2 screens, so I ordered 2 kits and now have redundant, specific, toxic, tools, only some of which actually helped perform the repair. I'm thinking of the heating liquid pad, which gave me a bit of a laugh and didn't work, the plastic spudgers that were too soft to be durable, the precut adhesive strips that almost seemed insultingly ineffective. The actual handles and screwdriver bits were great though, so mixed feelings, I just hate waste.
bmurphy1976 2y ago
I can see why somebody might think that of general pine64 offerings, but the Pinecil is anything but that. It's a significant improvement over my bucket of old soldering irons I inherited and purchased over the years. Unless you are doing some serious heavy duty work, I'm hard pressed to think of a better alternative.

spookie 2y ago

Honestly a pinecil is more than enought to deal with small electronics