Disclosure Time: I love sharing our favorites and new things we discover with you! If you're a new Chewy shopper and you happen to make a purchase with a link we share, we do can qualify for small affiliate payment. We appreciate your support & hope you find something you like! Have any questions, just give a shout :).
If you have a desire to home groom full-time or you are just interested in doing touch ups in-between on face, feet, and fannies, you'll want to have a dependable clipper on hand. We use both the Andis UltraEdge 2-Speed as well as this Wahl bravura cordless clipper. I review my personal experience of the two in detail below, if you would prefer to skip to the summary & my preference, click here.
THE WAHL BRAVURA LITHIUM REVIEW
Ease of use and not heating up as quickly (and requiring to switch out blades frequently) are probably two of the biggest pros of the Wahl bravura for us. If you’re not familiar with a 5-in-1 clipper set-up, essentially what this means is that there is an internal trigger system on the blade itself that allows you to move back and forth with ease, with one finger, to five lengths ( 9, 10, 15, 30, 40).
Blades/Guards
The Wahl Bravura has 5 internal blade length options. Generally speaking a 40 length is the shortest of the short when it comes to clipping the face, feet and fanny areas of a Standard Poodle. This length should be worked up to as to not create irritation on the skin, some light-haired/light-pigmented dogs will never get to this shortness. Motivation for cutting to this length would be to see pigment under the hair as well as it allows for the longest times in-between clean-ups. Some groomers will also use this length to address feet as the blade is basically parallel with the guard and hair gets taken off immediately. I do not (yet). With puppies, I don’t go any shorter than a 9 or 10. A 9 blade is a nice length if you don’t want to see skin underneath and it also is the least likely to cause irritation. A 10 blade is the industry standard and if you buy many clippers, a 10 blade is what will come with you clipper as a starter. I use a 10 on Harry who is a cream/apricot boy and it gives him a nice clean nose with a fuzzy feel. Abby and Taffy, our black and brown standard poodles are usually cut with a 15 ( on face, feet, fanny) which is a good median. When I really want to push the boundaries with Abby, I will take her face and feet down with a 30 but with our lifestyle, the only real purpose there is that it will last a bit longer. Although I can’t say that this clipper doesn’t heat up at all, it does heat up less quickly than the Andis that I have. It is important to keep it well oiled and to keep a cooling spray like, Wahl Ice Coolant, on-hand.
Additional Blade Guards
(These must be purchased separately) So, unlike the Andis, you generally don’t interchange the actual blade on the Wahl Bravura. You are given, in one device, the five lengths I mentioned in the above paragraph.
For other longer lengths, you need to work with slip-on guards (aka attachment combs). The Bravura kit does come with plastic guards and a zipper carrying case that, in my opinion could almost go right in the garbage. I hope that doesn’t come off too strong, but the plastic guards I feel leave the hair not cut smoothly and the carrying case is okay but the real issue for the one I personally had is that the zipper never worked so it was more than a pain to try and get the unit out than it was worth the convenience of storing it in there. What you can invest in though (for a fairly modest price) is a set of the Wahl 5-in-1 Stainless Steel Attachment Guide Comb Set. They generally run between $35-$50(Amazon and Chewy links). The lengths start at 1/8” and go up to a full 1”. When using these, you need to set your 5-in-1 blade to the 40 length setting to insure a consistent length with the guard. The pros are of these are that they don’t heat up and they also are really sturdy and you get a more consistent cut. You need to have hair appropriately prepped and you will likely want to go over with a scissor if you’re looking for a super smooth finish but the universal length is spot on. In addition to using these with my poodles, I can also use these attachment combs when I cut my son’s hair and I love to show him that it’s nearly impossible to get cut with the blade and that they stay cool. We call them the magic guards and for a kiddo that used to be scared of haircuts, these are a God send.
Power Source
The Wahl bravura is a battery operated, cordless clipper. There are many benefits to being cordless. One, the clipper is very maneuverable, you don’t need to mess around with making sure your cord isn’t getting tangled or in the way of the dog. You also don’t need to be concerned about how close your grooming table is to a power outlet. Two, since you do not require direct access to a power outlet, you can charge the bravura clipper up and bring it with you just about anywhere and feel comfortable with having access to a clipper for a certain period of time. I often will bring mine out of town with me in case we need a quick tidying up session. On the flip side, if you are in the position where your clipper has died, there is no quick power-up, you will need to wait for it to recharge before it’s usable again. The charging process doesn’t take super long but it will be too long if you are in the middle of a ‘timed grooming’. I have not needed it but the actual cord to that goes to the charger does have some decent length so you have some flexibility in terms of where to place the charger itself.
EDIT: I did recently watch a video that mentioned a possible cord option for the Bravura.
Miscellaneous
The shape and size of the clipper itself is more petite and lightweight than the andis is. It makes it easier especially for a female groomer to get a good grip and maneuver while in the tighter spaces. The color selections are more of toned down metallic selection. I opted for the grey/charcoal but it also comes in a purple and teal. The chargers are universally black.
THE ANDIS ULTRAEDGE SUPER 2-SPEED DETACHABLE BLADE CLIPPER
The reason I can’t abandon my Andis UltraEdge 2 Speed is that the cut that it gives is incredibly smooth and consistent, “like butter”. It has it’s faults which prompted me to get the Wahl Bravura as my second clipper but it still brings a lot to the table.
Blades/Guards
Being a detachable blade style, in order to achieve different lengths of cut on the dog with the Andis, you will need multiple blades in order to accomplish this. This is probably one of the main drawbacks is that you will need to acquire a collection of detachable blades that compliment the styles you prefer for your poodle. Most people I know that use this clipper have doubles of a few favorites and find ways to incorporate those into different styles. My favorites are (10, 7FC, 4FC, 5/8”). One drawback is that this clipper can heat up and since the blades are metal, if you’re not monitoring them, they can cause clipper burn on the dog. Three methods I use to mitigate this issue is: to purchase doubles of blades I use frequently, to utilize a clipper coolant spray like Wahl Ice Coolant, and I also break up what clipper I use on what areas of the dog.
Doubles help as if the blade starts heating up as you are midway through, you can do a quick swap with a completely cooled blade and continue ahead with no delay.
The Wahl Ice Coolant spray is a good option that does expedite the cooling process but doesn’t work as instantly as you’d think. I still would recommend having duplicate blades but this can help one blade last a little longer.
The other method that I’ve gotten used to using is that I split up which clipper I use on what parts of the body as this gives the two different tools the opportunity to cool down naturally as I’m tending to the opposite areas. For instance, I tend to use the Wahl Bravura 5-in-1 for face, feet and fanny areas and some blending areas on the body; for main body or areas that need a really nice consistent smooth length, I’ll use the Andis UltraEdge 2 Speed.
Blades are available in “UltraEdge” or “CeramicEdge”. UltraEdge blades very durable, metal on metal and have a nice chrome finish. The CeramicEdge blades are designed with op
posing edging made of ceramic. They are thought to run cooler than the metal on metal. I have both and don’t have complaints on either but have heard from some that the ceramics don’t cut as cleanly as the ultraedge. This has not been my experience. I appreciate that Andis offers over 20 blade sizes and they are crafted in the USA. Blades are also compatible with some other clipper styles and brands including : Andis (AG, AGC, AGP, AGRC, AGCL, AGR+, AGRV, MBG, SMC), Oster A5 and Wahl KM Series.
Power Source
The Andis UltraEdge 2 Speed is operational by electrical source. The powder cord is pretty substantial and is 14’ long so it does give a good amount of flexibility to move around the dog and away from the power source. One negative thing is that the cord can have a bad habit of tangling on itself. I don’t even know how it happens sometimes and this can maybe be mitigated by intentionally sectioning portions of the excess cord.
Miscellaneous
The clipper doesn’t have much curvature to it but it’s still quite easy to grip onto, even with a petite hand size. It is a little heavier so if you have weak wrists, that’s something to consider. It does feel a little more sturdy in that way though, a bump on the ground probably won’t do much to damage it. It can run on two speeds. The lower speed is meant to deal with areas of sensitivity and to manage heat and noise. I generally only use the higher speed. There are two models that looks really similar the Andis ProClip AGC2 and the Andis UltraEdge AGC2, it took me forever to figure out the difference as there is sometimes a price gap. The biggest difference is that within the 2 speed settings, the ProClip has (SPM low: 2700, high: 3400) the UltraEdge has (SPM low: 3400, high: 4400). For me, since I only operate on the higher speed, I don’t think the ProClip would have enough juice for me personally.
Conclusion on Clippers, This or That?
If you can’t tell, throughout the article I have pros and cons for both models. And the method I use to mitigate clippers heating up involves utilizing both clippers in the same session. I personally don’t want to choose one over other. If I absolutely had to make a decision I think I would have to go with the Wahl Bravura just because I like how it stores on it’s charger stand, it travels really well and it does have additional length options (which are bought in a set and that don’t heat up) even if I have to clean-up the final clip with a scissors to smooth it out.
Wahl Bravura Main Pros - Clipper Blade doesn’t heat up as quickly, has internal blade capabilities to move from 5 different blade lengths, cordless design makes it incredibly maneuverable even in tough to get to spots, other lengths available that do not heat up at a reasonable price and come in a set, Travels well, Does not need direct access to electric as long as it’s charged, Charger doubles as a stand (stores well), petite and light, Great clipper speed (5,500 Strokes per minute)
Wahl Bravura Main Cons - Plastic guards and carrying case that come with aren’t great quality, the cut is consistent with the guards but not overly smooth so you do need to polish with scissors if you’re looking for the flawless look, do need to invest in a set of metal guards to accomplish a full groom, will heat up over time, if your battery dies you need to wait for it to recharge to continue the groom.
Andis UltraEdge 2 Speed Main Pros - Very solid and durable clipper build, the cut it produces is buttery smooth, constant power - no battery charge to worry about during a groom day, Blades are reusable in other models Andis (AG, AGC, AGP, AGRC, AGCL, AGR+, AGRV, MBG, SMC), Oster A5 and Wahl KM Series, 2 speeds to manage any sensitivities/heat and speed.
Andis UltraEdge 2 Speed Main Cons - Heats up quickly IMO, Need to buy doubles of all favorite blade lengths, Cord can get tangled, Clipper is on the heavier end so can be difficult for weak wrists, In can be bulky to find a good place to store with the long cord
Commentaires