OSTER Fast Feed Adjustable Pivot Motor Clipper Review

Do you like to take care of your own grooming, but hesitate to do so early in the morning before going to work as not to wake the rest of the family up with the annoying sound of your clippers whirring away at their task? You don’t need to create a new routine to adapt to this – you just need a pair of clippers with a different kind of motor that produces nothing more than a pleasant hum.

Naturally, these clippers also need to be as effective as they are quiet, and Oster’s new pivot motor clipper is the perfect blend of both. Are they the right clippers for you? Check the in-depth review out to see for yourself.

Features of the OSTER Fast Feed Adjustable Pivot Motor Clipper

The OSTER Fast Feed Adjustable Pivot Motor Clippers were designed for ease of use and will even stand up to the hustle and bustle of a busy day at the barber shop. You have their casing to thank for this; it isn’t only available in one of six interesting color schemes like a pleasant mahogany or far-out floral pattern that differs from your garden variety silver and black fare without being an eyesore, but because special care has been taken to make it ergonomically sound.

An additional feature to its sturdy build is the texture of the plastic, which isn’t completely smooth, giving you much better traction and control over your cut even if you have sweaty or otherwise wet hands.

The clippers’ motor is by far their most outstanding feature. As they plug directly into a standard 110V outlet, it delivers quite a bit of power to the blades, helping to speed up trims and haircuts. Many people are annoyed by most clippers’ motors’ tendency to create loud buzzing and excessive vibration. As these have a pivot motor instead of a standard electromagnetic one, both noise and vibration have significantly been reduced, while its efficiency hasn’t suffered at all because of it.

If anything, this kind of motor outperforms most electromagnetic ones by a noticeable margin. You’ll see the greatest difference if your old clippers or beard trimmer were struggling in maintaining thick facial hair. Since the different working principle makes the motor run slower while applying more torque, the chance of the blades snagging on your stubble is smaller. You’ll want to periodically unscrew the case and clean everything out, but with a pivot motor, cleanup is needed less often as well.

All that quiet power wouldn’t amount to much if the clippers’ blades weren’t up to snuff, and Oster manages to stay ahead in this respect too. With the help of one of the four different guide combs you get as part of the package, they quickly seize any strands of hair in their path and trim them down to appropriate size. Apart from working more or less the same on hair that’s either dry or wet, it also doesn’t fail to handle thinning or wispy hair as the blades and combs work well in tandem to catch even problematic strands and put them in their place.

Depending on how close of a crop you want, the blades can be adjusted anywhere from 1 to 000 via the handy lever to the side, making nuanced transitions and hence much smoother, more professional-looking fades possible. The blending achieved when gradually switching the length of the cut is very well done, so you can look forward to making professional-looking tapered haircuts at home from now on. While the clippers excel at this particular haircut, regular maintenance of a buzz cut or sideburns as well as trimming your beard are all things they do a fantastic job at too.

All that being said, there are a couple of things to note before buying. First is the fact that you can’t use these clippers to get a completely smooth, bald look. Even the closest setting will leave some stubble behind, so if you were hoping to make cool looking-haircuts like bald fades or maintain a bald head, you’ll have to buy a separate set of blades.

Quality wasn’t skimped on when the clippers themselves were designed, but the guiding combs are a different matter. The plastic used to manufacture them isn’t all that good, and the shoddy finish can irritate your skin if you squeeze too tightly.

Lastly, the power cord is a bit of a hassle to deal with. At 8-feet long, it is a solid choice for professional clippers, but a bit unnecessary for those you’d use in your own bathroom. Its length wouldn’t be much of an issue alone, but the cable happens to be stiff as well, forcing you to sometimes wrestle with it and bring it into a position where it won't obstruct your movements.

Pros

  • Outstanding motor capable of very quiet work free from vibration
  • Cool even after being in use for a while
  • Adjustable blades can tackle hair of different length and thickness with equal effect
  • Hefty weight, slip-resistant body and four guiding combs give you better control and stability while working
  • Requires minimal maintenance and only occasional lubrication

Cons

  • The power cord may be too long for in-home use. It is also stiff and unwieldy
  • Clippers deliver a reasonably close cut, but do leave some stubble behind
  • Combs aren’t of the same quality as the clippers

The Verdict

When it comes to reducing the vibration and noise accompanying your grooming, the pivot motor clippers from Oster will most certainly be an upgrade from any model you happen to have now. With the way they handle blending, adjust themselves to all hair types and leave crisply cut hair while requiring minimal cleanup, they’ll likely trump your old ones in every other aspect too.

While these clippers aren’t without shortcomings, there’s nothing about them that couldn’t be compensated for and they shouldn’t negatively affect your purchasing decision. The end result is what matters, and OSTER Fast Feed Adjustable Pivot Motor Clippers will ensure that you have a smooth and silent experience in getting there.

How They Compare

I've also written detailed comparisons of the Oster Fast Feeds and both the Elite Pros and Andis Masters. If you're looking to see how they stack up with either of those clippers, have a read – I tried to cover it all!