Research On Heiniger Clippers
After our Andis 5-speed clipper retired during our CNY busy period, we started to research various brands of clippers. We do know of groomers, especially in the western countries have been raving about this brand called Heiniger. It’s relatively still new in Singapore and not many local reviews yet. So we can only base on reviews from groomers from the west.
Like Andis, it does come with a few cordless models and a corded one. With all the options available, we couldn’t decide which to get and decided to head down to the store to better understand the products.
The Purchase & Unboxing
We bought ours at Kwong Chow Kee, located in Chinatown’s Fook Hai Building. After checking the availability with the shop, we decided to head our way down during one of our off days.
When we were there, we got the lady to introduce us to Heiniger and we get to hold it to see which model is comfortable for us. The corded clipper, Saphir Cord, speed is much better than the cordless clipper, Saphir Basic.
There are 3 cordless models, Saphir Basic, Saphir Style, and Opal. Both Saphir Basic and Saphir Style is only one speed, while Opal is two speed. We ended up getting Saphir Basic as firstly, it’s within our budget. Secondly, we love its plain-looking. Thirdly, the weight is just right. There’s an option to purchase an additional cord that connects to the clipper to use a corded clipper. It is good for mobile groomers who might forget to charge the battery or experience low battery while on the go. But we didn’t purchase it as we would like to see how long the battery can last us on a single charge.
The entire set that we bought comes with:
Clipper
Lithium-Ion battery
Heiniger #10 blade
Charger
Care Kit
Personal Experience
Finally got to use it after the first full charge. We were impressed at how well the pre-shave was. Despite being one speed, we would say the first pre-shave was amazingly near clean and even. We were further impressed and amazed after the final shave.
Weight-wise, it’s slightly heavier than our old Andis 5-speed. But definitely lighter than Andis 2-speed. It’s not taxing on our wrist when we use it from appointment to appointment. The only downside is there’s no indicator when the battery gets low. We were told it will get slower before it totally stops. Maybe it’s us, we couldn’t tell if it’s getting slower. We had to use our shears twice to finish the grooming session when the battery died on us. We are still learning how to notice when the battery needs to be charged.
It’s our very first cordless and we’re impressed at how we managed to shave at an angle we couldn’t do with a corded clipper. Best of all, no more tripping over the wire! Yes, sometimes we do trip over the wire and it gets annoying. Now that we’re using a cordless clipper, such a thing is of the past.
Andis vs Heiniger (Personal Opinion)
After a few days of using Heiniger, we’ve realised that we missed out a lot! In our opinion, Heiniger seems to work much better for us.
We’ve been using Andis for years, ever since we started as a student and an apprentice. From Andis 2 speed to 5 speed, the cords have been giving us issues. Though we love how light Andis 5 speed was nothing can be compared to a cordless one.
In terms of weight for cordless clippers that we’ve tried, Andis cordless clipper is heavier for us. The detachable battery itself weighs a lot, especially when in use, it’s very taxing on our wrist which made it difficult to manoeuvre during grooming. Whereas the Heiniger, we’ve tried all cordless series at the store before purchase, they’re much lighter compared to Andis cordless clippers. It’s easier to manoeuvre and less stress on the wrist.
Shaving-wise, Heiniger gives a much cleaner cut on pre-shave and is much quieter. The blades don’t get hot fast compared to when we were using Andis where we had to take a break to let the blades cool down before we continue.
It’s the best buy ever in our grooming career. We didn’t regret switching over to Heiniger. Totally recommend this to fellow groomers out there who are looking to purchase a new clipper.