Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsIn depth personal review: "Oster Classic 76" vs "Wahl Elite Pro High Performance Haircut Kit"
Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2016
I am a non-professional and have been cutting my own hair for about 4 months now. Previously I have been going to a barber a buzz cut (#2 usually or one higher) for about 5 years now & figured I could save some money doing it myself. I started out using the "Wahl Elite Pro High Performance Haircut Kit" which I purchased at a local store. Then I purchased the "Oster Classic 76" on Amazon. This will be a lengthy review but I will give you my in depth personal experience with both and why I switched to the Oster 76.
Wahl Elite Pro High Performance Haircut Kit review:
This is a pretty good kit & I was satisfied for my first couple hair cuts but then I started to notice that it was missing hairs. I thoroughly go over all sections of my head but for some reason it seemed to miss some hairs. Not all that many but it started to get pretty annoying. I would notice them on the sides of my head looking in the mirror for example and would end up getting some scissors to snip them as they were noticeably longer. There really weren't that many so I wasn't too concerned at first. For the life of me, even as a non-professional, I'm not sure why it seemed to miss some after so many passes. This kit was decent as I got it for sub $50 and it came with an entire set of plastic attachable combs. I also have a cowlick that seemed to get left a little longer than the rest of my hair too! I tried cutting it from all directions, using a comb to try to pull back the hair with the clippers following, etc. As I mentioned I am no professional, but I don't think a buzz cut is rocket science either. In addition I found these clippers hard to get close around my ears. I think it's due to the fact that it uses plastic attachable blades (aka combs). They are somewhat bulky attachments and the plastic comb sticks out to the sides of the actual razor because it's a clip on attachment. I think this extra width that's added to the razor by using an attachable plastic comb makes it just that much more difficult to get around the ears closely. I was having to (carefully) go back later and cut around my ears without any guard (comb) on because I wasn't able to get hair closely around my ears with this razor. Which although I have a steady hand, as a non-professional, I prefer to avoid having to cut without any guard on, for obvious reasons. Seeing as this is a kit it also came with some blade oil...but the small blade oil plastic bottle always leaks! This comes with a carrying case to hold everything (which is nice) and if the bottle isn't standing upright it will leak (if on it's side for example) even though it has a screw on cap. At the end of the day these clippers gave me a decent cut but it just wasn't quite as nice as what I received from a barber. However, through using these I decided that I really enjoyed giving myself my own hair cuts and decided to invest in a more quality pair of clippers.
Oster Classic 76 review:
After my experience with the Wahl kit I decided to try investing in a more professional grade pair of clippers and did a decent amount of research on different clipper options before opting for this. I ordered the Oster 76 and a #2 blade (this only comes with a couple really short blades). This clipper by far (personally) gave me a far better hair cut on the first time that I ever got while using the Wahl kit. I didn't notice any of the longer hairs that seemed to get missed with my Wahl razor. In addition, the cowlick that I have on the front of my head that seemed to not get cut well previously cut nicely just like every other portion of my hair with this razor! As I mentioned in my Wahl review, the plastic comb attachments in that kit are what I believe made it more difficult to get around my ears since they are a bulky attachment. To be fair, and as a disclaimer, I did not try metal blade attachments with the Wahl razor (would have to purchase seperate) so they might be more comparable to the Oster blades. I used the #2 replacement blade and I believe having no bulky comb attachment on top of the razor lets me get real close to my ears. I did not even have to go back later and trim around my ears! As I mentioned, I think this is more of the difference between using a metal replacement blade compared to a bulky plastic comb attachment. Like the Wahl kit this comes with some included blade oil. Thankfully, the included blade oil container does not leak! These clippers do not come with a case to store them in though which will be another added expense when I find one, it was nice that the Wahl set had that, but that was more of a "kit" compared to this. A downside to this razor is it's a little expensive, especially if you're purchasing addition blades! The razor itself was over twice as much as the Wahl kit I tried. Then I purchased an additional blade, and plan to purchase one more, plus some extra blade oil, and some wash. It will probably end up running me $200 after tax and everything to get a couple extra blades and accessories, and that's not including a case. So seeing as I paid about $20 for a haircut (once a month) I could see this paying itself off in less than a year. But now that I cut my own hair, I do it every two weeks, so I guess it's definitely getting it's moneys worth.
Conclusion:
Although I've had these clippers for less than a month and have only used them a couple of times I hope that they last a really long time as I have heard many people say they do, but I cannot speak personally for their longevity. Oster has some videos on YouTube which describe maintenance which were helpful. In addition some tips they suggest like attaching the blades while the razor is running(which I wouldn't have thought of). So if you're a non-professional I would suggest looking up a few of their videos. My conclusion would be this: The Wahl clippers gave me a hair cut that was pretty good and for about $40 it's a pretty good bargain for everything it comes with. But the Oster clippers have allowed me to give myself a more satisfying hair cut, and I currently do not have any complaints about the razor whatsoever besides the cost, but I do not mind paying for quality, especially since I plan to continue cutting my own hair in the future. I looked myself over in the mirror after giving myself a cut (as a non-professional) and feel like I just went to the barber. I am very satisfied with these clippers and have already recommended them to many of my friends who also cut their own hair too. 5 stars.
