REVIEWS

Wahl 9918-6171 Groomsman Beard and Mustache Trimmer Review

By Philip Yiga | January 20, 2015

Wahl is well known for making the best male grooming products, this company has been in existence for over 9 decades and I’m sure they will survive for more decades because their products are very easy to use, they provide the best results and at the same time they come at an affordable price.

This Wahl 9918-6171 Groomsman Beard and Mustache Trimmer is a perfect product for almost every man, it’s pocket friendly and it comes with 6 position beard length setting to enable you get a custom stubble. After placing your purchase you will get a 3 year warranty, most brands offer 1 -2 years, but 3 years is just perfect. College students who are just starting to groom their beards, I suggest you start with this affordable beard trimmer; it’s durable and perfect on any type of beard.

[See price on Amazon….]

PROS:

Cord & Cordless beard trimmer:- This feature gives you two options, to either charge the trimmer fully and use it in a cordless mode or to use it while its charging with a cord. The option is yours.
6 position beard regulators, to help you customize your own beard / stubble. Use a button to make length adjustments.

CONS:

Needs oiling: – This might sound like a con to me, because Norelco QT4070/41 beard trimmer does not need oiling, but still, when you compare the price of these two brands, Norelco QT4070/41 comes at a higher price than Wahl 9918-6171. So once you hear some noise when using this trimmer, oil the blades to improve on performance.
Does not work on 220 volts: – Sounds wired but its true, I guess some people might miss it, but those I’m U.S.A can use it comfortably. But the best alternative for this product is Philips Norelco QT4070/41 Beard Trimmer, it works with 110 – 220 v and the speed is really good.

FEATURES:

Features a contoured ergonomic handle: – This make it very easy to use, the soft grip pads create a snug fit making it easy to customize a shave.
Comes with high-carbon precision-ground steel blades which self-sharpen themselves to give you good stubble / shave in that case. So men with very thick course beards, these steel blades will cut through that beard with ease.

[See price on Amazon….]

FULL DIGEST:

Not good on head shaving:- I know some men would like to use this trimmer for head shaving, this product was tailored for beard / mustache and side burn trimming. Head shaving products are more powerful than this Wahl trimmer, so if you want it to last for long, please don’t use it as a head shaver. The best option for that is a hair clipper and the best brand for this job is ”Wahl 79300-400 hair clipper’’
Good on Long Beards:- Wahl 9918-6171 beard groomer is a very efficient trimmer, it can groom long and thick beards. All you have to do is to charge it fully and set the first desirable beard length. If your beard is too long, I suggest you trim it gradually, start with a longer setting and keep on adjusting to the lowest setting, this prevents your beards from clogging the trimmer and at the same time it grantees you with a perfect shave.
Using this Wahl 9918-6171 to shave pubes / bikini area:- If you don’t want to remove everything down there, you can use this Wahl 9918-6171 to get a perfect shave down there. But might need to stretch the skin of some parts like ”balls”, this will make it easy to trim hair around them. Also make sure the blades are sharp and in good condition.
Wide head: – I’m sure a wide head speeds up the all process of trimming a very thick beard. If the head is wide, it will cover a very wide area, hence give you quick results.
Is Wahl 9918-6171 different from Wahl 9916-817? Nice question., I have looked at both models, by sight they look the same, may be what makes 9918-6171 different is that case which comes with the trimmer, but other than that, there is no big difference. So you can use what seems good to you.
Charger Included in the box: – After making your order today, Amazon will ship it within the next 12 – 24 hours, but the box will contain a free charger which you can use to charge the trimmer before using it. However, if you have no time to wait for the battery to get full, you can use it while it’s plugged into power, this is another added advantage.
Length Settings:- According to its manual, they say that this trimmer has 6 length settings, the lower the settings, the shorter the stubble / beard in that case. This trimmer does not have so many guides, so you can adjust its length to 0.2mm, it can give you the shortest stubble ever.
Perfecting your hairline & Sideburns:- Remove of the guides and start outlining your hairline and side-burn, it’s that simple and results will be tremendous.
Below 18 yrs:- College students with beards you can use this beard trimmer without any challenge, but I suggest you use the attachments, and avoid using too much pressure because it’s blades are too sharp, you might end up hurting yourself. This same advice goes to beginners.
Not made for clean shave: – Many times I see people asking if they can get a close clean shave with a beard trimmer. Really, that sounds funny, because a beard trimmer is for trimming beards, the least it can do is to give you short stubble and in most cases, you’re required to grow your stubble to a certain length. So, don’t dream of getting a close shave with a trimmer, just go for a safety razor of an electric shaver.
Battery is not replaceable: – I’m sorry, this sounds like bad news, I guess all companies making these trimmers use this as a catch, so once the battery is dead, just go back to Amazon and buy a new Wahl trimmer. Good thing is that it costs less than $20, so that is not a big deal, if you handle this trimmer well, it can even last for 3 years.
Not Washable: – After trimming a very thick course beard, hair will clog this trimmer and the only way you can clean it is by use of brush. Please don’t run tap water over the blades, this is not a water proof beard trimmer. Just like I always say, cheap things come at a price. So, when purchasing, you will pay less than $20, but you have to do some oiling and manual cleaning of the trimmer after use. If this seems too much for you, then top up on your investment and opt for a Norelco.
Charge Time:- It will take almost 8 hours to charge this affordable Wahl trimmer. But I’m sure none of you can wait for this long, so you can use it while it’s being charged, at least Wahl saves us from waiting for so long. But if you plan to travel the next day, I suggest you charge it fully. Once it’s well charged, you can use it for a month without charging it again, but still its battery life will be determined by how often you shave.
Silent:- Unlike Norelco QT4070/41 which makes noise when the turbo is switched on, this Wahl 9918-6171 Groomsman Beard and Mustache Trimmer is a little bit silent, it does its job with ease, though you will hear some noise when blades run out of oil, so the best solution is to lubricate them immediately you hear the noise. At least this is a good feature; you can control the noise and keep it low by using oil on blades.
Uses Lithium Ion Battery: – By default, most popular beard trimmers use this type of battery, it keeps current for a long time but charging time varies from model to model. This Lithium battery is rechargeable but not replaceable.
Mustache trimmer:- You can use its mustache trimmer to groom and perfect the look of your mustache. However, its mustache trimmer can get close to the nose, this might good / bad to some. On the other hand, it works as the best mustache trimmer out there on the market.
You can’t Adjust Guide combs: – In most cases, these guide combs are plastic and they come in different sizes, so you can’t adjust them, but you can change them to get a custom shave.
Grooming a 5 o’clock shadow beard: – I know most beard trimmers might find it difficult to groom a 5 o’clock shadow, it’s to short so you need a trimmer which can adjust to 0.1 – 0.2mm. Good news is that once you remove the comb guide, this trimmer can take care of your 5 o’clock shadow in no minutes. But don’t use too much pressure when shaving, the blades are sharp and made of steel, so you might hurt yourself during the process.
Cleaning blades: – Remember this trimmer is not water proof, so you can run water over it; the best solution is to use a bristle brush. But I advise you to clean it after using it, this will keep the blades clean and ready for the next trim.