I can't speak about getting 245 tips in Canada, but I can say that the included tips aren't the best. I don't like conical tips, which you get two of, and they are very small. The only one I could use was the knife, and even then, it's not as wide as I would like. If you are working on phones, then yeah, they can work and are the correct sizes/styles. But like you, I'm doing through-hole and SMD (0402 is the smallest I deal with, and that's rare). I wound up buying 5 245 tips, but I should have only bought 3. The C245-158E is my workhorse, works great, zero complaints about it. The 157E is my knife, but it also has a fairly high thermal mass and works better than the C245-759 I intended to use for such things. Mind you, I don't work on heavy ground planes or anything. Just eyelets and old turret boards on vintage audio stuff, nothing I'd need a 6mm tip for. Then I bought a C245-710 for SMD stuff, and while it wasn't necessarily a mistake, the C245-748 I wound up buying later made the 710 obsolete as it is between the 158E and 748. The 710 is long, skinny, and can get into tight places, but rarely gets used now. So I'd point you towards the C245- 157E, 158E, and 748. That will literally cover everything between the two extremes. For the extremely small, the included tips will work fine. For the large, yes, the 966 will work. Or you could go with something like the Weller D550PK "Big Gun" which comes with 3 tips, is like $20 more than the 966 tip, but will handle ANYTHING big. Just depends on how "big" your needs are, and how often you'd use it. Oh, and you brought up the 905 and 945. That's up to you. I personally don't use them that much, I don't like that you have a generally fixed angle you have to use them at, and prefer the 158E as my daily driver. That said, when I do need a 905 type for drag soldering where the knife won't work (tight spaces where I can't drag horizontally), I have a TS80 with a 905-like tip that I use to drag vertically. So you'll need 3-5 tips depending on what you really need. The C245-748 is an absolute winner for anything SMD that you don't need to drag solder. Can't recommend that one enough. Daily driver is personal preference I guess. I prefer the 158E, but if you like the 905 and are used to it, you can go with that, and possibly skip the 157E since you can drag solder with the 905 tip too. But the 157E is great for fixing solder bridges. Then you need something big. That's totally up to you, you have my suggestions. Good luck!