I am a professional carpenter, I recently bought this sander to replace my old sander of the same male and model, it lasted 16 years, I expect the new one will do the same.

Hard to hold without blocking the air vents. Even when not blocking the air vents while holding it the sander gets extremely hot in a matter of minutes. I feel like this one is destined to die in less than 6 months like my other sanders. But then again this is why I bought a cheaper one this time. It is really disconcerting how hot it gets though. Like I need to wear oven mitts to use this thing hot. Like I found my grandpa's all metal corded drill let's use it as a space heater hot. But eh it sands like every other orbital I've owned.

Porter Cable has been making tools for over a 100 years. Its good to know some things are so dependable. Great sander not too heavy for women with small hands, like me. Bag does not stay on. Make sure you use a good mask when sanding.

This Mdl 382 is okay, but my older PC Mdl 343 is, overall a better sander. The main issues are: 1. The newer model is not ergonomic, or at least not as much as the older model. It's just not comfortable to hold for an extended period of time. 2. The new model gets hot real quick. The top of the sander, right where you hold it gets hot after about 3 to 4 minutes of sanding. I'm an avid hobbyist woodworker and use the sander a lot. Seems like they made an error here - guessing they cut the cost of producing the sander.

My older sander's hook and loop pad went bad (for the second time) and it costs about $25.00 including shipping for a new pad, so I decided after 7 years or so, it was time for a new sander. Wrong move - should have ordered the new pad - actually, just as soon as I finish writing this review, I'll order the replacement pad and I'll have 2 sanders!

All-in-all I can't say the newer model isn't a decent sander, just not as comfortable to use as the older model.

It's a good sander with a catch. I had an older P-C sander (don't recall the model) and I was hoping this one would be as good. Unfortunately it isn't. That's not to say this one isn't nice too. Merely not as nice. I did the same thing as ted607. Removed the dust ring from under the pad. It is far better without it. For anyone that cares to know, it's a white molded plastic ring. As flimsy and thin as it is, it's surprising how much power it robs from the sander. I strongly urge everyone to remove it. The dust bag on this is easily an improvement from my last sander. The last one was a hard plastic canister. It often got in the way or fell off to the point that I stopped using it altogether. This one has a cloth bag with an internal spring. Much nicer and it doesn't fall off at all. So far I've only used fine grit discs with this. 400 - 600 grit. Nothing heavier. It does well with those. The top is a little too big for my taste. It can make edge sanding a little awkward. Not much though and I'm pretty sure I'll grow accustomed to it. The one thing that really irritates me is the button. My last sander had a hard button that was easy to feel and use. This one has a rubber guard over it. The rubber makes it very difficult to feel and press the switch fully. I'm seriously considering cutting it off.