I purchased a Fakko 907 with 'silica' handle off E-bay for $9.98 USD shipped.
Before purchasing it I contacted the seller to see if this 'better' one also included a silicone cable as it is called in the listing. I receive it yesterday and it does in fact come with a silicone (read heat resistant) cable. The cord is 36 inches from the 5 pin DIN connector to the strain relief at the handle. The grip is far as I can tell silicone as well but I am not a chemist so take this a speculation on my part.
The heating element on this device reads 3.1 ohms and the sensor reads approximately 38.5* ohms if I remember correctly. (The heating element reading of 44.7 ohm is within specs on a subsequent measurement.)
The handle appears to be of acceptable quality although the tip leaves a lot to be desired. It didn't want to take solder readily and the hole where the heating element inserts is slightly off center body making the metal portion of the handle tip down wards. Rotating the tip in the sleeve will correct the issue as will filing the end. A real T18 or 900M tip should solve it permanently. I would suggest you use the factory tips if at all possible.
For $9.98 USD plus the price for a real Hakko tip and you get a reasonable facsimile of the Hakko 907 for a getting harder to find at a reasonable price iron that even fits the standard iron holder. Even less if the silicone cord and grip don't really matter to you.
Link to the item I purchased...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/soldering-Station-Iron-Silica-Gel-Handle-for-HAKKO-907-ESD-936-937-928-better-OK-/161996628903?hash=item25b7c063a7:g:k~QAAOSw~bFWGL~J_____________________
*Correction... the sensor reads 44.7 ohms. I must have had a poor connection when I initially checked.