Rupes LHR 21ES Bigfoot vs LHR21 MarkII

[The Guz]

Hi all,

Looking to buy a new polisher and I have come down to the Rupes LHR 21ES Bigfoot and the LHR21 Bigfoot MarkII. From what I have read, the only differences are the MarkII has the piece on the back of the polisher that allows you to set it upside down and it also has a more powerful motor (by 30%). With that being said, I'm only a weekend warrior/hobbyist, but looking to do more; should I get the LHR 21ES or spend the extra money and get the LHR21 MarkII?

Being you are a hobbyist, stick with the 15. It will be more than enough and suit your needs. The 21 is good for larger panels.

[Dylan@RUPES]

Hi all,

Looking to buy a new polisher and I have come down to the Rupes LHR 21ES Bigfoot and the LHR21 Bigfoot MarkII. From what I have read, the only differences are the MarkII has the piece on the back of the polisher that allows you to set it upside down and it also has a more powerful motor (by 30%). With that being said, I'm only a weekend warrior/hobbyist, but looking to do more; should I get the LHR 21ES or spend the extra money and get the LHR21 MarkII?

Aside from the things you listed there is a rubberized grip on the underside of the Mark II head, the chassis is also redesigned for the new motor - its not outwardly obvious unless you look at a Mark II and an ES side by side, and even then its very subtle. The housing is a little more reinforced to deal with the increased torque levels. Essentially its like we beefed up the motor mounts which gives it a little different feel. Obviously with the increased motor output we remapped the electronics to put the sweet spot in the mid speed range (3-4) to give you speed 5 and 6 as your "NEED MORE POWERRRRRRRRRR!!!!" levels.

That being said - like someone else pointed out, the 15 is the better detailing tool and for an enthusiast the ES tools still are more than adequate. When you're only polishing your car a handful of times and not doing work for others the added benefit of the Mark II isn't going to be realized. It really starts to benefit someone who does a lot of polishing and stands to save time with the increased power.