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I know.
I was also very disappointed in Festool, when I saw their price for hose.
I'll just keep on repairing the original.
 
The Festool is longer and anti static.

Also if you look closely the Festool is unique (I think) in that it's smooth not ribbed so it doesn't get hooked up on things like guide rails etc, also nicer to coil up.

Not Defending Festool because their accessories are often over priced but it is a better hose then the others and some are willing to pay it.
 
Well for one thing the exterior of the hose is covered so when using something like a track saw it glides over obstacles rather than snagging on the ribs that the other two have, it is also anti static & has a rotating adapter that fits their tools.

Is it better than the other two, definitely. Is it expensive, yes for the reasons stated. Would I like one, without doubt. Do I own one, no as I to baulk at paying the price but it doesn’t stop me wanting one :unsure:
 
I've got the Cen Tech adapters and will be buying their hose plus a few more adapters soon. They're great.

However I can kinda see the price of the Festool hose in way. While I've not used one yet, my only complaint of my TS55/router etc.. is that sometimes my hose snags on my MFT/track. The killer feature of the Festool hose is supposedly that this doesn't happen with the outer casing, plus it has something inside to ensure it has maximum airflow. I guess it's the other hoses that are at fault - those ridges are a right pain, yet they are cheap.

I don't have a Festool dust extractor yet but I know it will be miles better than my current setup - so while the price does seem high, like my other Festool gear as soon as I use it I'm more than happy.
 
It looks an unambiguously good product, as with most Festool kit.

It is also unambiguously the case that it is very expensive.

Is it a justifiable purchase - it no doubt does the job very well, and may be a real benefit (faster, avoid mistakes and wasted material) if it is part of the way you make a living.

It may be justified simply because like many tools it is a pleasure to use. Many hobby woodworkers take pleasure in using kit that is supremely well designed and finished - chisels, saws, planes etc etc. That it makes little or no difference to the quality of what is produced is not the point.

Would I buy - no, it simply cost too much.
 
nobody is mentioning "Incorporated RFID chip allows for automatic suction hose detection" got to be worth another £100 surely?

I think there comes a point, normally about the mid range of proffesional grade, where to get an extra 10 or 20 % of performance it will cost you twice as much, which I would put down mostly to economy of scale, after all how many more dewalt drills will be sold worldwide than festool drills? I think the same applies to most things, audio, kitchenware etc etc. Undeniable factor of prestige which you of course pay for too.

If I could afford festool kit I would, I can't so I'll be sticking with dewalt.
 
I don''t own any Festool products. I did briefly look at a tape measure, lol. They seem really good tools, but I don't need anything that good for what I do. They must be doing something right to survive in such a competitive market, considering how much they charge. A bit like Apple really. I really like the Domino. I think that is the only Festool I might be tempted to buy, if I was tortured....
 
I think there comes a point, normally about the mid range of proffesional grade, where to get an extra 10 or 20 % of performance it will cost you twice as much...

This seems to be the case in the AV field, there's people who swear they can tell the difference between the quality of picture/sound when they're spending thousands of pounds in amplifiers and turntables and I'm pretty sure that one you've past "average" I'd be hard pushed to notice, or indeed care.

Can a £100 hammer hit things better than a £40 hammer? A screwdriver is a screwdriver whether it's manual or powered - the end result is a screw in a piece of wood.

Bottom line is that there are enthusiasts who just like having better stuff, they probably make up way more of the market than those who can actually tell the difference in performance.
 
The new woven festool hoses are very nice and a real innovation (at least to me). They do offer the best flexibility.
I have to say that Festool's old black and green ones used to cost pretty much this price before they launched the new range and those were the real ripoff. They are stiff and unwieldy. The Mirka hoses at less than half the price are much more usable. The red / black antistatic hoses that sold with Nilfisk and Flex dust extractors are modestly cheaper and more flexible than the old Festool ones without giving anything away in terms of quality.
The fancy end fittings can make quite a difference to prices on the big brand hoses.
 
I have both the 27 Festool and 27 Mirka. The tools I have require different ends, so it was easier getting a second hose, in this particular case, the Mirka for a Ceros ROS.

The Mirka is actually the nicer hose to use as it is lighter. The Festool is the older version, and I believe the new one (in the link above) is tapered ala the Mirka. I added my own sleeves to both, and that was a good upgrade.

Both the Mirka and Festool hoses, as linked, are antistatic, while the cheaper grey version is not. Antistatic hosing is more expensive (but worth it), and so this is not an apples vs apples comparison.

Also check out Bosch hoses for their 35mm antistatic. This is identical to the Festool 36mm in my opinion. It cost me half the Festool, while being twice the length, but I needed to change the attachment. Still way cheaper.

Regards from Perth

Derek
 
I think that the issue here is that mains tools have been replaced by battery but there is no point in getting rid of the mains lead and replacing it with a stiff tube which catches on things .

I know an excellent carpenter, trained as a joiner, now makes his living in the building trade doing second fix, mostly for an award winning builder. He uses a lot of festool gear and watching him work is a “joy to behold”. Set up and take down time plus quality and ease of use are essential to him.

He has (amongst his many festool tools) a festool track saw, vacuum and hose. He never seems to have issues with the hose getting in the way. He is using his tools for about 48 hours a week so £129 for a flexible hose which does not catch, kink, block and is flexible and easy to use is worth it for him.

Myself, I make do with homemade timber tracks and an aluminium strip bolted to the underside of my Makita mains saw. Dust extraction needs to be sorted but it will be a china imported cyclone with a henry vacuum and I will not be spending £129 on a hose.
 
You realize all our stuff would be thus expensive if they were built like this. Built to super high standards. Built by people in factories in countries where people make a living wage. Not China!
I believe made in switerzerland, Austria and Germany.
 
Has anyone tried covering their cheaper hose with braided sleeving, such as:

https://www.vanslin.com/product/pro..._Anti_Abrasion_Expandable_Braided_Sleeve.html
With some self adhesive heatshrink to hold it all in place?
Yes, I've done exactly that. The sleeving cost about a tenner on eBay a few years back, it's very slippery and doesn't snag on anything. Another big benefit is that you can run the plug-it cable inside the sleeve. I used plumbers self amalgamating tape on the ends, heatshrink would be good but I've never seen it in that size, what you don't want is electrical tape cos it will quickly turn into a sticky mess.

FestoolHose.jpg
 

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