Before I started here at TSD with DE blades, my life long go-to was the Shick Tracer. I saw a commercial of a guy shaving foam off a basketball (Jordan?) and decided that was the razor for me. I have hated basketball (obtained a crappy rubber ball) and baseball (becsuse of the strike) since 1981, but still chose the Tracer because of the basketball shave commercial.
This is a hard question for me to answer, because my "favorite" changes depending on several factors - among them value, quality, convenience, & cost. I have a bunch of Gillette Fusion handles still in the package because they were giving them away free with the deodorant that I use. I tend to use the Fusion if & when I am in a hurry and can get a DFS very quickly. I do not like to buy new cartridges for these handles, because they are upwards of $3.50 each. I did find some Fusion blades on clearance once, but even then, the best price was close to $1.00 apiece. I really liked the Gillette Sensor for a while. And the Schick Hydro 3 was also a favorite. My impression is that the Schick cartridge razors are more aggressive than the Gillette. I used to say that the Atra was my ALL TIME favorite, but that was before I acquired some very nice TracII handles (at a great price). So now my favorite is the TracII. And the 2 blade cartridge platforms give a better, more enjoyable shave experience for me. Almost as good as a DE shave. Fact is, if I use appropriate shaving technique, I can get a BBS shave with ANY of the cartridge razors. Variation comes in cost and time spent on the shave. But the enjoyment achieved in using a specific tool is likely to be the most influential factor. So ask me again in a year or so and my answer may be different.
None and I can't stand going back to that bloody crappy cartridge razor ever again, not in a million years.
That's maybe because you only have experience with modern cartridge systems? YMMV but the original G2 razor is very good for me. I do not have experience with later systems, but most cartridge razor complaints are about the multi-blade cartridges, I believe.
Considering that the number of men using cartridge razors in the US is greater than 97% of the shaving population based on some 2014 estimates, there must be something about carts that makes them highly desirable. I've used about every shave tool on the market except straights over the past 60 years and have concluded that my current Mach 3 system is as fine a shaver as any of them, considerably better than many.
I have used a Trac II for many years, either as a travel razor or as my daily razor. YMMV but for me it's an excellent razor, and I do not understand why one would have to upgrade to multi-blade cartridges for getting a good shave. Of course Gillette stopped selling the Trac II razor when they introduced "improved" cartridges. So younger guys were out of luck, and were "forced" into multi-blade razors. I still enjoy using my Trac II and Atra razors, with vintage cartridges ... just not every day (that would be boring).
Trac II is a multi-blade razor! I do agree they were good razors before they got improved, still OK but I prefer the Mach 3.
I absolutely love the Mach 3 but lately I've been having rough shaves with it so went back to my vintage Trac II, which is so smooth and close, not BBS but I don't want it that close and I'm a one pass shaver Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The Fusion and Mach 3 give me the most efficient close shaves on the one pass, less strokes to do in one pass, but as a daily shaver I want more stubble the next day Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Schick Hydro 5 is my go to occasionally. I would recommend this product called RazorPit. It is like a strop for cleaning and maintaining carts. I have used the same blade for several months with no appreciable loss of performance.
i liked the trac 11 in the early eighties,and eventually stayed with the mach 3. have only de shaved now alittle over 6 months,but i won t go back,ive spent enough on carts. i saw the multi blade razor sketch on snl a few years ago.when i saw 4 blades then 5 ,mcdonalds serving salads etc i thought the world is going nuts.battery operated handle?vibrates?.isn t that called a cordless electric?.if i had to i would use a mach 3,a good soap and brush,better technique.but it wouldn t be for fun or enjoyment.
I want to revise my post: the Mach 3 is my favorite because I love the DFS with less effort . Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
i agree its a great razor and does the job well.i wanted to try something more old school and l found de shaving to be more pleasurable.
I never used one. When trying newer cartridge styles also means I have to buy a new handle, I'll pass. I never felt that there is something wrong with the G2 (Trac II), so I never felt the urge to "upgrade". If the new cartridges would fit my current handle, then I might try them for a change.