What's the fuss: Irisch Moos/Tabac

[LinuxMintyFresh]

Been using IM off and on ever since I got a stick on group buy a few months back, but I still can't figure out what the hubbub is about. The lather is really thick, but no more so than other tallow soaps like Palmolive. It has never proven to be especially slick. The scent is ok, but it is really thick- not pungent, just sort of heavy. I'd say that it is just an average performing soap, so I wonder why everybody loves it so much.

I've never tried Tabac, but I read that it is the same in all regards except the scent.

Any enlightenment welcome. Thanks

 

[TheRuckus13]

Been using IM off and on ever since I got a stick on group buy a few months back, but I still can't figure out what the hubbub is about. The lather is really thick, but no more so than other tallow soaps like Palmolive. It has never proven to be especially slick. The scent is ok, but it is really thick- not pungent, just sort of heavy. I'd say that it is just an average performing soap, so I wonder why everybody loves it so much.

I've never tried Tabac, but I read that it is the same in all regards except the scent.

Any enlightenment welcome. Thanks

They love the price.

 

[Austin]

Been using IM off and on ever since I got a stick on group buy a few months back, but I still can't figure out what the hubbub is about. The lather is really thick, but no more so than other tallow soaps like Palmolive. It has never proven to be especially slick. The scent is ok, but it is really thick- not pungent, just sort of heavy. I'd say that it is just an average performing soap, so I wonder why everybody loves it so much.

I've never tried Tabac, but I read that it is the same in all regards except the scent.

Any enlightenment welcome. Thanks

Agreed. I find it mediocre at best.

 

[paydepst]

More like they love the scent.

Another classic case of YMMV although I have a few rabid IM customers (thankfully) who might be less charitable in their description!

 

[cymric]

Been using IM off and on ever since I got a stick on group buy a few months back, but I still can't figure out what the hubbub is about. The lather is really thick, but no more so than other tallow soaps like Palmolive.

Palmolive is then, of course, a magnificent example of 'cheap' not necessarily meaning 'bad': where I live it's about twice as cheap per unit weight. I could notice a few differences which would put Palmolive a little behind IM/Tabac, but not all that much; and given the price were perfectly acceptable. The point is that not everyone has access to this kind of product with a surprisingly high performance for its price, and by switching to IM or Tabac the realisation what they've been missing out on can be a bit overwhelming. Plus the fragrance of IM (and Tabac) is, in my opinion, more refined than that of Palmolive, but that's a personal matter of course.

All in all I think your expectations were not entirely in line with what you were used to. IM/Tabac is a good and easy soap, certainly a benchmark of sorts because many people know it and are able to use it without problems, but that doesn't mean it is The Best out there. I can name quite a number of products which yield a denser lather (if you're into that kind of thing), and I can name a number of products (albeit a lot less) which offer similar performance at a lower price.

Have you already tried the Speick shaving stick, by the way?

 

[Will P.C.]

I think IM is not nearly as good as Tabac. They DO NOT have the same formula either. I often hear this going around "same exact soaps, but different scents"
This is not true.

It used to be pretty hard to locate and I believe that is what some of the hype was about.

 

[LinuxMintyFresh]

Have you already tried the Speick shaving stick, by the way?

It's on my shaving stick short-list, along with Wilkinson Sword.

 

[TheChefs]

I'm not the biggest fan of IM scent, it's better than Tabac. But I like the performance, I can get very slick leather out of it without trying.

 

[SRock]

Agreed. I find it mediocre at best.

When I was a newbie I thought I was on to something with Tabac but I soon realized that proper technique can turn just about anything into a great shave.

 

[Rik]

Receive good results with Tabac. Not crazy about IM - too much hype.

 

[SRock]

Receive good results with Tabac. Not crazy about IM - too much hype.

But they are the same creature?!?

 

[honed]

The fuss for me is that TABAC & its sibling IM produces the best lather around.
And it does so in a very easy way.
No guide is needed to get a great lather.
Not even a good brush.
My 4 yo can lather it with a drugstore boar. I'm not kidding.

Disclaimer:
YMMV

 

[mdunn]

im a biiiig tabac fan, ive a bunch of great soaps, but still use tabac all the time.

I do think that a lot of the fuss about it is beause its very easy to get great lather with it, whereas something like MWF which is also great can be a bit tricky until you get it right.

 

[Ru4scuba?]

Receive good results with Tabac. Not crazy about IM - too much hype.

+1 here. Bought a stick of IM....tried it for a few shaves....nothing to write home about. Nice scent, decent lather but didnt' live up to the hype IMHO.

Tabac on the other hand....did.

Eh...to each his own!

 

[Schwert]

I consider Tabac a middling soap so reallly never had any interest in paying the big money for IM.

I use my Tabac puck as a brush cleaner most of the time.

 

[Gustav]

They love the price.

For me that is partly what it is all about: value for money. The best bang for the buck is undoubtedly Palmolive, but the scent is nothing to write home about. In Europe Tabac and IM are middle of the road soaps. They cost around 7-10 € for 100g and I find the stick packaging very practical for the IM and the Tabac bowl very functional. They are on par with Palmolive and IMHO the scents are great, especially IM. I find them more moisturising than Speick, the scent of which is not bad but it is not very exciting either. The Valobra stick outperforms Tabac and IM and has a pleasant scent, it costs two times as much but it is not two times as good and the packaging is minimalist and crap compared to IM. My favorite soap outperforms all of them: Yardley shave soap. Unfortunately it is a little hard to come by so I save it for special occasions.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I love the scent of IM, it lathers incredibly well and gives me a great shave. Why wouldn't I recommend it?

 

[Rik]

But they are the same creature?!?

I don't have a good answer. Could be as simple as the form-factor - puck vs. stick. I just know that I receive better results with the Tabac.

 

[Topgumby]

Tabac and SIM both lather well and easily, and for those put off by the scent of Tabac, SIM is a pretty good choice.

Best soaps EVAH? Probably not. Good enough to make a guy who has been wandering in a desert of canned foam and cartridges say "HALLELUJAH!!" and kick up their heels? I think so.

Not every shaver is going to relentlessly climb up the mountain to the pinnacle of the perfect soap...in fact, there are undoubtedly a host of Williams users, most of them perfectly ignorant of B&B, who are going to go to their graves happy as clams with the soap they've picked. Even the motivated few who come to this place don't all keep going once they've found something that works well for them.

Who's to say those perfectly content with "less than superb" products aren't really content?

If a guy says Tabac, SIM or ZOTE is the "bestest soap ever" and gets great shaves with it, I'm envious, not contemptuous. Because of the way I think and what I've read here, I'm doomed to think that the perfect soap is "just one more purchase away" and never know the contentment of Uncle Ed the lifetime Williams user, who thinks a shaving forum is between his wrist and his elbow.

 

[JDV]

I don't know about Tabac yet, but it's at the top of the short list to pick up. I've had my eyes on the bowl at WCS. I could get the refill, but that bowl would come in handy as well as look good on the shelf. I could possibly find it elsewhere, but if I can get it from West Coast, that's where I try to shop.