I used a Mach III razor for a long time, but had a lot of problems with it. The blades were expensive. I never figure out a good time in my morning routine for shaving–if I shaved before showering I would hurt myself and not get a close shave; if I shaved during my shower I’d miss spots and have to clean them up afterward or walk around with stray spiderlegs; if I shaved after my shower I’d have to deal with the fogged-up mirror, and with getting shaving cream all over my face and having to wash it all over again (and getting shaving cream water all over the bathroom). And I cut or irritated my skin most of the time, anyway.

So about a year ago I decided to switch to an electric razor. I sprung for a pretty good one, and in a lot of ways it is an enormous improvement: I don’t need shaving cream. I don’t need to buy new overpriced blades. I don’t have to worry about cutting myself. But there is one problem–I simply can’t get a close shave. I think I am getting as close a shave as I possibly can, with an electric razor, but it’s just not satisfactory. I don’t like having five-o’clock-shadow as my baseline shave.

So I’ve got to admit that as hilarious and absurd as the new Gillette Fusion may be (“um, our competitors one-upped us with a four blade razor… so check out our five blade razor!”), I’m seriously considering switching back. Have any of you guys tried out the Fusion? How does it compare to the Mach III? Can my sensitive skin handle it? Should I just stick with my electric, which unquestionably does an adequate job?

(Here’s a review of the Fusion.)