Customer Reviews

Gillette Fusion Power Razor, Phantom, 1 Razor

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

First of all,..."PHANTOM"? Really? Well, I can certainly ...empath it sitting in my trash bin. The only thing I fail to see is the what all the fuss was about.

Does it shave? Sure. Is it closer? Closer than what? Oh, you mean compared to those...ancient 2/3/4-blade ones? Well, not detectably. If it does shave any closer I for one could not tell. And no, the vibration adds to nothing detectable either besides a small humming noise.
And, what is worse, the new head is too big with only a small portion of its surface corresponding to the blades: one has very little control under his nose and chin. It will nick you if not careful.
Similar to digital camera manufacturers who are engaged in the "more-and-more megapixels" marketing war (only to end up with more and more...noise as no one seems to consider whether the lens can keep up or not), the "more-and-more blades" race has reached the point of ridiculous.

So closer it may or may not be, but less comfortable it surely is. I use to shave against the grain my cheeks and under my jawline. And apparently, all these blades and vibration and "comfort strips" make the experience not something to long for. Speaking of the "comfort strip" (aka: "change-your-blade-head-already strip"), what is with the residual goo?

And, to add insult to injury, if you have any old Gillette blade cartridges knocking around in some drawer, forget about using them with this new holder. Contrary to the previous editions of Gillette blade holders that had retrograde compatibility, this baby will only take new (and more expensive) Gillette Fusion Power Blades.

Just like printer companies, that are eager to sell us their printers below cost - only to charge an arm and an leg for their inks and toners, the shaving blades oligopoly (after all the buyouts, all of ...two major companies remain to "compete") has turned our morning ritual into their milk-cow. Bells and whistles and over-the-top adds do not hide the fact that only some years ago, blade cartridges came in fives (not fours!) and cost less than half of what the new brightly colored and over-marketed new ones!

What is really ironic is that the single blade at the back is so much better than the overloaded front that I was reminded of why, years ago, I had taken the advice of my father and chosen the path of traditional blade holders.

I bought this for a conference trip and kept is as a backup until its blades run out. After about a month I went back to my trusted Safety Razor. Paired with a traditional Badger Hair Shaving Brush and a good Shaving Soap there is simply no comparison in both sensation and result.

If you own this try this: turn the vibration off, lather up and give yourself a slow shave with the single blade in the back. Even though not exactly the same as shaving with a good safety razor, that is how good a single blade shave feels like.

I was skeptical of the "power" model but bought this razor because my old Fusion was getting, well, old, and I got a good deal on this. I'm pleased. The final result of the shave isn't any smoother than the non-power Fusion razor--that is, your face won't be any smoother after shaving than before--but the shaving process is smoother. The vibrating head has a numbing effect that takes a shave or two to get used to but makes shaving smoother. I was worried that the numbing would make me careless and lead to more cuts, but it hasn't so far. I'm glad I bought this razor and would recommend it.

Bought this back in July.... It is now Dec 15th and I'm still using my first blade!! Still gives a great shave!! The blades may be expensive but hell they last!! I saw an article in a Money magazine that said to clean the blades with 'Arm and Hammer, Shower Clean'. I have been doing this, I guess it helps. My strip that they say once is white needs to be replaced has almost fallen off?? But it still does the job. I shave everyday 7days while at work, while at home for seven days I grow a thickish beard twice prior to shaving. And like I said I've been doing it since July. These blades are great!!!! Was gonna buy a expensive electric razor, not now! I still have a 12 pack refill! At this rate that might last 5-6 yrs baby!!

This is by far the best razor I've had in days. Shaving is not a nightmare anymore. I don't have to dread days after not shaving for a while or have to "soften" in shower etc. Shave when u want and are good to go.

I bought this Fusion Power Razor Phantom for my husband. He has been using Mach 3 since it was released and has been very happy with it. He did not think that you could improve that much upon it. He was pleasantly surprised by Fusion Power Razor Phantom. The shave is VERY close (I can attest to this ;) ) and it looks like my husband just shaved even 24 hours later. Previously you could see 'shade' by late afternoon. My husband likes the power version better than regular one, which I bought for him together with blades from Costco. And blades last a very long time, which was my concern, since they are more expensive than Mach 3 ones. We both could not be happier with Fusion Power Razor.

I have been using this razor for about 5 weeks now. The razor works fine without the power feature which vibrates the blade. At first, I liked the power feature and used it for about one week, but then I just found it a bit annoying and haven't used it since then. The power feature actually slows you down a bit as you cant rush the blade over your stubble as I have become used to doing after a hot shower in the morning. I can tell that using 5 blades gives me a slightly closer shave than my previous razor with 3 blades (the mach 3) but I honestly don't care about the slight difference. Hence I have come to the conclusion that this is not much of an advance in shaving technology, in a strange way, it is actually a step backwards as the prices of blades have gone up without a real noticeable enhancement in my shave. I am glad that they haven't stopped making my previous blades and will likely switch back to those after I have used up all of my fusion blades.

I did not really notice a better shave with this product vs. the Mach 3 product. Not worth the extra expense.

You know, at some point it seems like they've run out of blades and other improvements just to give you a good shave, but after using the Phantom, they haven't reached that point yet. It's a pretty tight shave and I think some of that has to do with the "power" aspect, which is basically the vibrating movement of the entire razor.

I think it gives the best shave of anything I've tried. I use this on my face and my head and I notice I can skip an extra day, which in the long run saves me time.

Highly recommended.

I wanted the new razor, but thought the power feature was a gimmick. So I thought I ordered the plain razor. When it arrived it was the power version. Fine, I thought - I will just use it without the power on. But I had a heavy beard (six days of growth) and tried it.

It was just as if I were shaving the next day after shaving. Hardly any effort at all and even in the chin area it powered through the heavy growth.

I like it a lot.

Good work Gillette. Perhaps this really the "best a guy can get."

I put aside my buying an electric razor. The Gillette has given me the best shaves ever and the fewest nicks. It is a very popular razor in my gym where I have had two taken from my gym bag. The razor is cheap but the blades are expensive. This is a trick learned by the computer-printer industry where they sell to you the printer practically at cost but then you keep paying through the cost of the inks. Gillette pioneeered this technique many years ago.l