The Fusion Power razor

In My Humble Opinion (IMHO)
#1

My partner’s facial hair is black and extremely course, so he is never without five-o’clock shadow (I like this, but he doesn’t). He has tried every razor on the market, including straight razors, and concluded that he gets the best shave with a Gillette Fusion (5 blades!).

So last week I bought him a Fusion Power, which takes a AAA battery, and vibrates. He promised to try it for a week.

Surprisingly, he says it doesn’t shave as well as the non-power Fusion; the vibrations are merely a gimmick and work against the cutting action of the blades. He finally resorted to using it with the power turned off. But he’ll still use it, because he likes the feel of the heftier handle (to accommodate the battery).

And now I’m seeing further Fusion models like ProGlide and Phantom (not that I’m running out and buying them).

So . . . have any of you tried the Fusion Power, and had similar results?

#2

I love the Fusion razor but I’ve never noticed any difference between the blades for the power razor or the non-power version. I have the power razor but buy the non-power blades.

I didn’t like the power button as they put it exactly where I hold the razor so it has a tendency to shut off as my finger keeps pressing it

#3

Tried the non power fusion, didn’t like it. Blades dull quickly. Blade price is a rip-off.

Are you sure he’s tried them all? Has he tried double edge safety razors with high quality blades like Feather (like this http://images.knifecenter.com/knifecenter/conk/images/cc022.jpg ) ?

#4

Fusion Power? Isn’t that like still 20 years away?

:stuck_out_tongue:
I really thought this was going to be about nuclear fusion, what with all the other threads about nuclear power right now.

#5

Tried it. Didn’t notice any difference between vibrating and non-vibrating.

#6

I have been using my same Fusion blade for six months, granted my beard is light, I can almost get by shaving every other day, but those blades last and last for me.

#7

I’m uncomfortable with the idea of a razor vibrating against my face, and paying too much for the privilege. I’ll stick with my 1955 Fat Boy safety razor.

#8

Didn’t Mad Magazine do a prescient writeup on this? There was the razor with 27 blades, the fusion razor, the laser razor…

#9

I had one of those. Left it in a motel in Mountain View, CA. :frowning:

#10

Really? I… uhm… bought mine at a … (looks around shifty-eyed) motel in … Mountain View… yea that’s it…

#11

I have one but don’t bother turning it on since I didn’t notice a difference. The blades last a long time for me.

#12

I bought an early model power razor and loved it. But, yeah the button was in a bad location. Eventually water got into the battery area and it was no longer powered. Replacement blades do cost too much. I generally use Good News disposables now.

#13

Yep, I use the Fusion power blades without bothering to turn on the vibration. In fact, the battery died long ago I think.
All the vibration ever did for me was making it harder to tell by feel where exactly the blade was on my face.

Cartridge refills at Costco aren’t too badly priced.

#14

I use the mach 3 powered razor and it was a step up from anything else I used. I bought it to avoid nicks and it does so very effectively. Haven’t seen a need to “upgrade” to the more expensive fusion.

I also shave twice each time I shave. Once down over my whole face and then down again on my neck and then up over the rest. This is to get a close shave without any ingrown hairs.

#15

Fusion rocks, but the powered version is a rip-off. But the basic razor is the only thing I’ll use to shave my head. Much superior to the Mach 3.

#16

I guess I’m an outlier in liking the powered ones. The vibrations reduce irritation while shaving for me – not saying they decrease razor burn afterwords, just make the shave a little nicer. When I used one, I always did one pass with the motor running, then a seconary touch up turned off. It’s gimmicky, but not a bad gimmick.

I switched years ago to a Merkur single-blade razor, though. Not because it’s a better shave, per se, but knurled metal feels nicer than plastic, Made in Germany appeals to me more than Made in China, and the blades are so very, very cheap.