Two & Three tier soaps: any purpose for them?

[ShavePastor]

So I was just thinking about how we all have our "top tier" soaps in slickness, performance, post shave feel, etc.......& for some, they only keep the top notch stuff around & PIF the other. But for others, they have a level 2 tier of soaps that aren't as good as their top tier.

Does anyone have a level 2 or 3 tier of soaps that are less than stellar performers?

If so, what would be the reasons for them? Trying out soaps & then the ones that don't make top tier just accumulate & thus now you have a two tier level? Or would it be you intentionally buy them, perhaps because of scent?

Just curious. Why have a level 2 or 3 tier of soaps when they are less than stellar performers? Here's a few reasons I thought of:
Scent
Classic brand
Price
Avaliability
Historical or Nostalgic

Any others?

 

[ScottChapin]

So I was just thinking about how we all have our "top tier" soaps in slickness, performance, post shave feel, etc.......& for some, they only keep the top notch stuff around & PIF the other. But for others, they have a level 2 tier of soaps that aren't as good as their top tier.

Does anyone have a level 2 or 3 tier of soaps that are less than stellar performers?

If so, what would be the reasons for them? Trying out soaps & then the ones that don't make top tier just accumulate & thus now you have a two tier level? Or would it be you intentionally buy them, perhaps because of scent?

Just curious. Why have a level 2 or 3 tier of soaps when they are less than stellar performers? Here's a few reasons I thought of:
Scent
Classic brand
Price
Avaliability
Historical or Nostalgic

Any others?

One reason I have a less than stellar performer is to have one that is convenient for travel. I have a puck of Clubman that comes in a small plastic jar with a threaded lid. It does a nice job and packs well, but it isn’t in rotation in the den.


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[ShavePastor]

@ScottChapin , travel is a good reason I hadn't thought of! Thanks

 

[DocHoliday0831]

I have a few soaps that are not as good as what I call the top tiers but that doesn’t mean they are bad just a bit more picky. Some have stellar scents but lacking in the slickness. Some have extremely good slickness but lack scent. None are really that bad though. I won’t keep one around that just stinks in scent or performance.


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[dfoulk]

My tier 1 is ultra exclusive and what I use 95% of the time. I do still however have some higher level tier 2 soaps that I keep around for various reasons. Some, I absolutely love the scent of (Tiki The Captain, Captain's Choice Lime), so they're keepers for that reason alone. Others like Martin de Candre and Le Pere Lucien lather outstanding in the absolute worst possible water conditions on the planet, so they stick around as they're always my first choice when traveling.

I use the small colored IGo screw top containers that you can buy at your local WalMart for bringing about six or so soaps when I travel along with a plastic salsa bowl. It's nice to have some variety as opposed to bringing one large jar.

 

[davent]

My rejections are based on scent alone so i'll use everything, with the exception of one, until they're gone and then replace those with something else. Scent is a tolerated aspect of any soap that i use, not an attractant. Soaps that maybe i don't think are great performers turn into great performers as i use them day in and day out to use them up.

dave

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I fell REALLY lucky with my soaps. I've only used two, and am happy with both of them. I will probably find a third at some point, as I want to find a dished bottom soap that I like to sit in my scuttle.

 

[Lmarkow]

I have lesser products that are leftover from my hunt for better products.

 

[John Rose]

There are some inexpensive electric guitars (e.g. various Squier models) that are said to be good for "modding" - you upgrade the pickups, tuners, bridges, etc.
Williams Mug is like that, when you add ingredients, and/or turn it into a croap or stick. If the experiment fails, you have not wasted much money.

 

[cvargo]

This is the scale I created
View media item 57040
Anything in box 8,9, or 10 I get rid off. I do have other soaps in box 4 through 7 primarily for scent, travel, or because they really aren't that bad of performers (box 4 and sometimes 5).

According to my Excel sheet I've used over 300 soaps unique soaps. Not quite as much as dfoulk but a respectable number I feel.

 

[J-MN]

At this point my Tier 1 consists of only two soaps, so my plan is to use those 95+ percent of the time and occasionally allow a Tier 2 into the cabinet just for something different once in a while. I really don't want more than three soaps on hand at any given time.

Whenever I've had more than a few soaps on hand, I find myself always reaching for my favorites, so not much reason to keep others around that I end up using out of obligation rather than desire. I'm a bit of a minimalist, though, so I just don't like having anything around that I don't use regularly.

 

[DocHoliday0831]

I fell REALLY lucky with my soaps. I've only used two, and am happy with both of them. I will probably find a third at some point, as I want to find a dished bottom soap that I like to sit in my scuttle.

Just curious which two?


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[Heron]

My "tier 1" soaps are the only ones I'll buy again. I will continue to use my Crabtree & Evelyn Nomad, though, because I like the scent and haven't found another soap scent like it.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Just curious which two?

Mitchell's Wool Fat for home use, and Palmolive shave stick for travel.

 

[vespergo]

I have a hard time getting rid of soaps so I just let them all accumulate. Very often I'll try one that I hadn't in years and find it works different and better than I had originally thought, sometimes due to weather, a move(water softness), or just plain preference has changed. A lot of soap tastes are subjective so what you might like this year could change in a few years. That's the biggest reason I keep mine around.

 

[GearNoir]

I fell REALLY lucky with my soaps. I've only used two, and am happy with both of them. I will probably find a third at some point, as I want to find a dished bottom soap that I like to sit in my scuttle.

This, except I currently have 6ish soaps. I did my research, fretted and fussed over the buy button, and came out on top each time. I like all the soaps I have, some are probably on a “lower tier” list of others. It’s all quite YMMV and best bang for the buck.

 

[dfoulk]

Just curious which two?

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If you want to try some really high end soaps then look into Tallow & Steel and Grooming Dept. These are my top two. Wholly Kaw (Donkey Milk version), Sudsy Soapery, PannaCrema (Nuavia and Pure2O), Declaration Grooming and the Barrister & Mann (Reserve Line) are all really, really impressive tier 1 soaps as well.

These are the ones that many of the people that try everything out there would consider to be the very best of the best at this moment in time.

Not all are expensive as some are around $14 (Sudsy Soapery and PannaCrema Pure2O), most are around or slightly above the $20 mark (Tallow & Steel, Grooming Dept, Barrister & Mann Reserve, Declaration Grooming and Wholly Kaw) and only one is rather pricey at $65 and comes in a ceramic crock (PannaCrema Nuavia).

 

[DocHoliday0831]

If you want to try some really high end soaps then look into Tallow & Steel and Grooming Dept. These are my top two. Wholly Kaw (Donkey Milk version), Sudsy Soapery, PannaCrema (Nuavia and Pure2O), Declaration Grooming and the Barrister & Mann (Reserve Line) are all really, really impressive tier 1 soaps as well.

These are the ones that many of the people that try everything out there would consider to be the very best of the best at this moment in time.

Manny of those I haven’t tried. I do own a Wholly Kaw soap and have tried the B&M. Current top tier soaps for me are Asylum, Chiseled Face, and Wild West. But I’m nowhere near as soap experienced as many other folks on this forum are.


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[dfoulk]

Manny of those I haven’t tried. I do own a Wholly Kaw soap and have tried the B&M. Current top tier soaps for me are Asylum, Chiseled Face, and Wild West. But I’m nowhere near as soap experienced as many other folks on this forum are.

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I've tried Asylum and Chiseled Face and consider them to be somewhere in the middle of my tier 2. The Chiseled Face soaps in the Zoology scents are really nice. Wild West is one I haven't tried but I have read a couple good reviews about it, I'll have to give that one a try.

I've tried just about everything out there as I stopped counting at 600 soaps. For me Tallow & Steel and Grooming Dept are the best soaps on the planet right now.

 

[bobmsp]

I don't find much of a use for "tier 3" soaps and I've gotten rid of most and have the rest set aside. The primary difference between my "tier 1" and "tier 2" is the post-shave experience. My T2 soaps are all, for the most part, really good performers still. They just don't have the same extra little bit that some soap makers have been able to add in the last year or so.

From a numbers perspective, I have 33 soaps from 15 makers in my collection of soaps to use. About half are T1 in my estimation.