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I've been cutting men's hair for over two decades and, until now, I have never found a cordless clipper that could cut it in a professional environment. In this review of the Wahl Cordless Sterling 4 Clipper, I'll tell you why I'm so excited.

Over four decades ago Wahl Clipper Company produced the very first rechargeable cordless clipper. I cannot imagine how heavy that thing must have been (or how short the battery life was), but I've got to say Wahl got it right with the Wahl Cordless Sterling 4 Clipper.

The Andis Master has been one of my favorite haircutting tools since the start of my haircutting career, but these days with nearly everything in my life going cordless, I have been longing for a great cordless clipper, so I picked up the Wahl Cordless Sterling 4and decided to put it through its paces in the barbershop. I was a little skeptical at first, but now it's become my go to clipper for general cutting.

Design

The Wahl Cordless Sterling 4 Clipper itself looks much like any corded clipper, but this one you can unplug. The clipper itself is very lightweight -- which was hard for me to get used to at first. I thought it felt a bit like a toy, but the performance speaks for itself. The clipper feels very comfortable in the hand and I've really come to enjoy the light weight design (I love it for flattop or buzzcuts where I am holding the clipper high for a longer period of time). The unit also includes a taper lever which, for me, is essential in producing a flawless taper. The switch feels solid and the cord attaches and detaches easily.

I would have liked to see Wahl produce a charging base for this clipper, but that's a minor complaint. The clipper comes with a default silver insert, which can be changed out to one of four different colors if you want to personalize the unit a bit.

Performance

Here is where the Wahl Cordless Sterling 4 Clipper really impresses me. Wahl claims the clipper has a 75+ minute run time and I've found that to be true. I've been able to get through as many as 15 haircuts on a single charge. That's very impressive. Another thing I like is that the clipper does not really lose power, rather it seems to simply shut itself off it the battery gets low. I've found that, for most clients, the clipper has plenty of power to handle most any situation. It doesn't perform quite as well with extremely thick hair and I haven't tried it on wet hair, but for most everyone, I get a smooth, efficient cut. The batteris a lithium-ion battery and the clipper is a rotary motor clipper (that's info for barber geeks like me). The clipper can also be used while plugged in (a nice advantage you wouldn't get with a charging base) and I normally simply plug it back in between haircuts. I've been using the unit for a few weeks and have not had a day where it didn't last me through the entire day (I normally cut 15 - 20 heads per day).

Accessories

The clipper comes with 8 attachment combs, a recharge cord, three color inserts, oil, a cleaning brush, and a blade guard. The only thing I really dislike about this clipper are the attachment combs. Wahl guide comes to me always feel cheap (and I hate the color coded variety -- what man wants to use a pink comb?). I really wish they offered a stainless steel guide comb (as they do for their 5 in 1 clippers). I tossed the guide combs that came with the clipper in the trash and have been using the Oster Universal Combs (my beloved Speed-O-Guides, sadly, do not fit this clipper).

The Bottom Line

While I didn't expect to like this clipper, I have come to rely on it as my primary clipper. It's lightweight, performs well, and holds a charge. Solid design and good performance are important and this clipper delivers those exceptionally well. At about $115 bucks, it's reasonably priced as well. I recommend this clipper to anyone (whether you are a professional barber or just someone giving buzzcuts at home) who wants a great cordless clipper that can stand up to professional standards.

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