the only nice thing i can say about this unit is that it is quieter than the dewalt.... other than that the dewalt is better in every single aspect. the dewalt is about as light of a buffer that you would want, you don't ever want to apply an pressure when you're using a rotary. the dial on the hitachi is lame like the makita... doesn't have actual rpms, it has numbers that represent different speeds. very lame. and the thing i hate most about the makita and hitachi is the fact that they that progressive start or whatever you call it. and they both have absolutely no power. you can literally stop your pad from spinning if you press hard on the edge of something. I was messing around when i bought a makita and pressed the pad on the corner of my desk and i got it to stop. bottom line... the hitachi and makita feel much cheaper than the dewalt. my dewalt has been dropped from the top of a 12 foot ladder a time or two when i was doing a motorhome... the thing still works perfectly. I was really surprised. my dewalt has been used almost every single day for the past two years and I still don't have a complaint.... the only thing i've replaced were the brushes... and that was like a month ago. but that's abnormal for a buffer that gets used as much as mine.
