Orange Fox bits will break, aluminum bits won't. This is both a good thing (someone crashes into it) and a bad thing. The new design is a significant upgrade over the original design. Orange bits work better than aluminum bits in all snow, especially spring snow where the blue bits can stick/be overly aggressive. The blue bits definitely go through ice better where the orange bits can skate a bit. RTFM but I don't think you can use the orange bits in a hammer drill but you can with the blue bits (again, confirm that part). I have had success honing the tips of orange bits with a diamond stone because I was too lazy to rotate the tips. Regarding the orange bits getting bent, I have not seen that, but I have seen several that were shipped out of true and had to go back. If you drill gates out a lot, that will scar the orange bits where blue bits will remain unscathed, but the blue bits will chew up your gates. Because of the design of the orange bits, you can really only drill a hole the size of the bit, you can't really ream out a hole -- e.g. you are not getting a 41 mm base in the ground with a 35 mm bit. You probably should be able to ream a hole with a blue bit. Neither is better. Pick the one that works for you.