WAHL Compact Travel Trimmer Review

A hair trimmer that gives you 8-10 shaves per AA battery, the WAHL Compact Travel Trimmer is a great way to groom hair or a beard on the road.

Our Verdict

7.0 /10
Good info

Form

60/100

Design

73/100

Value

73/100
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Pros

  • Trimmer uses easy to find AA batteries no matter what country you're in.
  • The trimmer is very small, yet still feels good & ergonomic in your hand.

Cons

  • Sometimes/rarely it can get bumped turn on in your bag accidentally. Remove the battery if you're paranoid.
  • It won't last forever (but we still think it's worth the price, and there's a 2 year warranty in case anything goes wrong).
  • Guide combs can sometimes fall off in your bag (although they never come off during operation).

Technical Details

  • Weight (oz)

    3.3 oz (93.6 g)

    With the AA battery inside.

  • Dimensions

    4 in x 2 in x 1 in (10.2 x 5.1 x 2.5 cm)

  • Manufacturing Country

    China

  • Warranty Information

    Wahl Limited Warranty

Full Review

No one wants to look like a grizzly bear when they travel (or maybe you do). And no one wants to lug around a massive hair trimmer with charging cords either (or maybe … you do). We don’t like to do any of that. So, we’ve found a little trimmer that’s surprisingly powerful for the size that it is, and it runs with a singular AA battery (easy to find this in most parts of the world).

The Compact Travel Trimmer by WAHL is one of the smallest, most convenient hair groomers we’ve been able to find. It weighs 3.3 ounces (94 grams) with one AA battery inside, and the entire kit with all the accessories weighs 4 ounces (113 grams).

When using this trimmer, the first thing to get used to is the size—these clippers are more narrow than others on the market, which is great for travel, but it just takes a couple more passes with the trimmer to get the job done, especially if you’ve got some thick hair.

The WAHL Compact Travel Trimmer and a AA Battery
AA Battery Operation

We’ve found that a single AA battery will last 8 to 10 trims, but make sure you’ve got a couple extra batteries with you so you’re not left with scruffy hair and no way to trim it.

Everything that comes in the box of the WAHL Travel Trimmer
Compact Travel Trimmer and Accessories.

In the box, you’ll get:

  1. The Compact Travel Trimmer (with a blade protector)
  2. Blade oil
  3. Cleaning brush
  4. Beard comb
  5. Four different sized blade guards

You can get away with only taking along one desired blade guard on a trip and leave the rest of the accessories at home to save space and weight. Do a little experimentation and see what size works for you & your sweet locks.

via GIPHY

Here’s the comparison in size with an ordinary Gillette Fusion Razor—similar in comparison, the WAHL travel trimmer is even shorter.

It’s important to note that this thing isn’t waterproof. It’s not going to fry if you get a drop of water on it, but don’t bring it into the shower or run it under the faucet.

Usage Timeline

Initial Usage

Condition: Excellent

Fresh and shiny out of the box.

3 Months of Use

Condition: Excellent

Functioning flawlessly. Used about 25 times in three months.

6 Months of Use

Condition: Good

Starting to show some small rust spots on the head of the trimmer. Wahl Compact Travel Trimmer after 6 months.

1 Year of Use

Condition: Mediocre

At this point, the trimmer has been used about 100 times. It’s starting to slow down a bit and doesn’t operate as fast as it used to.

mm
By Tom Wahlin
Created April 2, 2017 • Updated June 21, 2023
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