Merkur Vision 2000 or Gillette Fatboy

[Smoothshave]

Hi Gents,

I want a better adjustable safety razor. Now I use the Lord LP 1822. I have a heavy beard.
I am thinking to buy the Merkur Vision 2000 or the Gillette Fatboy. What do you recommend and why?

 

[DamnFineBob]

Gillette Slim Adjustable... all of the features of the Fat Boy, but with a more compact head and a lower pricetag.

The Vision just looks to darn big to be able to shave under the nose or trim the sideburns neatly. Plus, some of the internal parts are plastic!

 

[Smoothshave]

I want a heavy safety razor. The Slim is lighter....

 

[Doodi1]

I have the Vision, the Futur and the Fatboy (195). I like all three of them. If you want max. shave capability go with the Futur. the Vision does have a bulky bulbous head. I still like it a lot.

The Fatboy is a classic and shaves very well. Nowhere as aggressive as the Futur or the Vision (if you crank them up).

 

[huck1680]

I've got both and the Fatboy is my preference. The Vision gives a nice shave but is a bit awkward and ungainly. It is heavy though. You might also consider the "Mergresse XL" which is sold at Lee's Safety Razors. It's a reworked Merkur 510 Progress XL. The Progress might work for you the way it is. I just liked the Mergresse handle better. There's also the Merkur Futur to consider as well.

 

[nEver-Ready]

I have the Vision, the Futur and the Fatboy (195). I like all three of them. If you want max. shave capability go with the Futur. the Vision does have a bulky bulbous head. I still like it a lot.

The Fatboy is a classic and shaves very well. Nowhere as aggressive as the Futur or the Vision (if you crank them up).

+1 on the Futur. I have all three plus the Slim. My fave is the Futur. I find it MUCH easier to use and care for than the Vision. I would rank them: Futur, Slim, Fatboy, Vision.

 

[Smoothshave]

That Megress XL looks cool. It has the looks of the Futur but also has the looks of the retro razors....
They are out of stock....

Let me Google....

 

[Scott0079]

That Megress XL looks cool. It has the looks of the Futur but also has the looks of the retro razors....
They are out of stock....

Let me Google....

Definitely worth waiting on, much easier to maneuver than a Vision and better balanced than the Fatboy IMO.

 

[mandoman]

Fatboy its just easy to use

 

[Smoothshave]

I just had e-mail contact with Lee and I have decided that it is going to be a Mergress XL for a couple of reasons:

1. The Mergress has no plastic parts and is less vulnerable than the Vision or the Futur when it is opened.
2. The Mergress is sold out in a matter of minutes
3. The Mergress is easy to clean and has no crypts/lines like the Fatboy has
4. The Mergress is developed purely out of experiences with the Progress, hence it is a better model.
5. The Mergress is seems like a Bmw (my favorite car): extremely manoeverable, good weight, futuristic looks but still the classical

The money is sent and now I have to choose a good Brush!!!

 

[kingfisher]

...

The money is sent and now I have to choose a good Brush!!!

Outstanding! Enjoy it when it arrives.

 

[notsonewb]

Vision is clearly better than the fatboy. Even though the Vision is Big, it is really well balanced and nimble. The Futur and Vision are my top adjustable's. The fatboy on the other hand is totally over rated and isn't even Gillette's best adjustable, The Super adjustable is by far the superior Gillette adjustable IMHO
Truthfully though, if I was only to have 1 adjustable, I'd pick a Futur. I base my choices on head and face shaving, Though big the Futur and Vision are excellent head shavers, very maneuverable and their weight doesn't doesn't cause the blade to dig in on my sensitive noggin. The fatboy feels clunky and digs in easily, I can only use it for head shaving on the lowest settings.

 

[gorgehiker]

The money is sent and now I have to choose a good Brush!!!

Check out the bst, jeffe has some restored ones that are great! I have one he did and its my go to, just a FYI..

 

[Sir Ronald]

I would not recommend a Fatboy for a heavy beard, they're just too mild a razor. Definitely a Futur or Vision.

 

[SeattleSparky]

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Box-Merkur-...ultDomain_0&hash=item27ba730c9d#ht_2550wt_905

 

[Timmy Dee]

I'm another one that owns slims, fatboys, a futur and a vision (just missing a progress/mergress).

I vote for the futur as well (the satin finish I have is apparently less slippery than the chrome finish, so I'd recommend it).

The vision's heft makes doing the cheeks/neck dead-easy, but it is fiddly under the nose where the larger head is at a disadvantage.

Fatboys are good shavers, but their value and reputation is bolstered by their image (real or otherwise) as the collectible-de-jour.

DISCLAIMER - I'm not slagging off the fatboy, for all you vintage lovers out there. I like my FBs a lot. I just think in this case, vintage isn't best.

 

[penmanship]

The only one I can speak to is the FUTUR(chrome), although I did have a FATBOY......got rid of it quickly, as I didn't like it & it didn't work the way I had hoped. I almost got rid of the FUTUR too (in haste) because I couldn't find the sweet spot with it. I have now! First pass set on 3.5, second pass set on 3.5, final pass dial it down to 2.................sweet. I had considered the VISION, but the maintainence schedule isn't to my liking.