Review Gillette FUSION PROGLIDE POWER (Vs Mach 3 Tu & others)

[dks]

I managed to go abroad with no razor and since by Mach 3 needed new blades any way I ended up buying the current top model of Gillette the FUSION PROGLIDE POWER FlexBall which was on special offer at the time.

I have now been using it for a month and I am able to compare it with the Mach 3 Turbo and the disposable Wilkinson Xtreme 3, which I have used on occasion as my traveling shaving blade. I threw in a standard, disposable Gillette too, for the comparison.





The Gillette way has been, for many years, to sell you the shaver (or give it to you for free) and make most of the money on blades. Each model costs more and the Wilkinson, a full system, costs less than the replacement blades of the Mach3 Turbo.

The look:

The latest Gillette looks really good -more of a piece of art than a shaving system.
You will be tempted to polish it to maintain the sexy looks. 





My older Gillette looks good, but really dated.





They both, however feel realy solid and hefty. Bearing in mind that the Mach 3 is at least 10 years old, that says a lot for the longevity of the product...(got it to replace a 10 year old Sensor Excel)

By comparison the disposable ones look boring and feel plasticky and cheap.

Both of the replaceable blade Gillettes come with a case, with blade storage underneath, but the Mach 3 Turbo has a bigger and better looking, more serious if you like, case.





The blades:

The newer Gillette has 5 blades, compared to the 3 of the older one and the Wilkinson. The disposable Gillette has 2.





The Weight (with blade (and battery for the proglide):
Proglide         52.6g
Mach 3          36.6g
Wilkinson        8.9g
Disp. Gillette   6.8g

Big difference, but it does not really affect you, unless you are shaving for hours 

Distinguishing features/differences:

They all have a lubricating slip
The disposable Gillettes head does not move up or down
Different number of blades as mentioned previously
The Proglide has a battery operated vibrating system, which is supposed to help you shave better. An orange light comes on when the vibration is working.




THE IMPORTANT PART

How do they shave??

The replaceable blade Gillettes have had a reputation of working fine for a long time, several months, BUT the lubricating strip usually erodes after a month, so you loose that extra lubrication (a way to make you buy new blades)

The proglide shaves well, but the Mach 3 was even better. Based on how much re-growth I have by the afternoon the Mach 3 gave me a deeper shave.
The vibration does not seem to do much and whether you shave with it on or off the result and feel (smoothness of shaving) seem the same.

I am also worried about corrosion of the electronics parts - Will it still work fully after 10 years, like my Mach 3?

The Wilkinson is OK for the money, but you do notice how much better the Gillettes are, when you go from the one to the other.

The disposable Gillette is again OK, but the lack of movement in the head affect the shaving experience (cuts..). It also gets full of hair very easily.

Concluding, I am happy with the Proglide, for the money I paid for it, mainly because of its spaceship look.

However, the Mach 3 Turbo, feels as solid as it did a decade ago and shaves better. The replacement blades are also cheaper. I have no idea how long/well the Proglide will last. The metallic shiny handle and the electronic parts are prime candidates for corrosion and future problems.

Buy the Proglide for the look, but buy the Mach3 for the shave.

The other two are OK, but they are a different type/level of product and do not really compete with the Proglide and the Mach 3.

[Mike 56]

Nice review I have been using the  Fusion razor for a few years now I like it. After your review, I will have to break out my old Mach3 and try it again. I learned how to sharpen razor blades you strop them on blue jeans about ten passes and you blade is brand new. I have been using the same blade for ten months and it is still going strong.

[Corwyn]

At my third Mach 3 now...
A Mach 3 Brazil edition with 5 sets of blades costs less than a 3-pack of spare blades 

[kirk13]

Great review!

My razor wire stubble killed a Mach 3 blade in a week. As great a shave as it offered,I couldn't keep up with the cost of blades. I've been using a butterfly razor coupled to Wilkinson blades for three or four years now. I bulk buy blades on eBay,and pay the same for a years worth of blades as I did for a months worth of Gillettes.

The shave isn't as good,but it's good enough,but I love the heavy razor. I enjoy shaving for the first time in thirty odd years of shaving!

[jerseydevil]

Excellent review.  I had a Sensor that lasted me nearly 20 years, it's finally time to retire it.  Like Kirky, I'm going old school, a one blade safety razor.  I borrowed one from a friend along with blades to try it out, and I love it.  I found a shop in town that sells them, gonna grab one next week.

[dks]

I usually shave with chainsaw, but with the petrol price nowadays..... 

[kirk13]

I usually shave with chainsaw, but with the petrol price nowadays..... 

I would pay good money to watch that!

[AimlessWanderer]

I've used double edged safety razors for many years, and not used any of these systems. I used disposables when I first started shaving, but probably haven't bought any for over 15 years. I also have a small travel DE razor which takes apart and stores in asmall pouch. I find the DE razors give me a better shave at a fraction of the cost

[Cupboard]

A little while back Gillete did a pack of Mach 3 blades with a Fusion thrown in to try.

I preferred the Mach 3 so stuck with it.

It annoys me that they changed the socket for the newer razors, it's clearly possible to make them backwards compatible so I don't see why they didn't.

[NKlamerus]

Are yall shaving your chins or your heads?

(Anything else shaved can be kept to yourself lol)

[kirk13]

Facial hair only. When I was doing my legs(for cycling) I used Veet cream

[dks]

Just the face, whenever I an not growing facial hair.

Men shaving their legs..... Young people nowadays.     .... 

[Cupboard]

I shave my face whilst in the shower.
Wash face, wash rest of me, plain soap on face, shave, rinse.

It's the quickest, easiest, cheapest, least skin damaging way I've found to do it.

Shaving with creams and foams always ends up with my covered in cuts, I have no idea why. Shaving in the sink makes my skin all blotchy. Shaving in the shower just works and I've never (yet!) cut myself.

[MadPlumbarian]

I bought that fusion for my son as his first razor, he likes it, of course he doesn't know the difference between a good or bad shave.. Me on the other hand I've lost count of how many I've tried, from two blade to 5+1 blade, never got a good shave, until I went old school, went to the DE single blade, best shave I've ever had hands down!
JR

[Corwyn]

I shave my face whilst in the shower.
Wash face, wash rest of me, plain soap on face, shave, rinse.

I'd always be afraid not to drop the blade on my valuables 

[captain spaulding]

I bought that fusion for my son as his first razor, he likes it, of course he doesn't know the difference between a good or bad shave.. Me on the other hand I've lost count of how many I've tried, from two blade to 5+1 blade, never got a good shave, until I went old school, went to the DE single blade, best shave I've ever had hands down!
JR

The kids whiskers are probably so soft it doesn't even matter yet.

[buck]

I've always used the latest greatest Gillette and it's always been best EXCEPT briefly the Schick Quattro held the lead.  Gillette is back on top now again.

[Etherealicer]

Thanks for the review

I have the older Fusion Power Razor and the Proglide Power Razor. First, I prefer the Fusion, cannot get used to the Proglide, it moves too much for me. Also, I always use the Fusion Manual blades for both (those blades are much cheaper and do the job as well).

I think with the vibration the razor moves smoother, it glides much better.

[MadPlumbarian]

I bought that fusion for my son as his first razor, he likes it, of course he doesn't know the difference between a good or bad shave.. Me on the other hand I've lost count of how many I've tried, from two blade to 5+1 blade, never got a good shave, until I went old school, went to the DE single blade, best shave I've ever had hands down!
JR

The kids whiskers are probably so soft it doesn't even matter yet.

Thus why it's June and I haven't bought him replacement blades, and I got it for him at Xmas!
JR

[captain spaulding]

I bought that fusion for my son as his first razor, he likes it, of course he doesn't know the difference between a good or bad shave.. Me on the other hand I've lost count of how many I've tried, from two blade to 5+1 blade, never got a good shave, until I went old school, went to the DE single blade, best shave I've ever had hands down!
JR

The kids whiskers are probably so soft it doesn't even matter yet.

Thus why it's June and I haven't bought him replacement blades, and I got it for him at Xmas!
JR

Hey, i'm sure your not complaining. 

[AimlessWanderer]

Are yall shaving your chins or your heads?

(Anything else shaved can be kept to yourself lol)

I have a full beard and long hair














But don't panic, the DE razor is for tidying up the beard, and occasionally going for a goatee instead of full beard

[MadPlumbarian]

I bought that fusion for my son as his first razor, he likes it, of course he doesn't know the difference between a good or bad shave.. Me on the other hand I've lost count of how many I've tried, from two blade to 5+1 blade, never got a good shave, until I went old school, went to the DE single blade, best shave I've ever had hands down!
JR

The kids whiskers are probably so soft it doesn't even matter yet.

Thus why it's June and I haven't bought him replacement blades, and I got it for him at Xmas!
JR

Hey, i'm sure your not complaining. 

Not with the freaking price of those refills, another reason I like the DE!
JR

[captain spaulding]

I bought that fusion for my son as his first razor, he likes it, of course he doesn't know the difference between a good or bad shave.. Me on the other hand I've lost count of how many I've tried, from two blade to 5+1 blade, never got a good shave, until I went old school, went to the DE single blade, best shave I've ever had hands down!
JR

The kids whiskers are probably so soft it doesn't even matter yet.

Thus why it's June and I haven't bought him replacement blades, and I got it for him at Xmas!
JR

Hey, i'm sure your not complaining. 

Not with the freaking price of those refills, another reason I like the DE!
JR

DE is VERY affordable and such a nice shave. 

[MadPlumbarian]

I bought that fusion for my son as his first razor, he likes it, of course he doesn't know the difference between a good or bad shave.. Me on the other hand I've lost count of how many I've tried, from two blade to 5+1 blade, never got a good shave, until I went old school, went to the DE single blade, best shave I've ever had hands down!
JR

The kids whiskers are probably so soft it doesn't even matter yet.

Thus why it's June and I haven't bought him replacement blades, and I got it for him at Xmas!
JR

Hey, i'm sure your not complaining. 

Not with the freaking price of those refills, another reason I like the DE!
JR

DE is VERY affordable and such a nice shave. 

Yup, and the best shave I've had to this day! I want a true barbershop shave with a straight razor, it's what I was going to try next but I was to nervous, thus why I went DE.. And I'll stick with! I still want a straight shave, it's on my bucket list!
JR

[captain spaulding]

I bought that fusion for my son as his first razor, he likes it, of course he doesn't know the difference between a good or bad shave.. Me on the other hand I've lost count of how many I've tried, from two blade to 5+1 blade, never got a good shave, until I went old school, went to the DE single blade, best shave I've ever had hands down!
JR

The kids whiskers are probably so soft it doesn't even matter yet.

Thus why it's June and I haven't bought him replacement blades, and I got it for him at Xmas!
JR

Hey, i'm sure your not complaining. 

Not with the freaking price of those refills, another reason I like the DE!
JR

DE is VERY affordable and such a nice shave. 

Yup, and the best shave I've had to this day! I want a true barbershop shave with a straight razor, it's what I was going to try next but I was to nervous, thus why I went DE.. And I'll stick with! I still want a straight shave, it's on my bucket list!
JR

You only live once. Buy a straight and give it a go.   

Do you have anywhere around you that does straight razor shaves? There are a few barber shops around here that do it and where I used to live a place in the mall that did it, but it was insanely expensive.

The eye candy (women) running the front of the store kept trying to get me to give her my hand so she could show me what a badger brush feels like. She couldn't understand that I already use a DE and a badger brush (one better than the one she had).

Sadly i'm not DE shaving anymore. 

[MadPlumbarian]

I bought that fusion for my son as his first razor, he likes it, of course he doesn't know the difference between a good or bad shave.. Me on the other hand I've lost count of how many I've tried, from two blade to 5+1 blade, never got a good shave, until I went old school, went to the DE single blade, best shave I've ever had hands down!
JR

The kids whiskers are probably so soft it doesn't even matter yet.

Thus why it's June and I haven't bought him replacement blades, and I got it for him at Xmas!
JR

Hey, i'm sure your not complaining. 

Not with the freaking price of those refills, another reason I like the DE!
JR

DE is VERY affordable and such a nice shave. 

Yup, and the best shave I've had to this day! I want a true barbershop shave with a straight razor, it's what I was going to try next but I was to nervous, thus why I went DE.. And I'll stick with! I still want a straight shave, it's on my bucket list!
JR

You only live once. Buy a straight and give it a go.   

Do you have anywhere around you that does straight razor shaves? There are a few barber shops around here that do it and where I used to live a place in the mall that did it, but it was insanely expensive.

The eye candy (women) running the front of the store kept trying to get me to give her my hand so she could show me what a badger brush feels like. She couldn't understand that I already use a DE and a badger brush (one better than the one she had).

Sadly i'm not DE shaving anymore.

Suposidly their is one down the street, and another one that just opened across the street, but idk, maybe this summer I'll stop in and see if they even do it.
JR

[captain spaulding]

I bought that fusion for my son as his first razor, he likes it, of course he doesn't know the difference between a good or bad shave.. Me on the other hand I've lost count of how many I've tried, from two blade to 5+1 blade, never got a good shave, until I went old school, went to the DE single blade, best shave I've ever had hands down!
JR

The kids whiskers are probably so soft it doesn't even matter yet.

Thus why it's June and I haven't bought him replacement blades, and I got it for him at Xmas!
JR

Hey, i'm sure your not complaining. 

Not with the freaking price of those refills, another reason I like the DE!
JR

DE is VERY affordable and such a nice shave. 

Yup, and the best shave I've had to this day! I want a true barbershop shave with a straight razor, it's what I was going to try next but I was to nervous, thus why I went DE.. And I'll stick with! I still want a straight shave, it's on my bucket list!
JR

You only live once. Buy a straight and give it a go.   

Do you have anywhere around you that does straight razor shaves? There are a few barber shops around here that do it and where I used to live a place in the mall that did it, but it was insanely expensive.

The eye candy (women) running the front of the store kept trying to get me to give her my hand so she could show me what a badger brush feels like. She couldn't understand that I already use a DE and a badger brush (one better than the one she had).

Sadly i'm not DE shaving anymore.

Suposidly their is one down the street, and another one that just opened across the street, but idk, maybe this summer I'll stop in and see if they even do it.
JR

Yup, can't hurt to ask and see if they even do it and how much it cost. Might check and see how steady a hand he is while your at it. 

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[MadPlumbarian]

I bought that fusion for my son as his first razor, he likes it, of course he doesn't know the difference between a good or bad shave.. Me on the other hand I've lost count of how many I've tried, from two blade to 5+1 blade, never got a good shave, until I went old school, went to the DE single blade, best shave I've ever had hands down!
JR

The kids whiskers are probably so soft it doesn't even matter yet.

Thus why it's June and I haven't bought him replacement blades, and I got it for him at Xmas!
JR

Hey, i'm sure your not complaining. 

Not with the freaking price of those refills, another reason I like the DE!
JR

DE is VERY affordable and such a nice shave. 

Yup, and the best shave I've had to this day! I want a true barbershop shave with a straight razor, it's what I was going to try next but I was to nervous, thus why I went DE.. And I'll stick with! I still want a straight shave, it's on my bucket list!
JR

You only live once. Buy a straight and give it a go.   

Do you have anywhere around you that does straight razor shaves? There are a few barber shops around here that do it and where I used to live a place in the mall that did it, but it was insanely expensive.

The eye candy (women) running the front of the store kept trying to get me to give her my hand so she could show me what a badger brush feels like. She couldn't understand that I already use a DE and a badger brush (one better than the one she had).

Sadly i'm not DE shaving anymore.

Suposidly their is one down the street, and another one that just opened across the street, but idk, maybe this summer I'll stop in and see if they even do it.
JR

Yup, can't hurt to ask and see if they even do it and how much it cost. Might check and see how steady a hand he is while your at it. 

Code: [Select]

http://41.media.tumblr.com/426500371ed28f54f2765b87cc5f0aaa/tumblr_nk8bg0FBQ21unx51po1_1280.jpg

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Yeah huh, I remember where my father used to take me to get my hair cut he'd get a shave, that one guys hand would shake, I was so nervous I had someone else cut my hair, but as soon as he put a razor near his face it went like mechanicaly still..
JR

[inkster]

I been using a Gillette Mach III for years now.  I used a 2 bladed Gillette Sensor before that.  I recently tried to use the 2 bladed Sensor, and noticed a huge difference.  The mach III is great for me, I can shave my head and face both 3 full times, and that's with letting it grow a few days in between, plus I have a heavy beard. After the third time I can use it a bit on my face but not on my head any longer. It becomes uncomfortable when the lubricating strip dies out.   Also a few months back I tried to switch back to an old fashioned safety razor.  I bought a sample pack of all of the supposed best blades made all over the world. Some promised to shave your nose right off if you accidentally shaved it.     I think I used it once or twice and hated that I really couldn't make all of the twists and turns that I could with the Mach III. Plus for the first time in years I had a noticeable amount of razor burn. 

[captain spaulding]

I been using a Gillette Mach III for years now.  I used a 2 bladed Gillette Sensor before that.  I recently tried to use the 2 bladed Sensor, and noticed a huge difference.  The mach III is great for me, I can shave my head and face both 3 full times, and that's with letting it grow a few days in between, plus I have a heavy beard. After the third time I can use it a bit on my face but not on my head any longer. It becomes uncomfortable when the lubricating strip dies out.   Also a few months back I tried to switch back to an old fashioned safety razor.  I bought a sample pack of all of the supposed best blades made all over the world. Some promised to shave your nose right off if you accidentally shaved it.     I think I used it once or twice and hated that I really couldn't make all of the twists and turns that I could with the Mach III. Plus for the first time in years I had a noticeable amount of razor burn.

This is just from your face/neck getting used to a new type of blade. Also some safety razors are more aggressive than others and they do not pivot so you have to get the angle correct. This will go away after using the safety razor for a few weeks as long as it is not a extremely aggressive style razor.