ETS 150/5 vs ETS 150/3?

[Locks14]

I'm looking for a new sander and browsing the various brands, (Mirka, Festool, Mafell, Bosch, etc) and one thing occurs to me.

What's the point of a 3mm stroke and when is it needed over a 5mm?

Looking at Mirka (and I think we can all agree they know a thing or two about sanders) they offer most of their RO sanders in either 5mm or 8mm... So if they don't see the need for a 3mm orbit I'm a little baffled as to why/when it would be needed?

Cheers
Lock.

 

[semenza]

    It is just a finer sanding pattern. /3 is better on finish coats than the /5 but the /5 is not bad.  If you have a Rotex 150 the /3 is a perfect compliment. If you don't have a coarser sander then the /5 will be a bit more all purpose and do a better job than the /3 with grits below 80gr. The /5 can still go up in the high range for finish work. Of the Festool line the /3 is the king at 180 and up. The /5 is a very broad range finish sander. They both have there niche but both can do a good job outside of it too. Just depends where you want the focus to be.

Seth