The evolution of flash column chromatography has brought chemists many new and exciting options for crude mixture purification. Among them are so-called high-performance flash columns or cartridges.  These high-performance purification tools are typically filled with silica or other media 15 to 30 microns in particle diameter (versus 40-63 micron for standard flash media) and provide the expectation of better separations and higher purity fractions.  That’s really enticing but how often do you need these types of columns especially since they are, of course, more expensive?  Well, that question is what I address below.