I think it might be a long term trend. Festool seem to be producing tools these days that are either flawed or compromised in some way. I also find that the company's products no longer represent sufficient quality or performance to justify their rather extortionate Oz pricing.
In fact, just about each & every Festool purchase I've made since about the year 2000 has been pretty disappointing. So much so that I'm obliged to reconsider whether or not they can make the right tools for me any more. My RS1C sander, crude as it is has been performing flawlessly for me for the last 1/4 century, as has my SR5E vac (at least it did until it was nicked). My Deltex sander is also excellent, albeit somewhat eclipsed by the variety of inaccessibility accessories available from Bosch, & my Gen. 2 Rotex 150 has been exemplary. Likewise, my more recently purchased CT22 vac & 2 belt sanders have been flawless performers.
Granted, my couple of cordless drills were crap, but cordless tech was never really the company's forte anyway. When comparing their cordless tools to the opposition, they invariably seem to be about 3-5 years out of date in regard to features & performance. But as I said, it was never their specialty anyway, so perhaps that I need concede the point that one doesn't necessarily buy into Festo/ol's cordless range for its actual capabilities. They must have alternative virtues of which I'm blissfully unaware.
However, some of my premium priced later purchases have been especially disappointing. The Kapex & Trion saws, Duplex & Ro 90 sanders have been, at least in my hands anyway, grotesquely expensive white elephants. In my opinion extravagant wastes of money that have consistently not only underperformed my expectations, but also the performance and uses for which they were originally marketed.
In summary, a rather profligate waste of about $4K odd that I for one can ill afford. Unless or until the company can regain the ability to provide products that have a level of performance commensurate with their pricing policies, then I for one feel obliged to look elsewhere for better value. For me, the smaller but seemingly extremely high quality products made by & for Mafell may now be a closer fit to my own personal expectations.
In fact, just about each & every Festool purchase I've made since about the year 2000 has been pretty disappointing. So much so that I'm obliged to reconsider whether or not they can make the right tools for me any more. My RS1C sander, crude as it is has been performing flawlessly for me for the last 1/4 century, as has my SR5E vac (at least it did until it was nicked). My Deltex sander is also excellent, albeit somewhat eclipsed by the variety of inaccessibility accessories available from Bosch, & my Gen. 2 Rotex 150 has been exemplary. Likewise, my more recently purchased CT22 vac & 2 belt sanders have been flawless performers.
Granted, my couple of cordless drills were crap, but cordless tech was never really the company's forte anyway. When comparing their cordless tools to the opposition, they invariably seem to be about 3-5 years out of date in regard to features & performance. But as I said, it was never their specialty anyway, so perhaps that I need concede the point that one doesn't necessarily buy into Festo/ol's cordless range for its actual capabilities. They must have alternative virtues of which I'm blissfully unaware.
However, some of my premium priced later purchases have been especially disappointing. The Kapex & Trion saws, Duplex & Ro 90 sanders have been, at least in my hands anyway, grotesquely expensive white elephants. In my opinion extravagant wastes of money that have consistently not only underperformed my expectations, but also the performance and uses for which they were originally marketed.
In summary, a rather profligate waste of about $4K odd that I for one can ill afford. Unless or until the company can regain the ability to provide products that have a level of performance commensurate with their pricing policies, then I for one feel obliged to look elsewhere for better value. For me, the smaller but seemingly extremely high quality products made by & for Mafell may now be a closer fit to my own personal expectations.
