Sometimes exotic dancers fall in love with clients. Likewise, sometimes bloggers buy the products they write about. This is one of those stories (blogging, not exotic dancing).
Two weeks ago I wrote a post about Wahl’s lithium ion electric razor. Shortly after writing said post, I bought one.
I shave maybe once every two weeks and usually it’s just a quick trim with a standard electric trimmer — never a full blown clean shave unless I’m going to a wedding or I have to appear in court on account of one of my many, many legal eccentricities.
I’m always dubious of electric razors’ claims that they can provide a truly clean shave and Wahl’s product definitely falls short of a clean shave.
It cuts close, yes, but you’ll want to stick to a blade if you like to appear fresh-faced and healthy. Fortunately, I rarely leave the house so I have no need to worry about my appearance. That, and I like rolling with a little scruff at all times.
So the dual-head shaver attachment that promises an “ultra close shave” does not, in fact, shave ultra close (see above photo) — just to get that out of the way. The product is classified as a trimmer, though, so let’s take a look at what it does well.
First, it’s powerful. The lithium ion battery means that the razor is capable of delivering twice the torque (according to Wahl) of a regular electric razor. I found myself needing to go over the same area of my face far less than usual as the Wahl was, for the most part, able to trim everything down equally and on the first pass.
Second, the battery technology allows the razor to be charged for just one minute in order to be used for four minutes. A full charge takes just an hour, as opposed to a full 8+ hours for traditional electric shavers. Once charged, too, the lithium ion battery stays charged instead of slowly draining over a few days like a Ni-Cad or NiMH battery would. Wahl claims over two hours of shaving time before the unit needs to be recharged. I can confirm that, as I left it turned on and buzzing for about two hours and fifteen minutes before it died.
As far as attachments go, the Wahl trimmer contains far too many — just like every other electric razor. There are seventeen attachments in all, sixteen of which I’ll never use. You can do everything from basic trims and detailing to haircut touch-ups, though, so there’s something for everyone.
The kit includes a disappointing dock that doesn’t hold all of the attachments and merely features a slot for the trimmer with a hole underneath it to feed the power cord up through. So basically, when you take the razor off the stand you wont be able to just set it back into the stand without hooking it back up to the power cord by hand. Needless to say, I set up the stand on day one, used the razor, and then never used the stand again.
Here’s a full list of the box contents:
Lithium Ion Unit, Trimmer Blade, Detail Blade, Dual Shaver, T-Blade, Beard Guide Combs: Stubble, Medium, Full, 6-Position Guide, T-Blade Guide Combs: 1/8″, 1/4″, 3/8″, Charger, Beard Comb, Cleaning Brush, Blade Oil, Storage/Charge Base, English/Spanish Instructions/Styling Guide
The blades are solid, almost heavy, and feel very high-quality. The guide combs are made of relatively durable plastic and all the attachments can be swapped out quickly without fussing with any levers or clips, which is nice.
All in all, the Wahl Lithium Ion All In One Trimmer is a great choice for simple, quick, and hassle-free trimmings when you want to leave a little stubble behind. It falls short when it comes to full shaves but the nice torque and worry free battery combined with the high-quality blades and attachments make the $50 list price pretty fair.
Amazon actually has it for $40 right now — I was able to get it on sale for $30, a price that made it a really enticing purchase.