Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

On Jan 19, 2015, Flo, as she was affectionately known in our house, died. But she died on the job, amazingly just as she completed her last cut. I took her apart and tried to revive, but lo and behold the cam that connects the motor to the blades had sheared, leaving resuscitation impossible. However, the motor was still running. RIP~~~1992-2015. Twenty three years old. With at least one cut a month that is 276 cuts. Bought her on sale for $59. You do the math, based on how much a person would spend on hair cuts in your area, for how much I saved. But the savings is not the best thing. I did not have to make appointments, spend time in a salon, did not have to leave the house, it is fast (5 minutes at best), no tips, and as good a cut as I would have received anywhere based on my style of cut. Plus I can keep my hair with that just cut look as often as I want. Now if you do unusual tapering or cutting, it can be done with this, but it would take more time, and may require the help of another person. So I was hoping they still made these, and although the look has changed over the years, I was glad I found out it was still available. Since 1992 I found that there are other possibilites of this format available. I checked them out and still came back to the Flowbee. Some people here complain about the quality of the materials. From what I observed, I have found that criticism to be unfounded. Although time will tell if it holds up as well as the old one I guess. I have enclosed a picture to show the difference in design (new on left), but the plastic casing should hold up as well the old one under normal use. I do not think either would survive a drop on a hard surface. I agree, the plastic spacers should be of better quality, but they are the same material as my old ones, and they lasted 23 years. Yes, some of the old ones did break, but I was able to use glue or tape to repair them. I do not know if it was a mistake, but this new Flowbee came with two sets of spacers. I am going to still use my old ones until they totally give out, as they still fit the new unit perfectly. As far as how the new Flowbee works, it seems to cut as well or better than my old one. One would hope so as the blades should be sharper. No complaints here. If you are new to this system, make sure you use the oil supplied to lube the blades at least every other cut. The oil they supply should last the lifetime of the unit, as I still have some left over from the old one. One other thing I like is that the new one has a hose adapter that makes it easier to connect to my shopvac. By the way, if you want the most even cut possible, make sure your shopvac is at least 2 HP. I actually use the one in my shop and it is 5.5 HP. Draws the hair up to be cut accurately and as fast as possible. My kids did not call it the "suck cut" for nothing. So if you would like a hair cut that takes about 5 minutes, costs practically nothing, this may be the unit for you, and if it lasts another 23 years, I'll probably be dead or bald anyway.