Soooooo
Bought a Hydro 5 to try it out and compare it to Fusion Proglide.
The first thing that has put me off before starting the mayhem of threads on this subforum was that Hydro 5 looked really cheap compared to Proglide. Everything, from the packaging to design was way better with Gillette.
Upon unpacking, the razor does not feel cheap at all. Nice weight and balance for a plastic razor.
Shaved with both using Nivea Classic cream in a can (canned goo). 2 passes - WTG and ATG.
I did experience just a wee bit of irritation with the fresh Proglide, but the shave was easily a complete effortless BBS that lasted almost until the evening, at least 12 hours, clean. It was at times a wee bit uncomfortable, but the blades were really taking off stubble like nothing.
The shave with Hydro 5 was really all one can wish comfort wise. No tugging, no pulling. But there was an objection. The lube coming out of the head felt nice on the face, but I felt it was really getting in the way of the lather (or vice versa) and that the razor couldn't get close enough to the skin, even though I applied the cream as thin as possible. I did the mentioned two passes, but after rinsing, I felt there was still some 'cheese-grater' type of stubble left, so there was need for quite a bit of touchups.
As far as I'm concerned, it goes like this (+ are pros, - are cons, o are undecided/not enough info).
Fusion Proglide:
+ design
+ closeness of the shave
+ maybe some irritation
o long term value for money (don't know if Proglide carts really last that much less than Hydro 5)
- comfort
- price
Hydro 5:
+ comfort of the shave
+ price
+ absolutely zero irritation
o the same as above - not sure if it lasts that much longer than a Proglide cart.
- too much lube + lather making it too mushy and requires extra rinsing as the blades don't get close enough to the skin
- even after touchups there's some stubble left
Things to contemplate, but for which I don't know if I have the patience to continue experimenting.
- Is maybe Proglide giving too close of a shave and the Hydro 5 gives less irritation for it?
- Is the value for money really tilted so far in Hydro 5's favour (if I could get a month of 2pass shaves out of a Proglide, I'd love it).
In any case, it's refreshing to shave in 6-8 minutes tops with zero irritation, especially since time became the issue in the mornings.
Which would you decide and do you have any comments on the above?
Regards.
Bought a Hydro 5 to try it out and compare it to Fusion Proglide.
The first thing that has put me off before starting the mayhem of threads on this subforum was that Hydro 5 looked really cheap compared to Proglide. Everything, from the packaging to design was way better with Gillette.
Upon unpacking, the razor does not feel cheap at all. Nice weight and balance for a plastic razor.
Shaved with both using Nivea Classic cream in a can (canned goo). 2 passes - WTG and ATG.
I did experience just a wee bit of irritation with the fresh Proglide, but the shave was easily a complete effortless BBS that lasted almost until the evening, at least 12 hours, clean. It was at times a wee bit uncomfortable, but the blades were really taking off stubble like nothing.
The shave with Hydro 5 was really all one can wish comfort wise. No tugging, no pulling. But there was an objection. The lube coming out of the head felt nice on the face, but I felt it was really getting in the way of the lather (or vice versa) and that the razor couldn't get close enough to the skin, even though I applied the cream as thin as possible. I did the mentioned two passes, but after rinsing, I felt there was still some 'cheese-grater' type of stubble left, so there was need for quite a bit of touchups.
As far as I'm concerned, it goes like this (+ are pros, - are cons, o are undecided/not enough info).
Fusion Proglide:
+ design
+ closeness of the shave
+ maybe some irritation
o long term value for money (don't know if Proglide carts really last that much less than Hydro 5)
- comfort
- price
Hydro 5:
+ comfort of the shave
+ price
+ absolutely zero irritation
o the same as above - not sure if it lasts that much longer than a Proglide cart.
- too much lube + lather making it too mushy and requires extra rinsing as the blades don't get close enough to the skin
- even after touchups there's some stubble left
Things to contemplate, but for which I don't know if I have the patience to continue experimenting.
- Is maybe Proglide giving too close of a shave and the Hydro 5 gives less irritation for it?
- Is the value for money really tilted so far in Hydro 5's favour (if I could get a month of 2pass shaves out of a Proglide, I'd love it).
In any case, it's refreshing to shave in 6-8 minutes tops with zero irritation, especially since time became the issue in the mornings.
Which would you decide and do you have any comments on the above?
Regards.
