Unique Festools/ why I bought them

[Toolabundant]

I bought one Festool a month starting in September. The OF1010 router, the ct 15 , and the rotex 90 sander. All were worth the money to me cause of their uniqueness.  Nobody makes a router like the 1010. Sizes in between a trim router and a midsize router it can do most touting tasks and is so maneuverable you can even rout one handed with it. The rotex 90 is like getting 3 sanders in one; a stripper, finish sander and detail sander. And ain’t  no one making a 3 1-2 inch random orbit sander. And the ct 15 , when upgraded to green hose and hose garage, has on board hose storage and a hose that doesn’t snag. So my1sr three Festools are very unique tip the tool industry. Well except maybe the vacuum but it is a high performer. That’s what made them worth it to me.  No one eise makes anything similar.

 

[AlexThePalex]

Maybe they are pretty unique in the States, but here in Europe there are more tools from other manufacturers like that.

I agree the RO90 is a pretty unique tool in that it offers 3 different modes in one tool, which I have not seen anywhere else. But over here there are sanders available from other manufacturers that have more or less the same size pad.

I find the OF1010 nothing special at all. Tons of routers in that segment, the only difference is the handle is a bit bigger and to me that means nothing. One handed routing? Maybe if you need to make a small roundover only. But if you need to hog a bit of wood you sure need your two hands. I don't like the OF1010 very much because the two plunge bars rust like crazy. I've had a 5 year old OF1010 and the bars had so much rust on them it became difficult to plunge. And I've seen more of that on other 1010's. In contrast, my 24 year old Elu/DeWalt router doesn't have a spec on it. 

And a vac is a vac.

 

[Spandex]

Rust issues aside, I think the OF1010 is fairly unique, in that it’s halfway between a palm router and a full size router, and has the 8mm collet which gives the ability to run beefier cutters than all the 1/4” models out there. For what it can achieve it’s pretty compact.

I think the OP blew its trumpet a bit too much - it’s just a router at the end of the day and you can do the same job with any other router, but the OF1010 is still pretty much unique.

 

[promark747]

For me, the three that stand out as unique are the Domino, MFS, and MFT.

 

[Jim_in_PA]

I'm with Promark that the Domino 500 and Domino 700XL are the "big game changers", but agree that, at least for those of us in North America, there are some unique and very useful tools in the Festool lineup that are not readily duplicated by others. I do own a OF1010 router and while I don't use it much, it's as the OP describes: compact, versatile and easy to use. I don't own a trim router of any brand, so when I need smaller/lighter, I do pull out the OF1010. I'll also opine that the MFT format has pervaded my shop in a big way, even though I don't use my actual MFT much...all my benches have the 20mm holes on a 96mm grid for general purpose use, although they also sport some .75" dog holes in thicker bench areas for my beloved hold-fasts. But honestly, the bottom line is "the system" which I enjoy a whole lot. Even though I have a shop full of major tools, I very often use various Festool products to make things happen, even more so in my current temporary shop situation.