Remington Short Cut Clipper Rechargeable, Cordless, Haircut Kit
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List Price: Our Price: $29.99 You Save: $5.00 (14%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: Health Care See more product details |
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Customer Reviews of Remington Short Cut Clipper Rechargeable, Cordless, Haircut Kit
Customer Review: Good for 12 haircuts, then fails
Summary: 3 Stars
Since I have a semi buzz cut style, it seemed increasingly silly to pay the barber $15 dollars for the 5 minutes he spends on me. I purchased this clipper for less than the cost of two "professional" haircuts. It works well enough for me that I haven't gone back to the barber, but there are certainly some areas for improvement.
1) The rechargeable batteries are non-replaceable, and they only last about a year or 10 recharges. Therefore, you'll have to buy an entirely new clipper every twelve months, or go through the warranty replacement hassle. Still, $26 replacement cost per year beats 10 professional haircuts at $15 each ($150).
2) The little thumb dial that sets the haircut length does not have a firm notch for each setting. Because it's right under your finger in the natural grip position, it's easy to accidentally twitch it during the course of a haircut, usually to a shorter setting. And if you press the clipper against your head firmly, the cutter guides will "collapse" to a shorter setting. So that's two ways you can end up with a much shorter cut than you really wanted.
3) While cutting your hair, you must remember to hold the clipper at the same angle to your head all over your head. Hold it at a perpendicular right angle to your noggin. If you tilt it back and forth as you run it around, the hair length becomes shorter as you tilt it more. I suspect this is why some folks have complained about getting a "patchy" haircut, with various lengths in different areas of the head - they were tilting the cutter back and forth on different parts of their head.
4) With this clipper, you will still have difficulty creating a taper or sharp edge on the back of your neck. I just live with it, but some people may not like that. Or get your significant other to cut that last bit using the pop-up trimmer or the lowest setting on the hair length guide.
By the way, I did, with great difficulty, disassemble the clipper in an attempt to replace the batteries. However, the batteries are spot-welded to their connectors. My past experience with trying to solder wires to batteries was unsuccessful, so I did not replace the batteries in this clipper. (Short rant: I'm seeing far too many small consumer items which have non-replaceable batteries spot-welded in place. I just threw away a $100 dollar ultrasonic toothbrush because the batteries were dead and welded in place. This is not environmentally nor consumer friendly - why should I toss 100 of dollars worth of electronic parts in the landfill just because the batteries, which could be replaced for less than $5, are welded permanently in place. And to add insult to injury, these appliances - like this clipper - will not run and perform their function when plugged into the charger. So once the battery is dead, you can't even choose to use it in the plugged in mode. Frankly, I think this kind of non-replaceable battery design should be illegal, for environmental protection reasons.)
I'm giving it three stars because it's the only product like this available. If somebody came out with a similar curved edge clipper design with replaceable batteries, able to run while plugged in and has a more reliable hairlength control, I'd switch to that product - and I'd come back here and reduce this rating to 1 or 2 stars.
>> UPDATE <<
Well, it's now 9 months after my review. I've used the Remington about once every two weeks during that period, for 5 minutes at a time. That's 18 times or 90 minutes of running time, always recharged between each use. The clipper has now become useless, incapable of running for more than 30 seconds when fully charged. So I saved the cost of 12 haircuts, 12 times $15 is $180. That's $180 I saved with this $26 purchase. While it's very annoying that the batteries in this device are so poor and non-replaceable, the return on investment is pretty good and I'll probably buy another to replace this one.
Customer Review: Remington Short Cut - Only Good For A Small Percentage of People
Summary: 2 Stars
The Remington Short Cut Cordless Haircut Kit is an excellent idea but the product just doesn't deliver. I was really hoping this was going to work for me. Unfortunately, my experience with this product was mostly negative, and even for a minor trim around the sides I found this product to be poorly designed and without sufficient power.
I do think there are a select few who will be able to use this product. If you have very fine hair, and tend to keep it between 1/2 inch and 1 inch long all around, this clipper can be a good supplement to normal hair-cuts. I don't think it sufficient to replace normal hair cuts for even this small group of consumers.
If you have thicker or coarser hair that is longer than even 1 inch, this clipper is simply not powerful enough for giving yourself a trim. Similarly, if you want to trim your hair down to the skin, even at the lowest setting this clipper cuts unevenly. The problem is the blade angle, which is perpendicular to the scalp unlike a traditional clipper. Combine that with the slower cutting action likely the result of this unit running off of a rechargeable battery. The result is that it rarely cuts evenly and requires multiple passes.
The size is adjustable by a dial on the inside of the handle that slides the guard farther or closer to the blade as you desire. There are two guards included, one with plastic tabs that prevent you from dialing this down to the lowest length setting. That one seems safer, but both guards seem impractical. Neither of them gives you the option of having longer hair than most Wahl home kits. I would estimate the longest length with this guard to be the equivalent of the 5 guard included with most home kits.
Hair also collects within the guard causing the clipper to get clogged re-cutting hair. Having to remove this hair required me to remove the guard, slowing me down. Even just trimming around the sides and back with this clipper was not practical because of the time needed to constantly clean hair out of guard.
Although I did notice that the battery wore down quickly, I never used it long enough to completely wear it out. Most cordless rechargeable units have battery issues, so I would be willing to forgive that if not for the lack of power. Those who keep their hair short all the time and don't have thick hair like I do aer likely to be able to perform a quick trim on one charge. It does seem to take a long time to fully charge.
The instructions were boiler-plate. I didn't see any instructions on how long the battery should be charged and how to extend battery life. I will have to review the included manual, which has only a few pages of instructions in English and then duplicates them in Spanish and French.
If you do end up getting it anyway, a few uses will be required in order to get the hang of it. On a positive note, the shape of the unit seems very well designed for comfortable operation. I will only add that you should make sure the blade is well oiled before use and that the unit is fully charged, as mine arrived with the battery drained.
CONCLUSION
For those with fine hair that is short to begin with, this can be a useful tool if used once a week so that the hair never gets too long. For most people, the lack of power combined with design issues makes this product impractical.
Enjoy.
Customer Review: Almost perfect
Summary: 4 Stars
I saw an ad in a magazine for the Short Cut and thought it would be perfect for me. I've been buzzing my head for about a year now and I use no attachments so its as short as it gets without using a razor. I tried the Short Cut out this morning for the first time and I'll give it an A- overall.
It did seem to come with some sort of charge but I charged it overnight to be safe, didn't want to run out of battery halfway. As others may have pointed out be aware that the attachment installed when you first open it is the 'balding' attachment which will have no change if you set the adjustable numbers higher, its for super short only. Normally I cut my hair about every 5 days. I sometimes do it more often but waiting a few days in between makes it easier to see what's been cut and what hasn't. I used the Short Cut this morning after about 3 and a half days or growth. Overall impression is it works very well. Being that I wasn't taking much length off it did take a few more passes than normal to get everything but it definitely does clip on both the back and forth movements. What I really liked is there seemed to be no way to cut myself which is a constant worry with regular clippers. It took a couple minutes to figure out the best angle to get all parts of my head; some parts cut better front to back, some side to side. It just depends on the way your hair grows. What threw me off at first is it doesn't make as much 'grinding' noise as its cutting. Its quieter overall which is nice, although the 'grinding' sound is usually my audible confirmation that I definitely cut a patch of hair. The front and sides cut pretty easily but where this thing really shines is in back. It only took me about 20 seconds to do the whole back of my head. With regular clippers I'd do the back and then have to spot check with a mirror.
The only real problem I had was with my sideburns. Maybe its just the shape of my head but I couldn't get it to sit low enough to get them. I eventually found a way of doing it but it put the Short Cut dangerously close to my eyebrows so I'll have to be really careful. There is another small flat trimmer that pops out of the top but it seems to be a little shorter than the curved blade so it might make my sideburns a tad too short, I'll experiment next time.
Just for comparison I whipped out my old clippers to see how close the Short Cut actually cuts. The clippers did cut a tiny bit shorter but it was totally negligible, the hair that fell into the sink was as thin as powder so the Short Cut seems to trim just as short.
Pros:
-cordless
-curved blades hug my head well and cut both back and forth
-30 minutes of runtime is adequate for a couple uses before recharging
-nicking yourself is almost impossible
-fits very well in my hand
Cons:
-some places are hard to reach with curved blade
-needs to be shaken out once a minute or so, the hair tends to fall in instead of out as you cut so it can get clogged up but a quick shake or tap clears it out.
-no carry case included
-relatively long charge time (says 14-16 hours for full recharge)
Overall I like it and I'll use it from now on. The small size and cordless power is especially nice for traveling too :)
Customer Review: AVOID - downgraded to ONE STAR
Summary: 4 Stars
>> Nov. 29 Update: <<
I wrote the review below after using the clipper once. Sadly, the second time around was not as good.
The clipper stopped clipping after a few minutes of use. I cleaned it thoroughly and I restarted and it worked for a few more minutes. Another cleaning followed and... so on. It was a time consuming process.
Then, as I was taking a shower, I heard a strange buzzing sound. It turns out it was the clipper that decided to turn itself on, inside a drawer. The on/off switch could not stop it but some vigorous shaking did. A few minutes later, as I was discussing the incident with my wife, I heard the buzzing again. More shaking pacified the clipper again, I don't know for how long.
It appears that, the more one uses this device, the harder it is to use. I would not have bought it, had I known that what I just shared with you was going to happen.
>> End of Nov. 29 update <<
I must start with a confession: I used to be a Flowbee man well... until last night. I hate hair-cutting/sculpting/design establishments for several reasons but I won't go into that now. The short of it is that I've been cutting my own hair for the past 15 years or so.
I ordered this clipper because Amazon had it on sale and I thought I'd give it a try. Somewhat to my surprise, I like it and I will use it to cut my hair. I will also use it to cut my boys' hair because they hate the 'professional' jobs too.
This is sold as a 'short cut' device but, as someone famous used to say, it all depends on what the meaning of 'short' is. The manual suggests that the 'longest' setting is at 1/2 inch but, in practice, you can easily do 1-inch and even longer haircuts.
The operation is easy: after you charge the device, you turn it on and you begin 'combing' your hair with it. My wife started it but, after a few minutes, I became confident enough to do it myself with her watching and cheerleading me. I works fast but you may have to take it apart and clean it if your hair is too long to begin with. I had to do that. The end-result is something that could easily pass for a $20 salon job.
Technical details:
- The blade's shape approximates the curvature of the skull, making for a more even cut.
- Rechargeable - needs no batteries for its lifetime.
- The blade guard can be removed for cleaning.
- Can be cleaned with water or a brush.
- Comes with 2 combs, one of them allowing for a 'near-bold' length while protecting the skin.
My big issue with this device is that you get:
- the clipper itself
- the regular comb
- the bold-cut comb
- the brush
- the 1/8 ounce oil bottle
- the charge adapter
It adds up to SIX discrete, small or very small (the brush, the oil bottle) and easy to misplace items and there is no storage box or bag included. I would have gladly paid a few more dollars if such a necessary convenience was added. Since this is not the case, I am taking away 1 star from what should have been an easy 5-star evaluation.
Customer Review: Downgraded to ONE STAR - AVOID
Summary: 4 Stars
>> Nov. 29 Update: <<
I wrote the review below after using the clipper once. Sadly, the second time around was not as good.
The clipper stopped clipping after a few minutes of use. I cleaned it thoroughly and I restarted and it worked for a few more minutes. Another cleaning followed and... so on. It was a time consuming process.
Then, as I was taking a shower, I heard a strange buzzing sound. It turns out it was the clipper that decided to turn itself on, inside a drawer. The on/off switch could not stop it but some vigorous shaking did. A few minutes later, as I was discussing the incident with my wife, I heard the buzzing again. More shaking pacified the clipper again, I don't know for how long.
It appears that, the more one uses this device, the harder it is to use. I would not have bought it, had I known that what I just shared with you was going to happen.
>> End of Nov. 29 update <<
I must start with a confession: I used to be a Flowbee man well... until last night. I hate hair-cutting/sculpting/design establishments for several reasons but I won't go into that now. The short of it is that I've been cutting my own hair for the past 15 years or so.
I ordered this clipper because Amazon had it on sale and I thought I'd give it a try. Somewhat to my surprise, I like it and I will use it to cut my hair. I will also use it to cut my boys' hair because they hate the 'professional' jobs too.
This is sold as a 'short cut' device but, as someone famous used to say, it all depends on what the meaning of 'short' is. The manual suggests that the 'longest' setting is at 1/2 inch but, in practice, you can easily do 1-inch and even longer haircuts.
The operation is easy: after you charge the device, you turn it on and you begin 'combing' your hair with it. My wife started it but, after a few minutes, I became confident enough to do it myself with her watching and cheerleading me. I works fast but you may have to take it apart and clean it if your hair is too long to begin with. I had to do that. The end-result is something that could easily pass for a $20 salon job.
Technical details:
- The blade's shape approximates the curvature of the skull, making for a more even cut.
- Rechargeable - needs no batteries for its lifetime.
- The blade guard can be removed for cleaning.
- Can be cleaned with water or a brush.
- Comes with 2 combs, one of them allowing for a 'near-bold' length while protecting the skin.
My big issue with this device is that you get:
- the clipper itself
- the regular comb
- the bold-cut comb
- the brush
- the 1/8 ounce oil bottle
- the charge adapter
It adds up to SIX discrete, small or very small (the brush, the oil bottle) and easy to misplace items and there is no storage box or bag included. I would have gladly paid a few more dollars if such a necessary convenience was added. Since this is not the case, I am taking away 1 star from what should have been an easy 5-star evaluation.