Gillette Mach 3 Turbo Men's Razor Review

When the Trac-Two dual-edged razor became popular a couple decades ago, I was a believer. I got a much smoother shave from dual-edged razors than I did from single-edged razors, while getting fewer nicks and cuts. One problem with Trac-Two and other dual-edged razors are that they are hard to keep clean, as the shaved off whiskers tend to clog the narrow space between the blades.

The Gillette Mach 3 Turbo razor fixed that... for a price.

What It Is

The Gillette Mach 3 Turbo is a men's razor (as if you couldn't tell from the name, right?) that has a shaving face with three closely spaced blades. It also has a lubricant strip on the shaving face that helps smooth a shave when you don't use shaving soap. The handle on the Mach 3 is rubberized and ribbed for firm gripping, and the shape is nicely thick and meaty feeling. Overall, it looks like some sort of Klingon weapon.

The business end has three blades but it is more than one blade better than the old familiar Trac-Two. The biggest problem with the Trac-Two is that it has a closed back to the shaving cartridge that guarantees that shaved hair and soap will clog the razor. The Gillette Mach 3 Turbo's shaving cartridge has an open back that makes it easy to cleanly rinse the razor. Just a quick rinse will get the Mach 3 completely clean.

There is a version of the Mach 3 that uses a battery to vibrate the blade. I have used only the non-powered version.

The Smooth Lowdown

The Gillette Mach 3 Turbo shaves great. I seldom get nicks and cuts, often going for a couple weeks without drawing blood -- and I shave daily. I usually shave without shaving soap, just splashing some hot water on my face. The Mach 3's lubricant strip maintains its lubricant for two weeks, making the razor glide across the skin.

Gillette Mach 3 Turbo blades are expensive. I buy them in bulk at Costco for a price that works out to about $1.75 a blade. However, I make up for that by stretching out each blade to three weeks. By the end of the third week, the blade's lubricant strip is useless and the razor is dragging. It still gives a decent shave, however.

The only other issue with the Mach 3 is that it is difficult to maneuver under my nose to shave the mustache area. It is not as nimble in this regard as a Trac-Two or even a dual-edged Bic razor.

Summary

I like the shave I get from the Gillette Mach 3 Turbo. I'm a notorious cheapskate, so it takes really good performance to get me to go from a moderately priced product that works well (Trac-Two razors) to a more expensive product. The Gillette Mach 3 Turbo did that for me and there is no higher praise I can make.