Yaqi Avanti. A Progress in Stainless, finally....

A good shave from the Avanti today. I started on setting #3 but, about 3-4 strokes in I did feel that the Bic blade was beginning to lose its edge. I went up from there to setting #4 and eventually finished the shave at setting #5. I coaxed the blade right to the end and it delivered a near BBS finish though, I did give myself some skin disturbance as I buffed around the chin removing some stragglers. The heat gremlins hung for a bit but, were gone after a nice bracing splash and about 30 mins or so. I will say that the shave was still quite comfortable as the Avanti helped me in holding the blade rigidly and still giving a relatively smooth feel on both face & neck. Wasn’t a complete BBS but, it certainly was a DFS+ for sure, minus the heat.

Next on the shave menu will be a shave comparison just like shave brother Clouds has performed before me. I’m looking forward to seeing the OG Progress show its pedigree agains the Yaqi newcomer.

Great shaves to all…

Put the Merkur Icon up against the fledgling upstart and I'll be honest, it was a lot closer than I thought it would be. Both gave me a really close & comfortable shave that had me at BBS in 2.5 passes. The shave was later in the evening yesterday at roughly 6:30pm. And as of this writing it's now 6:00am the following morning and my face still feels as smooth and whisker free as when I shaved. The feel in hand was nearly identical between the Progress & Avanti as they are similar in weight though, the Progress is lighter by a couple of grams against the Avanti. During the shave, one can't tell the difference which is which if you were blindfolded at the start. Shaving wise, they're a lot more similar than different whilst I did feel a slight bit more of blade feel or presence just like shave brother Clouds did with the Progress and at equal settings, the Progress was more aggressive. To me it was almost about a half to two thirds ahead of the Avanti in equal settings providing more tactile feel of the blade on skin over the Avanti. I made no compensation for the less aggressive feel of the Avanti against the Progress and both were set to #5 and finished on both at setting #3.5 once the shave was to my satisfaction.

All in all it was simply a fantastic shave from both. In terms of aesthetics, make up, quality of look & feel, the Avanti feels like the more polished and premium looking razor and that's a fact because, it is. Blade alignment is precise and a non issue with the Avanti and not so much for the Progress as mine has to be fiddled with a bit to get equal alignment and blade exposure on both sides. No biggie but, a flaw nonetheless and it has to be noted. Another is the ease of movement on the adjustment dial on the Avanti over the Progress. Obviously, the Progress is an older model and the threads show significant wear where the chrome plating has deteriorated over use & time. So, the feel on the Progress is not as smooth or quiet compared to the Avanti with its superior alloy construction.

I'll do another shave face off but, this time with the Mergress before putting in a total summation on how the Avanti fairs against the legendary Progress/Mergress.

Great shaves to all...

The Mergress & Avanti went a round here and it is just more of the same as it was with the previous shave with the OG Progress in terms of shave performance & results. However, there are a couple of things that the Mergress does better over the OG Progress with only one negative against the Mergress that I can think of. First, blade alignment is significantly better in the Mergress as I don’t have to play with the blade to get it aligned equally in the razor. The eyeball test proved it to be near spot on at least to my expectations. Second, the dial movement is much cleaner & smoother vs the OG with virtually no noise or squeaking from the adjustment mechanism. More than likely that might just have to do with the wear & tear that is more prominent in the OG Progress than anything else. The Mergress is only about 2 years old so, parts are still relatively good and wear is much less likely. The negative is the overall balance of the Mergress as it feels a bit more handle heavy over the Progress. The adjustment know most certainly has something to do with it as it is rather large and adds some significant weight to the overall razor which includes changing weight bias towards that end. Nevertheless, it shaved exceptionally well and shared nearly identically the gap size discrepancy from the Progress over the Avanti. Not a detriment to the Mergress nor an advantage over the Avanti as it simply has a more blade feel at each subsequent blade gap size over the Avanti. That can be a plus for some and a negative for others. Depends on one’s preference and their experience with said razor(s). If a more aggressive shave stance is preferred from low to high between the 3 razors, in my experience the Merkur offerings will give the user exactly that without sacrificing much at all in overall comfort, ease of use and in general shave performance. The Avanti still stood well against both iterations and delivered equally as good shave results as the beloved Progress & Mergress respectively. Not a single bad shave although it was on ly one round apiece.

In conclusion, I will say that the advantage that the Avanti has over both of the Merkur’s is in overall general construction, quality & fitment. For the first time that I can recall in using a Yaqi razor, they actually nailed it in overall product quality on its first time out. The alloy is superior, the tolerances are just about perfect and ease of use is equal to the Merkur offerings. Granted, the price is the biggest obstacle and the most glaring of negatives for potential users as it is made in China which is synonymous with cheap & underwhelming quality. It is a hefty price for nearly $175US shipped & delivered to one’s door. As for the other side, one can acquire the Progress for nearly 1/3 the price and receive one of the best & affordable adjustable razors. However, that does come with a substantially far inferior alloy with quality issues that can be quite disconcerting especially when your face takes the brunt of those negative attributes. Still, for those in the economical camp, it’s a viable option that can provide very good years of service and one can actually pick up another just as a back up or individual components to suit their needs. The Mergress on the other hand, not so advantageous. True, it offers a modicum of improvement over the original but, new it will run you near the same price as the SS Avanti and the latter still has the advantage in terms of construction and the quality thereoff of said razor. Clearly one gets value with the Progress that is significant but, not so much with the Mergress if any at all. The clear winner for me and it’s just my opinion and the evaluation of the Merkur duo compared to the upstart Avanti is the Yaqi Avanti. It’s simply superior in total craftsmanship from top to bottom. Blade rigidity is better, adjustment dial is smoother and easier to manipulate and it will outlast the Merkur options by decades if not centuries. In the overall scope of cost vs value against any and all manufacturers when it comes to high level alloys & construction, the Yaqi Avanti in my experience exceeds the criteria to meet the requirements of a premium razor regardless of its country of Origen or manufacture. 

Yes, it’s worth it in my eyes and just my humble opinion. Great shaves to all…