So I have been ready a few threads on lather bowls and I thought I might review a few of the ones I own. So the three that I am going to review are the Timeless bowl, the Captain's Choice bowl, and a custom bowl I had made at a pottery shop. The metrics I am going to use are heat retention in the lather, time to lather, ease of lather, and quality of lather. To heat the bowl, I microwaved water for 90 seconds and put it into the bowl and waited until there was no perceptible increase in temperature. The soap used in all three tests was Stirling's Baker Street. I used PAA's Solar Flare brush.
The Timeless
Cost: $12
Description: This bowl is made from polypropylene which is a high grade plastic in the color blue. The bowl is light weight, has raised, swirled ridges in the bottom and raised ridges on the sides.
Heat Retention: Warmed lather lasts for two passes before returning to room temperature.
Time to lather: approximately 90 seconds
Ease of lathering: No brainer (you just stir)
Lather quality: The lather was stiff and slick and provided good cushion.
Thoughts: This bowl actually surprised me in the heat retention department. The plastic sides actually insulate rather than transfer heat from your lather to your hand. The ceramics would get hot when the microwaved water was poured in. This bowl did not. In fact you can put your water in this bowl and pop it in the microwave with no issues at all. The tall sides did a superb job of keeping the lather contained with only one case of spillover and it was slight.
Captain's Choice Bowl
Description: The bowl is shallow and wide, made from wheel turned clay. It is light and has circular ridges in the bottom. The texture of the bowl was rough.
Cost: $29
Heat Retention: 2 passes before heat fades away
Time to lather: About 2 minutes
Ease of lather: Fairly easy
Lather quality: Lather was firm, had a lot of cushion, and was very slick.
Thoughts: This bowl you have to be more careful of because you can swirl the lather out of the bowl because it is only an inch and half deep. Although the bowl is flared inwards, I still had a few instances where lather sloshed out of the bowl. The bowl fit my hand perfectly and hand no issues handling it. It has a circular notch on the side of the bowl that I put my thumb on to help secure it. Another nice thing about the bowl is that it will float in your sink water transferring heat from your water to keep your lather warm.
The custom bowl:
Description: This is a bowl I had at one of those pottery places. I took the wife there and had this made for me. It oval with a spiral carved into the bottom. The texture if the bowl is smooth. The color is whatever you want to paint it.
Cost: $22 plus the cost of whatever the wife painted, plus a very good meal at a Cajun restaurant $30, and 2 nights of very hot sex.
Heat retention: 2 passes then it is room temperature.
Ease of Lather: Moderately easy
Time to lather: 2 minutes
Lather quality: Firm and slick, although slightly softer than the other two
Thoughts: This bowl is heavier and is more suited to lathering on the counter top versus the hand. The oval shape however does allow it to be held while lathering, just make sure you are wearing your man panties because it is heavy. The oval shape allows whip your brush from side to side as well as swirl. The smooth texture makes takes a little more effort, but it makes a fine lather. The thicker sides of the bowl could probably take more heat and may be microwave suitable.
Normally I face lather, but these past few days I have gotten really nice shaves and have learned a few more things. Using hot water on a brush makes lathering a heck of a lot easier. I really enjoyed making this review, so I look forward to doing something else in the future.
So my overall favorite lathering bowl...
The dome!
This bad boy has the perfect texture along the sides. It whips up lather faster than anything I own. It keeps the soap at a nice 98.6 degrees. It is the perfect travel bowl as I do not have to pack anything. The only down side is that it will not out live me, but it will last until my demise, so that's okay. Lathering on it keeps my head nice and soft, which the wife likes very much. Not many men will get to use the dome, and for that, my heart is a little sad for you.
So there you have it. My review of some of the lather bowls I own. I hope this helped some folks looking into the lather bowl arena. Questions, comments, and derogatory remarks are welcomed.
The Timeless
Cost: $12
Description: This bowl is made from polypropylene which is a high grade plastic in the color blue. The bowl is light weight, has raised, swirled ridges in the bottom and raised ridges on the sides.
Heat Retention: Warmed lather lasts for two passes before returning to room temperature.
Time to lather: approximately 90 seconds
Ease of lathering: No brainer (you just stir)
Lather quality: The lather was stiff and slick and provided good cushion.
Thoughts: This bowl actually surprised me in the heat retention department. The plastic sides actually insulate rather than transfer heat from your lather to your hand. The ceramics would get hot when the microwaved water was poured in. This bowl did not. In fact you can put your water in this bowl and pop it in the microwave with no issues at all. The tall sides did a superb job of keeping the lather contained with only one case of spillover and it was slight.
Captain's Choice Bowl
Description: The bowl is shallow and wide, made from wheel turned clay. It is light and has circular ridges in the bottom. The texture of the bowl was rough.
Cost: $29
Heat Retention: 2 passes before heat fades away
Time to lather: About 2 minutes
Ease of lather: Fairly easy
Lather quality: Lather was firm, had a lot of cushion, and was very slick.
Thoughts: This bowl you have to be more careful of because you can swirl the lather out of the bowl because it is only an inch and half deep. Although the bowl is flared inwards, I still had a few instances where lather sloshed out of the bowl. The bowl fit my hand perfectly and hand no issues handling it. It has a circular notch on the side of the bowl that I put my thumb on to help secure it. Another nice thing about the bowl is that it will float in your sink water transferring heat from your water to keep your lather warm.
The custom bowl:
Description: This is a bowl I had at one of those pottery places. I took the wife there and had this made for me. It oval with a spiral carved into the bottom. The texture if the bowl is smooth. The color is whatever you want to paint it.
Cost: $22 plus the cost of whatever the wife painted, plus a very good meal at a Cajun restaurant $30, and 2 nights of very hot sex.
Heat retention: 2 passes then it is room temperature.
Ease of Lather: Moderately easy
Time to lather: 2 minutes
Lather quality: Firm and slick, although slightly softer than the other two
Thoughts: This bowl is heavier and is more suited to lathering on the counter top versus the hand. The oval shape however does allow it to be held while lathering, just make sure you are wearing your man panties because it is heavy. The oval shape allows whip your brush from side to side as well as swirl. The smooth texture makes takes a little more effort, but it makes a fine lather. The thicker sides of the bowl could probably take more heat and may be microwave suitable.
Normally I face lather, but these past few days I have gotten really nice shaves and have learned a few more things. Using hot water on a brush makes lathering a heck of a lot easier. I really enjoyed making this review, so I look forward to doing something else in the future.
So my overall favorite lathering bowl...
The dome!
This bad boy has the perfect texture along the sides. It whips up lather faster than anything I own. It keeps the soap at a nice 98.6 degrees. It is the perfect travel bowl as I do not have to pack anything. The only down side is that it will not out live me, but it will last until my demise, so that's okay. Lathering on it keeps my head nice and soft, which the wife likes very much. Not many men will get to use the dome, and for that, my heart is a little sad for you.
So there you have it. My review of some of the lather bowls I own. I hope this helped some folks looking into the lather bowl arena. Questions, comments, and derogatory remarks are welcomed.
