Hi all- I have been lugging around two war horse sets of Clipmasters for about 10 years and am finally looking to upgrade. They’ve been serviced and still work, but man are they heavy and loud. Looking to join the 21st century with something a little more manageable and that might be able to get to smaller areas like face and legs instead of carrying around multiple clippers all the time. Anyone have recommendations for a high quality body clipper?
I, too, relied on clipmasters for years. The aching wrists from the weight and vibration, the fan blowing the hair back in my face, I just thought that was the price of body clipping. When my last set of Clipmasters died, I looked into a few others (Andis have good reviews, but just seemed a little too lightweight for body clipping multiple horses every winter).
I ended up getting the Double K beltmount clippers. They were LIFECHANGING!
I clip them to a blanket bars in my grooming stall, and the cord is plenty long enough to do the whole side of the horse without moving them or stretching the cord. They are SO much lighter, quieter, and user friendly. But still feel very durable and strong enough to blast through a body clip. Plus, they are so much easier to handle, I get fewer lines, even towards the end of the clip, when I’m getting tired. They use standard A5 snap on blades, so no messing with top/bottom blades and trying to find a screwdriver to swap out hot ones.
Best, they are smaller and the hand unit has so much less vibration (like smaller A5 type levels) that my ticklish, needs-lots-of-drugs-to-clip gelding just relaxes and falls asleep, even when I’m doing his legs, where he used to try to stomp on me, even with a dorm/torb cocktail.
They are pricey for sure. But totally worth it (and I have no relationship with the company). I’ve had mine about a year, so have only body clipped maybe 4 with it, but so far no issues or mx required.
If you want something smaller that’s good for faces etc, the Andis 2 speed (burgundy) clippers are wonderful. They will not clip a hairy yak of a horse, but they can handle a normal winter coat just fine. Super quiet, they can get in all the nooks and crannies, and if the blades get hot you just snap on another pair, very easy. We’ve had ours for several years with no issue.
I also have the Andis Xperience for heavier clipping (my QH has a Cushings-esque coat and the 2 speed burgundy clippers just can’t handle it.) They’re very quiet, comfortable to hold, they don’t vibrate and make your hands numb, and they can clip through anything. They are much faster and take a larger blade than the 2 speed. I will say they’re very expensive and I wouldn’t have bought them if my QH’s coat wasn’t so thick and difficult. The 2 speed can clip my OTTB easily.
Our Clipmasters were a joke, I’ve posted about them before and would never recommend them to people. They clipped great…until they didn’t…after about 10 clips despite meticulous by-the-book care.
I tried out the Double K belt mount clippers. It’s nice that the actual clipper is so light, but it felt very underpowered, and the thick heavy cord attaching it to the motor was cumbersome. They felt like little cordless clippers, and I can’t imagine doing a full body clip with them.
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I’ve been debating upgrading to the Andis Xperience clippers. Good to finally see a review from someone here! My Andis AGC 2 speeds (the burgundy ones) are one their 5th season and going strong. I just want a little more umph.
They have so much oomph I 10/10 recommend them, you won’t regret it. Clipping my QH is hard because his coat is so dense and thick, so it’s hard to really bathe him and get his coat clean before clipping. The Xperience glides through his coat like it’s nothing even if he’s kind of dirty. I would say they’re more powerful than the Clipmasters.
I’ll second what @skipollo (my DD) said. I grew up clipping about 70 dairy cows twice each winter using the old Oster clippers. The new Osters are no comparison in durability. Before we bought the Andis Xperience clippers, I asked a friend who has them. I watched her clip a Cushings pony with them, and the blades just slid through the coat. She said that some of her barn mates had the Double K, and they seemed much slower. After trying the Double K clippers, I’d agree.
I also went to a dairy cattle sale where they were clipping about 80 animals prior to the auction. There were no Oster Clipmaster or Double K clippers in sight. They were using Andis Xperience and Premier clippers. The fitters I spoke with recommended the Andis as a really good clipper that is more moderately priced than the Premier clippers. The clippers also held up well over the years. They said the Premier clippers were better but probably not worth the increase in price. All of the animals they clipped looked great.
I was really pleased with our first clip the the Andis. They were fast and made the job easy.
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I’m still using my Lister Stars!
I’ve been using a friend’s Clipmasters but I moved my horse and need to get some for me and have been trying to decide between Andis Xperience, Lister Star or Lister Legend. I have a set of the 2 speed Andis clippers but they aren’t strong enough for a Fjord that’s very hairy. lol
I absolutely love my Andis Progress clippers. They’re light, quiet, they don’t blow hair back in your face, and they get the job done quickly.
Thank everyone, looks like I’ve narrowed it down to the Andis Xperience. Now just wondering if I should snag a set of Andis 2-speeds for face and legs too…
I would get a set of the 2-speeds if you can. They’re much easier for getting around the smaller areas. I switch to the 2-speeds when the blades on the Xperience clippers get hot. It gives them a chance to cool down while I clip other areas. The 2-speeds are also nice to have for giving quick tough ups like the bridle path.
