Stirling Soaps Vs. PAA, A&E etc. and Pricing Bias

[vorpal]

Over here at Greece they keep placing Stirling Soaps quite low, but not only in these parts, in general I see that their base is a little bit looked down upon. Do you think it's justified? I have been shaving exclusively with Stirling soaps for some months now and I honestly can't see the reason people place them that low in 'tier lists' and whatnot. The only thing a Stirling soap lacks IMO to say, A&E, is post-shave feel and not by much, but I have lotions and balms for that. Is it the nature of the soaps, the rather tame ingredient list, no fancy oils etc. or is it pricing bias? I don't know, but for me -- Stirling is as good as other 'top tier' artisan soaps. Last but not least, over here we pay around 18€ for 170ml, meanwhile A&E Kaizen (Khalifa and the other more complex scents are 30) is 23€ for 118ml, A&E soaps also go FAST as they are quite soft, I find. I'd like to see some more opinions on this!

 

[Cezar]

To me Stirling is right up there with the best of them

 

[Earl_Grey]

Funny you should name PAA as well as A&E in particular - those two have the biggest fanboyish customer bases and are well groomed by the respective Artisans.

Stirling is a fantastic soap and can go head to head with any base out there in terms of performance as well as price. Stirling's owners are a working class no nonsense kind of couple, they aren't in your face with marketing/freebies(looking at the hype generators aka Youtubers)/new bases and whatever else comes to mind. Thats why I like them so much, along with MacDuffs, Zingari & House of Mammoth.

 

[ewk]

I have never used any A&E or PAA soap, as the founders' business practices turned me off to their products. I have the highest regard for the integrity of Rod and his Stirling Soap Co. He has done right by his employees, the shaving community, his local community, and me as a customer with a great deal of personal interaction.

Performance-wise, although I cannot compare to A&E and PAA, I have purchased about 20 varieties of Stirling soap (samples and full tubs) and I believe Stirling it is an excellent product. Stirling definitely performs well against other soaps I have, including MdC, B&M, Wholly Kaw, Tabac, and MWF. Scent strengths and subtlety are subjective, but the tallow and mutton bases are among my favorite performers.

 

[ohansen]

Funny you should name PAA as well as A&E in particular - those two have the biggest fanboyish customer bases and are well groomed by the respective Artisans.

Stirling is a fantastic soap and can go head to head with any base out there in terms of performance as well as price. Stirling's owners are a working class no nonsense kind of couple, they aren't in your face with marketing/freebies(looking at the hype generators aka Youtubers)/new bases and whatever else comes to mind. Thats why I like them so much, along with MacDuffs, Zingari & House of Mammoth.

Stirling & House of Mammoth are heavily promoted by the automaton on reddit r/wetshaving

 

[CalmAsHinduCows]

Stirling is basically the only soap I use - it hits all the right notes perfectly for me in terms of everything I look for in an artisan soap. Like has been stated, Stirling can go head to head with any soap on the market. Love my Stirling!

 

[Kyle89]

I pretty much use Stirling exclusively. I see a lot of other brands going around, some trendier than others, and perhaps they can be better but I haven't even been remotely curious. They're nice people with great customer service and they can have my money.

 

[Earl_Grey]

Stirling & House of Mammoth are heavily promoted by the automaton on reddit r/wetshaving

No clue what an automaton is. But I was talking more in the realms of social media and usage of influencers.

 

[zed117]

I’ve been a Stirling fan for at least 8 or 9 years. Really excellent product and scents. A few years ago I would put his soaps as one of the top bases period.

I do think that in the last couple of years Wholly Kaw, B&M and Decaration Grooming have come out with incredibly slick, nourishing and amazing post shave bases that edge them a little bit more; but Stirling is still a fantastic product in its own right and the sheep base is outstanding.

Not a fan of PAA/HTGAM or whatever he goes by these days.

 

[VintageGent]

It’s only recently that I have tried any soaps OTHER than Stirling! I started with Stirling years ago, and I have always been happy with all of Stirling’s products, and their service.

 

[JCarr]

I've liked Stirling's mutton tallow base since trying it over a year ago, but it's only recently that I've started to appreciate their "regular" beef tallow base. I failed to dial it in properly when I first tried it, but found that a little more water brings it to life. Now, I like both their bases.

I need more shave soap like I need a second mortgage, but I broke down and ordered their Black Cherry and Boat Drinks soaps. Tomorrow morning I'm using their Bay Rum soap on four-days of growth.

 

[Juanmosey]

I've never read a negative review on Stirling.

 

[D4PPZ]

The main issue I have with Stirling is that I can smell the base itself, which is less of an issue with some of the other top artisans.

 

[icemanjs4]

The main issue I have with Stirling is that I can smell the base itself, which is less of an issue with some of the other top artisans.

I agree, especially with their mutton tallow soaps. That said, there are still many Stirling soaps I love. Wish their balm was a bit better.

 

[NorthernSoul]

Over here at Greece they keep placing Stirling Soaps quite low, but not only in these parts, in general I see that their base is a little bit looked down upon. Do you think it's justified? I have been shaving exclusively with Stirling soaps for some months now and I honestly can't see the reason people place them that low in 'tier lists' and whatnot.

I think it is down to marketing. Stirling is, intentionally, a good value soap. A practical, everyman type soap. It is not as exclusive or high-priced as some others out there. It's not as heavily promoted. Some of the scents are really strong. All that signals lower status to some people. Stirling's target customers don't mind.

 

[vorpal]

So much love for Stirling, this makes me happy. Despite the fact that it's still 30-40% more expensive (being an imported soap from US) here, it's still the most VFM soap in our market. I love their Bay Rum and recently got their Almond Creme (+splash.. wish they had balm too) and it has now become my favorite scent, since I love almond and sweet scents in general. I'll be getting either candy cane or Christmas eve later this year, not sure which yet, maybe eve since I hear some people say candy cane is similar to bay rum.

 

[luvmysuper]

Stirling is a good soap, at a good value, that's presented without hype and hysteria like some other manufacturers with a less than stellar history, who shall remain nameless.
Every manufacturer has a hard core fanboy base, some more than others for various reasons including encouragement from the manufacturer.
It seems that Stirling just continues to put out good product at a good price point.
Let knuckleheads pay premium prices thinking that price is a single point unmistakable marker for quality.
Their loss, our gain.

 

[RayClem]

Jason Rudman of Ruds Shave YouTube channel rated Sterling at 91. PAA CK6 formula is rated at 92. Both of them are perfectly acceptable shaving soaps for many people. Personally, I like even better soaps. Most of the soaps in my active rotation are rated 97 and higher, I have a number of soaps rated 90-95 that are no longer good enough to make my rotation. But that does not mean that you should not use them.

 

[NorthernSoul]

Jason Rudman of Ruds Shave YouTube channel rated Sterling at 91. PAA CK6 formula is rated at 92. Both of them are perfectly acceptable shaving soaps for many people. Personally, I like even better soaps. Most of the soaps in my active rotation are rated 97 and higher, I have a number of soaps rated 90-95 that are no longer good enough to make my rotation. But that does not mean that you should not use them.

You're not exactly a target customer for Stirling, though, if you're following a "cost is no object" approach. Stirling is more appealing to the value-oriented customer. I think you place a lot more emphasis on the post-shave than the average customer, also.

 

[JCarr]

PAA soaps are excellent also. Regular CK formula is a bit more expensive than Stirling, but not bad. Performance in my book is top notch.