I was recently browsing Amazon and came across the Solimo (Amazon house brand) of cartridge razor for men. And I figured, what the heck. Details and pics to follow, but for you impatient types ... I am very impressed. What: Solimo/Amazon 3-blade cart razor for men. Manufactured by Personna. Where to buy: Amazon.com of course. Variants: Available in a men's and women's version with either 3-blade or 5-blade cartridges. Refills available separately or packaged with a handle. The men's 5-blade also comes with a single trimmer blade on the back of the cart. The carts fit the Amazon handle only and vice versa. But, the carts can be used interchangeably with the Solimo handle. The men's handle comes with a soccer ball-type (side to side) pivot in addition the the normal back-and-forth pivot of a cart. There are also top and bottom lube strips. The women's version looks similar to the Venus razor. It does not appear that the men's carts will work with the women's handle or vice versa. Performance and Durability: Everything feels solid and quality made. Durability (so far) is also very good tho I have not blundered my way into an unintended drop test ... yet. I just finished my 12th shave with a 3-blade cart and it's still going strong. For the record, I have a fairly heavy Italian beard. Typical of 3-blade carts, I do feel some stubble by the end of the day, but it's nothing horrible. I have some 5-blade carts on order for the sake of comparison with my other cart shaves with the Dorco 5-blade (no trimmer version). As an additional point of comparison, Dorco 5-blades last me up to 14 shaves, but that's pushing it. When I'm on a cart kick, I typically change them every 7 to 10 days. The Solimo 3-blade reminds me a lot of when the Mach 3 first came out and the blades were still super sharp and lasted. I would get 3 or 4 weeks out of Mach 3 blades before the manufacturing quality started to drop off with the intro of Gillette's next big razor. Final thought... I had thought that the soccer ball pivot was just one more gimmick, but I find that it does make a difference for me around some tough areas like my throat and my jawline. Cost: 3-blade intro set (handle + 2 carts) = $6.49 and you may get an additional $1 coupon if you pay attention 5-blade intro set (handle + 2 carts) = $7.49 and you may get an additional $1 or $2 coupon Replacement carts in bulk (12 per order) run between $1.25 (3-blade) and $1.21 (5-blade) each. Again you might also get a coupon. If you're an Amazon Prime member, you also get the usual free 2-day shipping. As a guide, the equivalent Dorco blades, which are the lowest cost I've see until now, run between $1.59 (3-blade) and $1.84 (5-blade no trimmer) each for bulk orders of 24 carts at list price. But, if you're on their mailing list, Dorco has frequent sales that will lower that cost. Overall: Honestly? My new favorite cart shave. I really have nothing negative to say. Both in terms of cost and quality of shave, a clear winner. I would have no hesitation switching to these for travel once my stock of Dorco carts runs out. I'll post an update once I've had a chance to give the 5-blade carts a run. Pics: (all from Amazon.com)
Update: My 16th shave was this morning and the cart is just starting to feel tuggy. The lube strip is in good shape but dry and no longer doing its job. For me, that really only matters for touch ups if I get lazy about relathering. I could push it for another shave or two and still be comfortable, but why bother? So, I'm going to call it for the 3-blade cart as being good for at least 2 weeks of shaves. You baby-faces who do shaving commercials in your spare time will probably get a month out of a cart. YMMV, of course. My 5-blade carts arrived the other day. So, time to give them a run.
What do you lather with when using carts? I've found my typical soaps seem to gum up a multiblade cart.
I use my regular brush and soap most of the time. Once in a while, I'll use a brushless gel (Tend Skin Air Shave Gel). Or the Dorco shave lotion (blue bottle, not the creme' in the tube). I don't seem to have a problem with the cart getting clogged. Keeping a cup of hot rinse water helps. I just use the same soaking water that I've used to warm my brush.
Quick update on the 5-blade carts.... The first one was weird... first shave like butter, shaves 2 & 3 noticeably rougher, but then smoothed out for shaves 4 & 5. I didn't push it beyond that because I thought this might be a bad cart. 5-blade cart #2 was much better and more consistent. There was a noticeable degradation of sorts around shave 5 or 6 but it still cut well. Shave 7 was strange... again it cut well, at least in that it didn't tug, but my skin was left irritated. So, it looks like the 5-blade carts are good only for about a week's worth of shaving. I found the difference in longevity weird, but YMMV.
It's a rebranded (by amazon - Solimo is an amazon Brand) Wilkinson Sword Quattro Titanium Core motion (i have the wilkie version and it's really great - delivers an easy BBS)
