Dude!, whoa. Long life filter bag review.

[ericbuggeln]

Those are the words that came to mind when I opened a package from Festoolproducts.com earlier today. My expectations ran high with a $205.00 price tag, but boy, was i blown away. The best dust bag ever. If you are sick of blow outs, not being able to re use,  or having to leave the jobsite to make a run to the local Woodcraft, im pretty sure i got your answer here. The longlife bag is extremely well put together and actually sort of justifies the ridiculous price tag. The port is much nicer then the paper bags and looks like it will eliminate dust getting out of the bag. The material is rugged, yet breathable. In order to empty the bag you just remove the black bar, a really simple, but probably long lasting solution. Time will tell, but I am very impressed with the quality of this product. It looks like if you properly cared for it, that it would last indefinitely. This is gonna definitely save my company time and money in the long run, Eric

 

[AlexThePalex]

In order to empty the bag you just remove the black bar, a really simple, but probably long lasting solution. Time will tell, but I am very impressed with the quality of this product.

It sure is a very good product, it was the only bag I ever used for my CT 22. It is as you say, rugged and long lasting. Only the black bar is not. Always be careful when you remove and replace that one. It breaks easily.

 

[paul_david_thomas]

I'm sorry, whilst I love festool stuff & I've got one of these bags, they are way over priced and do not represent their true cost of manufacturing - and that includes R&D. But that's just my opinion !

 

[Julian Tracy]

The clinch bar is easily replaced by a slit section of pex tube... I've been happy with my longlife bag, but then I bought mine used for $80 or so.  works great even for drywall dust and mdf cutting, not too mention using the vac for a benchtop planer port.

I'm not sure if it'd be worth $200+ to me... does seem like a total scam price.  Especially in light of all the money I've wasted on the CT22 paper bags that blew out on me for no good reason.

Don't get me started on the fact that I thought I bought a HEPA-rated  vac only to discover that what I am really supposed to do is buy another "real" HEPA in the form of a $600 CT26...

Julian

 

[ericbuggeln]

If you have bought six 5 packs of ct22 bags you could have paid for a long life bag and been done with it. That being said, $205.00 is an absolute embarrasment on Festools part. Not to bash my favorite tool company ever, but the longlife bag should come stock on all their vacs at that price point. The paper bags arent practical if youre any everyday pro. When faced with how much i would spend on paper bags for the rest of the vacs life, i couldnt afford not to buy the longlife bag, Eric

 

[Alan m]

couldnt live without the long life bag. saves loads of money in the long run.
still use some disosable ones for sanding drywall etc

 

[Chris Hughes]

They need to make them fire resistant.  Just my opinion.

 

[Kev]

The price for a long life bag in Oz is $AU375. On current exchange rates that's almost $US400 ... It's a cloth bag with a plastic socket and a plastic sealing strip  [eek]

The CT36 here is $AU1199 and the tradesman cleaning kit (Sys5, D36, metal tubes, etc) is $AU399

I'd add a scathing comment - but it'd be redundant.

 

[Jason Kehl]

Has anyone here used the long life filter bag for enough time to be able to advise how long they actually last? Do they eventually clog up so that suction is minimized, would they be difficult to clean if this were to happen? I have considered getting one, but am concerned about this.

Thanks.

j

 

[Glenn in Shailer]

...self cleaning filter bags, (5 @ $37.00) plus these

...magic setup and cheap.

 

[Timtool]

If you have bought six 5 packs of ct22 bags you could have paid for a long life bag and been done with it. That being said, $205.00 is an absolute embarrasment on Festools part. Not to bash my favorite tool company ever, but the longlife bag should come stock on all their vacs at that price point. The paper bags arent practical if youre any everyday pro. When faced with how much i would spend on paper bags for the rest of the vacs life, i couldnt afford not to buy the longlife bag, Eric

In my case 5 packs of CT22 bags would be about 3 years worth of bags, and i use my vac every day professionally, i just empty the bags 3-4 times before they wear out. I do this next to the hose of my DC system so i get no dust.
Has anyone used the same long life bag for at least 3 years daily? I am not certain yet of the real advantage of these bags, they are just a more rugged and easy to empty version of the paper ones, but they clog just the same and i suppose need a good beating as well to get a good part of the fine dust out of the fibers. I am not sure that using the same bag for a couple years is better than having 25 fresh bags over the same period, either for the machine and yourself.
No harm to the OP intended, but it made me smile to read in the first line of a review the words 'opened the package earlier today" , thats' more of a content description, make sure you post back about your experience once you filled it at least 25 times when you reach the ROI!

 

[ericbuggeln]

Tim, definitely was a "content description" or really first impression as Ive been in the shop since I wrote that and actually havent even used it yet bc i have a ct22 with sys5 DD that i use in the shop.  i just wanted people to get a better idea of what it looked like compared to the paper bags which are obviously working better for you then me. I have been on and off this forum since 2007 and have never seen anyone post about this product before.  I will give a repost when i first empty it and then another a couple years down the line.  I was merely trying to explain that i thought it was much nicer then the paper bag set up, thanks Eric

 

[BJM9818]

The reason I bought the Festool vac over a regular shop vac was the no mess clean out.  Open the vac, fold over the cardboard cover and toss it.  I do agree the old paper bags that blew out in my midi sucked but since I have been using the felt bags it's been much better. I would rather spend the money I a DD than a 200 bag. My $.02

 

[ericbuggeln]

Ive been using this bag since early April at which point I blew out the inners of the CT22. This is what it looks like after daily use. At one point while sanding a ceiling that we had skim coated, no Planex yet, the bag became so full that I almost couldnt get it out of the vac. Well this is what it looks like inside months later. Cant say what it will be like in five years, but seems to be containing the dust quite well. The price is still an embarrassment, but Im using it like 300 days a year, so mathematically it works out.  Eric

 

[greenMonster]

Hmmm, pex tubing you say?

I'm one of the cheap bastages that reuses his bags and have been looking for a cheap reliable "clamp" instead of the high speed duct tape I've been using.
May give that a try, doesn't seem like it would clamp enough though.

1/2" or 3/4"?

The clinch bar is easily replaced by a slit section of pex tube... I've been happy with my longlife bag, but then I bought mine used for $80 or so.  works great even for drywall dust and mdf cutting, not too mention using the vac for a benchtop planer port.

I'm not sure if it'd be worth $200+ to me... does seem like a total scam price.  Especially in light of all the money I've wasted on the CT22 paper bags that blew out on me for no good reason.

Don't get me started on the fact that I thought I bought a HEPA-rated  vac only to discover that what I am really supposed to do is buy another "real" HEPA in the form of a $600 CT26...

Julian

 

[vwdave]

Im not too fond of my long life bag. I've came no where near the 500 fillings and the vac suction is no where near as good when I use the long life bag compared to paper or cloth. I keep meaning to try and wash is by hand and see if it's any better.

Dave

 

[ericbuggeln]

Dave, thats a bummer, how many do you think you got out of it before suction lessened? Eric

 

[ScotF]

Im not too fond of my long life bag. I've came no where near the 500 fillings and the vac suction is no where near as good when I use the long life bag compared to paper or cloth. I keep meaning to try and wash is by hand and see if it's any better.

Dave

Interesting experience -- I have been using mine and have had no ill effects so far and suction seems just as high as it was with the paper, but I have only filled it up a few times since installing it.  My guess is that a washing would help as the inside is probably caked with dust.

Scot

 

[ericbuggeln]

I just checked my suction level. It is fierce right now. More so then my CT22 with DD on Sys5, but probably because that has so much hose.

My current set up can suck and hold a piece of 3/4 ply at 6 3/4 x 13 1/2. In six months or so I will see if it can still suck it up. It was hanging on just barely today. Eric

 

[Rusty nuts]

Has anyone here used the long life filter bag for enough time to be able to advise how long they actually last? Do they eventually clog up so that suction is minimized, would they be difficult to clean if this were to happen? I have considered getting one, but am concerned about this.

Thanks.

j

Hi,
I have had a reusable bag for 12 years and it is still going strong, admittedly it only needs emptying about once every 6 week and even less when I get a cyclone put on it.
Regards
Michael