Schick Extreme III Review
Note: The Shick Extreme 3 comes in two forms, a disposable and a shaving system (only the blades are disposable). My review here is for the disposable model; I haven’t tried the system. Of the additional reviews below, one is for the disposable and the other for the system.
What I like
- Comfortable, close shave
What I don’t like
- It’s a disposable
- Pricey
Overall
- The best disposable I’ve tried
Review
The Schick Extreme III has been marketed based on two primary qualities: it’s a three blade razor, and it’s conveniently disposable. The commercials I’ve seen show tennis player Andre Agassi shaving his face and head, which is nice. It’s primary competition in the shaving market is the Gillette Mach 3, so most of my comparisons will be between those two blades.
The blades on the Extreme III are pretty good, and I felt the shave I got was close and comfortable. They didn’t seem as durable as the Mach 3 blades to me, but for a disposable razor they’re fine. They also tended to gunk up a bit more than the Mach 3 blades, but they aren’t hard to clean out.
The handle is good and easy to control. It’s the most substantial handle of any disposable razor I’ve used, but it’s definitely lightweight when compared to the Mach 3 handle. At first it looked like it might be a little flimsy, but I didn’t have any problems using it at all.
As I said earlier, the shave was comfortable, and skin irritation levels were almost as low as the Mach 3. I did tend to cut myself a bit more with the Extreme III though.
Price-wise, I don’t see much advantage to the Extreme III compared to the Mach 3. The initial investment is lower, but Mach 3’s blades are cheaper per use than a new pack of Extreme III disposables. I’m also not entirely comfortable using disposables regularly, as it seems a waste to throw away the entire thing when you’re done, as opposed to just throwing away a blade.
Still, it’s definitely the best disposable razor I’ve used, and would function well as a regular-use razor if required. A good product.
Additional Reviews
I’ve been fortunate enough to receive 2 reviews from readers about this product.
The following review is by Nick G. [cablenx (at) icqmail (dot) com].
This is Schick’s new baby…their attempt at competing with the already legendary Gillette Mach 3. And as always in my opinion, Schick is behind. I have never liked Schick razors. Great ideas, but not developed to the best of their ability. I have tried their Protector & Tracer and to shave smooth like the Mach 3 and Gillette Sensor do in one to two strokes over the area, the Protector & Tracer does the job in 3-4 strokes or more. However, the Xtreme III isn’t like them. It can do the job in 1-2 strokes, like the before mentioned Mach 3 & Sensor. However, it feels like shaving with a disposable razor because that is what it is. It doesn’t have nearly the protection as the Mach 3 or Sensor, and isn’t as sharp of course. There are no really hi-tech features on the Xtreme III that are found on the Mach 3 or other high quality razors.
One thing I did like was the handle shape. Not as much comfort padding as on Gillette razors, but the shape of the handle is better then the Mach 3, thus giving you more control. Washing out hair is a chore due to how close the razor blades are. And the Xtreme III shave is pretty painful compared to the Mach 3. One can tell that the Xtreme III wasn’t built & developed with such time, care, & money like the Mach 3. It was just thrown together with 3 blades. Yes, I know it is disposable & will sacrifice quality, but it still is low quality in my opinon to what a disposable razor should be. My contacts are disposable & still have the same quality as non-disposable. And in truth, you aren’t saving much money w/ the Xtreme III compared to the Mach 3. Yes, it does cost more to keep buying Mach 3 blades instead of buying Xtreme IIIs, but I rather pay a little more for such a high quality shave w/ the Mach 3 then butcher my head w/ something that is cheaper.
The bottom line about the Xtreme III is that it is your typical disposable razor, with an extra blade. There is nothing special really about it.
The following review is by M.J. Armstrong [cueball-at-junglemate-dot-com]
I just shaved about an hour ago with a Schick Extreme 3, the refillable one with the permanent handle. There is a love/hate relationship between myself and this razor. With the disposables, I love the way the blade handles; there is a great indentation to place your index finger on the blad head, and has an all-around great feel in the hand. And I believe it gives me the closest shave of anything I have ever used. Plus, it’s cheaper than the Mach 3, and I find them on sale more. However, there have been times when I’ve positively torn my scalp up with one. It’s a great razor, but is less forgiving than the user-friendly Mach 3.
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