:updated:
I checked with my very good friend at FLEX Chris Metcalf, who is also the FLEX Rep for North America and here's what I received,
Mike,
The XC 3401 VRG is out of stock every where because our demand was really high for the units and our factory had issues due to the covid-19 as well.
We have a container that will be here week of July 27th and also another container that will be here first of August. Both of these containers will have XC 3401 VRG units.
But…..
This would be a good place to speak about the new XCE 10-8-125 units. We have plenty of these units in stock and it has a lot of added features that the XC 3401 does not have.
We are still making the XC 3401 but the long term answer is that the XCE 10-8-125 will eventually replace the XC 3401.
I do not have a date on it. I keep pushing to have both!
Chris
It's only natural for Chris to refer to FLEX tools by their part numbers, I know as a
Manufacturers Rep in a past life, it's second nature.
But for the rest of us that do not naturally or easily recognize a tool by it's part number, in the above communication, where Chris is talking about this tool,
XCE 10-8-125
He's referring to the
Supa BEAST. The Supa BEAST is the newest version of the original BEAST.
Here's a picture showing both tools side by side - the original BEAST has the aluminum housing at the head of the tool while the new Supa BEAST has a plastic housing. The change to the plastic housing makes the tool lighter in weight and also cooler running.
On the left is the BEAST - on the right is the Supa BEAST
For anyone reading this into the future, at some point you're going to need pads for either the BEAST or the Supa BEAST and the original RUPES BigFoot foam pads are good matches. See my article here,
RUPES BigFoot Foam Pads on the FLEX BEAST - Supa BEAST and CBEAST
Lake Country 6.5" Force Hybrid pads are also great pads for both of these tools. I tend to use the LC 6.5" Force Hybrid ORANGE foam cutting pad for correction work and the RUPES yellow and white foam pads for polishing, finishing or when using an AIO for Production Detailing.
NOTE: The FLEX Supa BEAST comes from the factory with a 5" backing plate. This is a
MISTAKE in my opinion. I'm not sure who at FLEX made this decision but they are welcome to take any of my future car or boat detailing classes and I'll be sure to have you use the tool in both configurations and I'm sure you'll change your mind.
In order to use the larger foam pads I've shared above you'll need to purchase and install the larger 6" FLEX Backing Plate, see my article here,
Supa BEAST backing plate swap
