Initial Impressions of Mille vs Flex 3401

[TTQ B4U]

I may be the odd-man out here and I'm not final in my opinion, but the initial impressions I had have left me a bit disappointed in the unit. From a base-line standpoint, I am a Flex 3401 guy with lots of Hybrid Force and other Lake Country pads. The CCS and Hexlogic pads from CG"s are the thinnest ones I own. For the record I do not own the Rupes Pads as I really don't want to invest in a whole new set of pads when the ones I have do an awesome job on the Flex.

I know everyone talks about the "beast" Flex and how some feel it gives them a workout. Perhaps for many it does or I'm just plain 100% used to it. I'm not a great writer so where to start? Hopefully, I'll have my son capture some images that will better correspond with what I'm about to share but for now, it's text only.

Ergonomics: Here is the biggest challenge for me. IMO the Flex wins hands down. The most noticeable aspect of it is in the handle and grip areas. The handle of the Flex is contoured nicer and when I grip it near the trigger with my right hand, the grasp does not interfere or touch the trigger in any way. I set it at speed 6, hit the lock button (which operates nicer) and then hold it. On the Flex, the button is a little "clicky" and not as smooth to engage and the trigger throw is long and in the way of my grip. Hard to picture I know but wait until later and then if you have a chance, try them both. Joe mentioned in his video the dial for the speeds. I agree with his point that it rolls almost too easily whereas the Flex "clicks" as is moves making the Mille more easily changed should you bump/rub it. That however isn't something I experienced as it's placed above where my grip is at. It's more just an opportunity to relocate and better place it as a control. It's on the top of the handle whereas the Flex is more well placed on the side where you won't touch it during use unless you intend to and its' slightly recessed making it perfect.

Grip wise, my left hand on the flex is solidly planted on the grip at the end of the unit. It's big so that my entire hand has control of it and when needed can apply presser to it with ease and comfort as it's contoured to my hand. The Rupes is not. It's a much smaller grip and while I have medium sized hands, it is not at all comfortable for me to use my entire hand on it to control. I find myself wanting to grap the actual motor part of the unit and press down. It works but then my hand is stretched to do so and it's not at all contoured thus comfortable.

Another ergonomic point is that the Flex is a shorter unit. That is the distance between the pad and the grip isn't as tall thus with the unit being flatter it's much easier to hold it flat on the surface. Contrast that with the Rupes where it will have more of a tendency to "tip" or wobble. The Flex being flatter also allows me to move it in closer to say a door mirror that is flipped upwards where as the Rupes hits the top of the unit on the mirror. Same with the front grills of vehicles. The flex can get in the lower fascia areas pretty easily.

These two points are by far the biggest disappointment to me.


Control: One of the main points Rupes went after it seems based on the comments here and really why I chose to buy and try it was it's control factor. It absolutely runs smooth and generates a little less (mostly different) type of noise when running. both are fine for me as I tend to wear ear protection but it's a difference. Direction of rotation. Here I think it's 100% personal preference and one where I will go-back and use the Mille with my opposite hands / grip. I actually am fully used to and like the counter rotation of the Flex. Just the same I think what I'm noticiing is what many here who don't use the Flex notice when they first do is that it seems odd. IMO that's what I think people feel when they say the unit "fights them" I'm feeling that same exact "it's fighting me" about the Mille. I do believe it feels that way because it's rotating the opposite way. Makes sense for them as Flex long throw users will not notice it as much. I do and I am going to try and do my best to work with the opposite arms and grip.

Walking....as a continuation of the above IMO they both "walk" about the same. The Mille was not at all any smoother or less "grippy" to me. It felt very much like my Flex, just in the opposite direction. Again, here I think it is due to my being used to one rotation vs the other.


I'm going to stop here with my notes as it's enough for now until I get more time with it but in the end as a unit overall. In summary, it's smooth and totally Rupes like in that respect. My concerns thus far are more with ergonomics. I'll add to this post later as I do have another detail this weekend to work on and worst case, I will sell it to someone locally for a small discount and chalk it up to a lesson learned. Best case, I'll be able to deal with the grip using my opposite hands to control it and perhaps leave it as my back up. For now, the Flex 3401 remains my more comfortable choice but only time will tell. I REALLY want to like the Mille and not just because I put money towards it, but because it does seem to have some strong potential in terms of smoothness and the generation of less noise.

[FrankS]

I had the opportunity to try out the Mille at Autogeek's Show Car Garage on a couple of projects and I still prefer the Flex 3401. To me the Flex felt smoother.

The head of the Mille sits higher than the head of the Flex, so for me, the Mille has a tendency to "walk" more if you tilt it slightly from a vertical position.

I suppose you can say the Flex has a lower center of gravity and is not as sensitive to "walk" on you.

I tried the Mille with the Mille pads and I felt the Flex was smoother using the Force pads on the Flex.

This is just my experience for what it's worth. Perhaps I'm just used to the Flex and haven't spent enough time with the Mille.

[fly07sti]

A friend of mine had very similar comments about the Mille. He also prefers his 3401 to it. I have yet to get my hands on one, so I appreciate the in depth feedback.

[DaveT435]

I may be the odd-man out here and I'm not final in my opinion, but the initial impressions I had have left me a bit disappointed in the unit. From a base-line standpoint, I am a Flex 3401 guy with lots of Hybrid Force and other Lake Country pads. The CCS and Hexlogic pads from CG"s are the thinnest ones I own. For the record I do not own the Rupes Pads as I really don't want to invest in a whole new set of pads when the ones I have do an awesome job on the Flex.

I know everyone talks about the "beast" Flex and how some feel it gives them a workout. Perhaps for many it does or I'm just plain 100% used to it. I'm not a great writer so where to start? Hopefully, I'll have my son capture some images that will better correspond with what I'm about to share but for now, it's text only.

Ergonomics: Here is the biggest challenge for me. IMO the Flex wins hands down. The most noticeable aspect of it is in the handle and grip areas. The handle of the Flex is contoured nicer and when I grip it near the trigger with my right hand, the grasp does not interfere or touch the trigger in any way. I set it at speed 6, hit the lock button (which operates nicer) and then hold it. On the Flex, the button is a little "clicky" and not as smooth to engage and the trigger throw is long and in the way of my grip. Hard to picture I know but wait until later and then if you have a chance, try them both. Joe mentioned in his video the dial for the speeds. I agree with his point that it rolls almost too easily whereas the Flex "clicks" as is moves making the Mille more easily changed should you bump/rub it. That however isn't something I experienced as it's placed above where my grip is at. It's more just an opportunity to relocate and better place it as a control. It's on the top of the handle whereas the Flex is more well placed on the side where you won't touch it during use unless you intend to and its' slightly recessed making it perfect.

Grip wise, my left hand on the flex is solidly planted on the grip at the end of the unit. It's big so that my entire hand has control of it and when needed can apply presser to it with ease and comfort as it's contoured to my hand. The Rupes is not. It's a much smaller grip and while I have medium sized hands, it is not at all comfortable for me to use my entire hand on it to control. I find myself wanting to grap the actual motor part of the unit and press down. It works but then my hand is stretched to do so and it's not at all contoured thus comfortable.

Another ergonomic point is that the Flex is a shorter unit. That is the distance between the pad and the grip isn't as tall thus with the unit being flatter it's much easier to hold it flat on the surface. Contrast that with the Rupes where it will have more of a tendency to "tip" or wobble. The Flex being flatter also allows me to move it in closer to say a door mirror that is flipped upwards where as the Rupes hits the top of the unit on the mirror. Same with the front grills of vehicles. The flex can get in the lower fascia areas pretty easily.

These two points are by far the biggest disappointment to me.


Control: One of the main points Rupes went after it seems based on the comments here and really why I chose to buy and try it was it's control factor. It absolutely runs smooth and generates a little less (mostly different) type of noise when running. both are fine for me as I tend to wear ear protection but it's a difference. Direction of rotation. Here I think it's 100% personal preference and one where I will go-back and use the Mille with my opposite hands / grip. I actually am fully used to and like the counter rotation of the Flex. Just the same I think what I'm noticiing is what many here who don't use the Flex notice when they first do is that it seems odd. IMO that's what I think people feel when they say the unit "fights them" I'm feeling that same exact "it's fighting me" about the Mille. I do believe it feels that way because it's rotating the opposite way. Makes sense for them as Flex long throw users will not notice it as much. I do and I am going to try and do my best to work with the opposite arms and grip.

Walking....as a continuation of the above IMO they both "walk" about the same. The Mille was not at all any smoother or less "grippy" to me. It felt very much like my Flex, just in the opposite direction. Again, here I think it is due to my being used to one rotation vs the other.


I'm going to stop here with my notes as it's enough for now until I get more time with it but in the end as a unit overall. In summary, it's smooth and totally Rupes like in that respect. My concerns thus far are more with ergonomics. I'll add to this post later as I do have another detail this weekend to work on and worst case, I will sell it to someone locally for a small discount and chalk it up to a lesson learned. Best case, I'll be able to deal with the grip using my opposite hands to control it and perhaps leave it as my back up. For now, the Flex 3401 remains my more comfortable choice but only time will tell. I REALLY want to like the Mille and not just because I put money towards it, but because it does seem to have some strong potential in terms of smoothness and the generation of less noise.

A lot of people say the direction of rotation doesn't matter. I agree that it does. Only unlike you I much prefer the clockwise spin. Some of the issues do sound like they are more about being different. I'm curious, are you left handed? A little ambidextrous I'm guessing if you're considering switching positions with your hands.

[TTQ B4U]

A lot of people say the direction of rotation doesn't matter. I agree that it does. Only unlike you I much prefer the clockwise spin. Some of the issues do sound like they are more about being different. I'm curious, are you left handed? A little ambidextrous I'm guessing if you're considering switching positions with your hands.

I was born right handed and many would say will always be. However after two decades plus of martial arts training when I was younger I am fairly ambidextrous in most things from Sports to writing

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[WaxMaster1]

I never really bonded with the 3401 which I had and recently sold. Mine heated up like an oven. I am strongly considering the Makita to use only in forced rotation mode. I don't do enough cars anymore to justify the cost of the rupes.

[DaveT435]

I was born right handed and many would say will always be. However after two decades plus of martial arts training when I was younger I am fairly ambidextrous in most things from Sports to writing

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Interesting. I know teaching a left handed to use a lot of our equipment at work was completely different. I never realized that a lot of our equipment was really designed for right handed people until I hired one of my son's friends who Wes a lefty.

My guys were telling me he wasn't picking up how to use the equipment. I went back and watched him for a minute and it was awkward just watching him lol Didn't take long to figure out the problem. I had him reverse which hand was doing what and he did great.

I'll be interested to see what happens when you switch hands. How do you polish? Left hand on the handle at the base??

[Mike@ShineStruck]

I'm left handed..probably why neither direction bothers me

[Mike@ShineStruck]

I never really bonded with the 3401 which I had and recently sold. Mine heated up like an oven. I am strongly considering the Makita to use only in forced rotation mode. I don't do enough cars anymore to justify the cost of the rupes.

You'll love it
LC thin pros and BS uro finisher wool

[TTQ B4U]

.

I'll be interested to see what happens when you switch hands. How do you polish? Left hand on the handle at the base??

Yes, left on base with the flex. I may have to switch. I finished up my other basic detail with the flex as it was just going to be too hot too soon to play.

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