A few months back I received a coupon in the mail for a Gillette Fusion Proglide razor. I really didn’t have any interest in using it but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a possible blog post and a chance to stick it to Gillette – regardless of how small the price they would have to pay. I tossed it in my shave cabinet and had forgotten it, until a few days ago when I was forced to do a clean up of all the shaving stuff I accumulate running this blog.

I thought I would give it a try just out of curiosity. It has been a few years since I have used anything other than a DE razor so I thought it couldn’t hurt to remind myself as to why I made the switch – outside of the cost that is. I was also curious as to what business a battery had in a razor.

I decided to do a quick side by side comparison more for those of you who are unfamiliar with a DE razor than for those who are. I usually prefer a more extensive comparison between razors but will limit this to a few major areas. I will be comparing the Gillette Fusion Proglide to one of my favourite razors – the Edwin Jagger 89lbl.

The Handle

Other than the actual function of each handle of these handles there is very little in common between the two. The Gillette Fusion Proglide has a plastic handle with areas covered by a rubber grip (there is also a on off button but more on that later), it is also quite a bit longer than that of the Edwin Jagger 89lbl. The 89lbl on the other hand, like many DE razors, is solid piece of metal – this particular version has a ribbed handle. Prior to using a DE razor I would have imagined that I would have preferred the longer handle of the cartridge razor, but after having used a shorter handle (some really short) I will have to say that I prefer the control the shorter handle provides. Besides that the handle of Fusion Proglide feels more like a toy than anything else. I don’t want to feel like I am shaving with a toy.

The Cutting Head

Obviously nothing really to compare. Two completely different designs. One has a single blade while the other has five, along with a single trimming blade on the reverse side of the head. After having used it today – I still stand by that anything more than a single blade is redundant.

I didn’t really expect a bad shave from the Fusion Proglide. In fact I figured it would actually perform well and it did. I prepared for my shave in the same way I would normally, for this shave I used my new tube of La Toja shave cream (review to follow in a couple of days – so far so good), wet face and a nice lather. The final result was a close shave. As mentioned above I actually prefer the shorter handle of my DE razors, but the Fusion was manageable and comfortable enough. I did miss having some weight to the razor as well. I had a bit of skin irritation, nothing major, but I need a couple more shave before I determine if it is the razor or the cream – I’m guessing the razor.

The one thing I couldn’t wrap my mind around is the vibrating action. I didn’t notice an increase in performance, if anything I found it irritating. It felt like I was holding my electric toothbrush. My guess is that this is a bad attempt at a new gimmick. Tossing more blades into the head of the razor is becoming redundant really. How many more blades? 10? 15? Come on. The packaging itself didn’t state anything in regards to the function so I will have to assume that it has very little.

In the end I guess I can’t knock the Gillette Fusion Proglide for not providing a decent shave, because the shave was sufficiently close. I can knock it however on its unneeded blades, the cost of replacement cartridges, the fact that it feels like a toy, and of course the vibrating action that doesn’t seem to really do anything.

If you were looking for a review of the Fusion Proglide I guess this is sort of one, but I can’t recommend it over a quality DE razor. In the end I believe you will be more fulfilled and have a bit more cash in your pocket as a result.