No personal experience, sorry. All I can do is speak generally from the viewpoint of someone who uses the range (and hood) quite a bit. My wife and I have an Italian "designer" hood. It looks pretty spiffy, but if I had it all to do over again, I would have gone less for the looks and more for the effectiveness and ease of cleaning. I would have gone for a more restaurant style underside with baffles, a more pronounced "hood," etc. I would not even consider a hood such as the one you named. Nor would I entertain the purchase of a hood with glass or any exposed surfaces on the underside. Everything under there gets greasy quick and I don't want to worry about trying to shine stainless steel in that area. I want to use a heavy grease cutter in there, put as much of the undersides in the dishwasher as I can, put it all back together and get back to cooking. If I were going to go looking for a hood now, I would start with Kobe because I like their designs, and I would look for something that can move 1000cfm or better. But anything with a flat bottom visible to all I would pass on. Again, this is just me, and I am decidedly not a hood expert, just a household cook with a bit of experience with a range that overmatches his hood.

If the differential transition and pipe length pressure losses are a significant part of the total pressure losses (not the usual case -- baffles and hood guts are typically dominant for modest distance ducting), then a higher flow blower can be used. For this decision, I would support the aesthetic choice of those who have to live with the resulting configuration. kas

I agree that you should opt for the shortest run. That's a no brainer. If an installer sees it differently, go to another one. I would also post your questions in the kitchen forum, because I think that readers pretty savvy about range hoods are more likely to give you constructive advice. Aside from keeping to the shortest possible run, the other basic recommendation is to minimize the number of turns and, to avoid sharp turns because they cut down on exhaust capacity. Good luck with your project.

I am considering the Mezzano and would like any and all opinions about Elica. TIA!