Gillette Fusion Power (No Joke)

[Conscientious Dennis]

I, too, was delivered into DE shaving from the cost of the cartridges for this "shaving system". I did use the motorized version of this device and thought it was the best of the best until I went to purchase a new set of cartridges. I did enjoy the back trimmer as it did a great job under my nose. I am old enough to sort of remember shaving with the Gillette DE razors in the 60s. But I was bilked like the rest of us into believing cartridges were better and therefore followed the herd into what was the best innovation path. Now that I have returned to the fold and rediscovered DE safety razors and shaving art form, I feel I have been delivered from evil. Gillette only provided great razors in the past for a reasonable price to keep us buying their blades. It is all about selling a commodity that is disposable that caused Gillette to start on the cartridge quest because others were creating DE blades that worked as well in their razors. They want us to use and only use a product that they manufacture and this is why only their new cartridge blades fit in their latest razors. This is good business sense but leaves us up for grabs when it comes to the best bang for the buck.

[Jwolf24601]

I have been using the Fusion Power since it came out.

Price: Had to give it a 2 here, the price of the razor with a motor and battery is quite cheap, but the cost is absorbed by the insane $4 cartridges it takes. Had this been a review of the blades it would have been a 0...

Quality: I have used it for two years only had to change the batteries once, has hardly any parts as most of the action is in the cartridges.

User Friendly: Pick it up and start shaving. Hard to use too much pressure with guards and can't get wrong angle with pivoting head.

Grip: The power handle is thicker and quite comfortable

Ease of blade replacement: It takes literally 1 second to shoot the old blade in the trash and stick the handle into the new blade in the blade holder and pull it out ready to shave.

Aggressiveness: It's pretty aggressive; I mean you're doing 5 passes at a time. The blade gap is better than the Schick's but not quite as good as the Mach 3 so it does not get clogged up much.

Adjustability: n/a

Balance: it's pretty well balanced for pulling it parallel to face like intended.

This is actually a very good razor system for the unlearned (and upper middle class) masses. The cost of the cartridges is insane though, it is what drove me to buy 3 DE Razors over the weekend to learn to make the switch.

I am fairly certain Gillette and Schick have a deal going to keep cartridge prices high as well. The cartridges are complex but I doubt they cost more than $0.40 each to manufacture in the quantities they make them in...

1000% profit margin is a heck of a business model though!

[etjrowe]

I'm still using one of these daily. Amazingly enough, even after months of practice, technique changes, and different lotions and soaps, I still can't get as good a shave with a DE that I get with this. I have never cut myself with it. I have extremely sensitive skin and am prone to horrible razor burn and ingrown hairs. One WTG and one ATG pass and I'm done. I really have to stretch my skin and apply a little pressure, but I get BBS shaves from this on a daily basis. I desperately want to find a DE setup that gives me the came quality shave, as the blades for the Fusion are ridiculously expensive and don't last much longer than a DE. But for now, this is what I use.

[speedy123]

I have had the same results as etjrowe above. I enjoyed using a DE from a nostalgic point of view, and got pretty good with it, but could never get the same quality of shave with it. Also, like above, I've never nicked myself with it. Like some guys that switched for 'burn' or ingrown problems, I never experienced that with the Fusion or DE. I used my Merkur/Derby rig for a long time but finally reverted back after taking a 'test' Fusion shave and re-discovering that I wasn't getting as close shave with my DE.

Speedy

[zimmer]

My nephew manages a college bookstore and brought a few sample over for me to try. What an experience! I found the thing to be very unbalanced, with too much weight on the head. The five or however many bladed head sat a strange angle and was difficult to maneuver on the upper lip area and around the chin. I felt luck to finish the shave with all of my skin intact.
I'll stick with old fashioned DEs.

[Lilac1]

Agree on the quality of shaves part. With this, you're guaranteed zero nicks (try showing up at a meeting with toilet paper stuck to your face), and it shaves closer than any DE with a minimum of effort and preparation.

Uncomfortable, though, and don't even think about using gillette brand gel/foam/preshave/anything else

[WhosYerBob]

Hated this razor. Tried it three times and the shower floor was red from all the cuts it delivered while the power was on. It was "fair" when the power was off, but that defeated the whole reason for it's existence.

Wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

[Michael DK]

I have used a Merkur HD 34C with feather blades and a best badger brush

along with soap and aftershave, since I started DE shaving 5

months ago and have found it to be an astethic and enjoyable time

consuming activity that is best to do in the weekend where I have plenty of

time to do my routine's thouroughly. Before I started DE shaving I used a

Gillette Fusion Power with great discomfort. The vibrating blade simply

irritated my face causing it to itch and burn. I recently bought the no power

version of the fusion along with their new range of face scrub, shaving gel,

moisturizer (aftershave). I was curious to see if Gillete's new productline was

worth the money and if it could compare to traditional products as soap,

brush etc. I must say that I was really impressed by the range and the razor.

The razor was pleasant and smooth to the skin and caused no irritation at all!

The shave products was decent in quality and provided good glide and great

protection before and after the shave. You could say that Gillete's new range

still tries to give the man a shave routine by using a scrub before the shave

and a gel to the shave and a moisturizer afterwards and that it has

simmilarities with DE shaving! Well I use my Fusion daily and enjoy it,

because it is fast and nick free. I exclusively use my traditional

shaving equipment in the weekend! That is just what works best for me

Sincerely Michael from Denmark

[Joshua82688]

Hmmm what to say about the Fusion. I think it gives a decent shave, but for me especially it needs more than one pass(like many other razors as well but still) to give a really good shave. I have had times that it has given me a great shave and other times that it missed a spot on my cheek though I ran the blade over the spot. I think the precision trimmer was actually a really good innovation, I find for the sideburns especially it makes a straight line on the bottom, but for some reason I can never get it to trim the front of the sideburn effectively. The size of the razor head itself can be a pain in the butt sometimes too, especially ATG under the nose where it is difficult to maneuver. I never really have been cut before with the actual razor head but using the trimmer under my nose once gave me a nice cut and also i once tried using the trimmer to trim a beard I had been growing and got cut, to the point where i have a little not very noticeable but still there ,scar,located on my cheek. As for irritation the only irritation I may get is on the ATG so sometimes I skip doing that all together Another thing I noticed about this razor is it is an every day or every couple day razor. I have had times where there was only a few days worth of stubble(like 4 days maybe granted my hair grows slowly and not to thick in a short time) and the razor had great difficulty, mainly on my chin but especially on the neck!!!. Replacing the blade is really simple so I am not going to go to much into that, the lubricating strip is good sometimes and other times it sorta leaves a gooey film on the face. The blades are really close together which sometimes it good and other times is like is having 5 smaller blades the same as having 3 bigger ones. The grip is I have used both the Power and Manual razors there is little difference in my opinion. I prefer the Power it glides easier for sure and thats the only difference I have noticed. I understand that Gillette is a big name company but some of the stuff they do is just crazy. Every month there is a new razor, oh whats new bout it?, oh just the color of the damn handle, o wow gotta go run out and get another one just because it has a white handle instead of a blue, or black instead of silver. Also the damn adds reminding you to change your blades when the strip fades, just cause they know your gonna need more blades, you know the money maker, and then they say o a dollar a day and all that nonsense. I think there is too much hype. It is a good razor for the most part if you have the chance to try it (mainly if they send one in the mail if possible) then by all means try it. I like it for the most part but it doesn't compare as well to a Safety Razor or Str8.

[kp217]

i've used the regular one. it gave a great shave but the next day my face was a mess, lots of bumps and irritation. i still have it but i only use DE now

[SevereWX]

Price: The razor handle itself was affordable enough, but the cost of the refills is outrageous.

Quality: Quality is average, it's a chunk of molded plastic, but seems sturdy enough for what it is.

Grip: Grip is nice and thick, has plenty of real estate for a firm purchase on the handle. The downside is the placement of the power switch. Maybe it's just how I hold it, but I end up accidentally bumping the power off several times while shaving.

Blade Replacement Ease: Simple and straightforward, press a button to release the blade assembly, push the handle into a new one. Doesn't get any simpler of quicker than that. Cartridge heads are held on securely as well.

Aggressiveness: This is where I'm most at odds with the razor, other than price of the replacement cartridges. 5 blades raking across skin at one time, seems like you'd get a great shave on a single pass. This is not the case for me, however. When shaving my legs with this thing, I can still feel the stubble after a couple of passes, but even after so much as a single pass, my legs suffer from the most terrible razor burn I've ever had.

Balance: Balance is good, the battery in the handle really gives the razor a nice heft and feel. It takes zero pressure to shave with razor, you'll only want to let the weight of the razor itself do all the work.

Final Thoughts: Blade longevity is horrible in my opinion. I can shave my legs maybe 3 times per cartridge head, before the blades become so dull they start dragging horribly. Perhaps this is why they added a vibrating feature to the razor, a gimmick to keep you from feeling all 5 blades dragging across the skin at once.

My old Mach 3 Turbo did the same quality of shaving, but with slightly less irritation, and less cost per refill. I still prefer a good double edge safety razor like my Muhle R89 sporting Astra blades, which gives me a closer, baby smooth shave, with absolutely no razor burn.

I generally use Tabac shaving soap, applied with a Edwin Jagger best badger brush, and the spacing on the 5-blade design gets gunked up and clogged really quickly. The razor head has to be rinsed continuously to keep it cleared, much more so than with any razor I've used before. This severely slows the process of shaving even more, with a razor you don't want be speed-shaving with in the first place.

I've personally decided to avoid trying any more of Gillette's money-sink marketing gimmicks, and will be sticking with the tried and true DE safety razors from now on.

[Michael DK]

After some time after posting my other review of the Gillette Fusion where I actually said it was good on a daily basis! I than used the razor on a holiday, and got the most irritated red skin, from dragging the blade over the skin. When I came home again, I used my HD34C and got rid of the gillette fusion system and suddenly my skin was not irritated anymore. I must have been to fast to post my review of the gillette fusion before, and I regret it. The conclusion is that I will never use the Gillette Fusion ever again,

Sincere apology

Michael from Denmark

[meathosxx]

I used this razor for about 2 years before I discovered the beauty of de razors. This razor is now part of my travel kit as I cannot take my de razors on a plane.
This razor is well made and gives a fairly good shave. However, the blades are costly and if I want to get the same close shave that I get with my de razor I have to replace the blade on this razor every day. This is not possible for me as the blades are like $4 for each blade. I will not get rid of this razor as I use it when I travel.

[ddaley212]

then this is for you. it sucks so bad i will never buy it again, and the fact that i got so much ingrowns from this razor is a add minus to this razor

[hoslerd]

I was too young (just barely) to use DE razors when I got old enough to start shaving so I have been playing the disposable/cartridge/electric shaving game my whole life until 2 months ago when I found the Holy Grail (DE shaving). I have used pretty much every cartridge system since around 1988 up to and including the Fusion Power.

I have thick dark facial hair and I have had 5 O'clock shadow at Noon my whole life no matter what "shaving system" is used and electric shaving even with a top of the line Braun was even worse. Nothing has given me a close, enjoyable shave that lasts all day until I started using a DE.

This razor in and of itself is OK. It does and adequate job and if you have lighter/softer facial hair than I do it may be better than OK but the killer for this razor is the price to quality to benefit ratio. They just plain charge way too much for something that gives so little. After using a single blade DE it just points out all the ridiculous marketing that Gillette is using to convince people that 5 vibrating blades are the best shaving system ever invented when for a fact I know that 1 high quality DE blade outshines that junk any day.

If you are a technophile and you absolutely require your razor to be battery powered no matter the quality of the shave this is the razor for you.

[TenorClef]

I bought one today.....don't know why just did. My other razors in current rotation are a vintage Sheffield cut throat razor with a nice rams horn scales and a Merkur 12C.

So i pick up the Gillette fusion power to shave, funny looking thing, very light and started to shave with it. Not bad at all but this was like the fasted shave i ever had. It was all over in two minutes. I like a shave to be a manly ritual rather than a 'fast food' session. However the actual shave was actually quite passable it just for me didn't feel like any skills were required and that for me spoiled the fun aspect of wet shaving.

I'll probably use it from time to time but i can't see it replacing my more traditional wet shaving tools.....maybe i'll just keep it for shaving my pits

[Sooperman8]

I just shaved with this thing again after not touching one for 6 months. I have exclusively been using straights and DE instead. I have gotten descent shaves but nothing outstanding. So for comparison reasons I wanted to try it again. Well I posted my best shave EVER! I mean EVER! Its BBS and even throughout my entire face. I have to admit there was NO satisfaction or joy in it. Using straights is fun and everything that goes with it. I also like how people dog the price of the Fusion and the cartridge replacements. Well since I have started I have spent way over a grand buying different razors, strops, creams, scuttle ect. I'm not complaining just saying. I suppose if you can just buy a strop and a razor and a barbers hone then yes it would be allot cheaper. BUT I think most of us go above and beyond that.