This was borne out by the proof when testing every trimmer on a horsehair broom, to approximate how every Peanut would fare with the thickest of beards. The old-school corded Peanut can clog a bit if you happen to attempt to run it by way of a horsehair broom, or the human equal. However as for the brand new Li? It is somewhat plugger. The motor’s greater rpm stepped up, and I by no means fairly received the factor to lavatory down utterly.
However to protect battery life, Wahl engineers confirmed, the Li would not rev at full steam the entire time. While you flip the 2 Peanuts facet by facet, it is clear from pitch and vibration that the brand new Peanut Li revs decrease than the corded by default, when it is not working too laborious. The corded Peanut gave a peppier shave, with fewer hair pulls, when utilizing each trimmers to shave and element my neck.
Stepping up the juice solely throughout powerful jobs is, on the one hand, wonderful engineering. On the opposite, this appears to result in a slight tradeoff when merely mowing down mild stubble.
Comme Ci, Comme Ça
The Peanut Li is clearly a extra subtle machine. It includes electronics and sensors and a number of technique of charging. It debulks thick beards higher than the previous corded. It seems somewhat aerodynamic, someway. It is a fashionable-seeming coloration of blue. Slightly mild show on the entrance of the machine signifies battery ranges, so you may know upfront earlier than a cost is required. The Li can be somewhat quieter than the cordless, by a couple of decibels.
However the attraction of the previous corded Peanut, the factor that made it a basic, is exactly its lack of sophistication. This simplicity means the machine has only a few failure factors. That is why it lasts. Certain, you have to oil your blades persistently and substitute them after they go uninteresting. However in any other case, the Peanut will go on seemingly perpetually. Anecdotally, previous corded Peanuts have lasted for a decade or extra, even amongst barbers who use them so much. The rotary motor appears to be constructed just like the engine on an previous Honda.
And so whereas the blade is identical and the motor is comparable—a delicate little buzzer that will not nick your neck—the brand new Peanut Li asks to be thought-about amongst a distinct era of recent beard trimmer.
{Photograph}: Matthew Korfhage
After which you end up asking questions like, Why is it good to have solely 4 guards, as soon as we have deserted the outright simplicity of the basic Peanut? Why cannot we now have edgers, further guard lengths, microgradations of guard that permit for an skilled fade? The one actual reply appears to be: as a result of it is a Peanut. And Peanuts are easy.
This looks as if a missed alternative. Typically, extra is extra. Wahl appears to be betting, as a substitute, on its legacy branding. Possibly the corporate can be betting that the previous Peanut lovers want to maintain this outward simplicity whereas accepting the issues of sensors and electronics beneath the hood.
Child steps, I suppose. Not like the earlier cordless Peanut, this new cordless Peanut Li is an precise improve to the uncooked capabilities of its forebear, and time will inform whether or not it is as sturdy as its predecessor. However within the meantime, if I am heading for a resort and I attain for a Peanut to take with me? It will be the Li.
