The BaByliss Professional Clipper FX8700E tested

BaByliss has provided us with the Professional Clipper with the designation FX8700E for testing. Since I have the most horrible hairstyle in the team in the current situation, the device moved directly to my desk. The inscriptions on the carton "Barbers Spirit" and "recommended by barbers" create a bit of awe in me. I am neither barber nor hairdresser. I don't wear a beard and I only have a drugstore tailor who is gathering dust somewhere in my closet.

My impression is confirmed when unpacking: The BaByliss device is big and with about 220g also quite heavy. The material looks very high quality and is easy to touch. Of course, if a professional has to work with it every day, then the hair clipper has to be correspondingly stable. If this device falls to the ground once, I would rather worry about the floor covering.

The hair clipper can be operated directly by battery or by cable. The latter is about three meters long, so that you have enough room to move. In mains operation, the device may be used for a maximum of 20 minutes at a time. The mains operation is probably rather the exception in an emergency.

Charging the lithium battery takes about three hours. After that - according to BaByliss - an operation of 120 minutes is possible. If you charge the device for only 30 minutes, you have 30 minutes battery power again. If the battery becomes too weak, the LED light starts blinking and there are about 3 minutes remaining before you have to continue with the cable.

So now I'm thinking about how a professional would work with it in the salon. Personally, I would first of all miss a storage possibility for the accessories, a small bag for example. Also a velcro tape to hold the long cable flexibly together and to open it again is missing. With an RRP of 169 Euro I would have expected something like that.

If you switch on the BaByliss Clipper FX8700E, you can definitely confirm that the device is not loud and quite low in vibration.

In the end, however, it is decisive how the device cuts and supports the professional in his work. And for this I got myself professional help. So I give the device into the hands of a hairdresser and ask her questions ...

And there the world looks a bit different. The appearance makes a visual and haptic impression from the very first moment, but the weight is comparable to other devices and doesn't deter. The price of the BaByliss hair clipper for professional tools is also absolutely normal. Mixed feelings occur during the fine adjustment: Although it is very quick and easy to adjust with a lever, it has no scale. This means that it has to be learned by heart or incorporated into the user's feeling, which should not be a major problem for professionals.

To clean the BaByliss hair clipper, the blade must be removed with the Allen key. Although this can be done without tools in other devices, it is not an unsolvable problem with the blade made of Japanese steel, even if it is a bit tricky.

And then it gets down to business: Starting with the biggest essay, we bring reason into the jungle. The handling of the FX8700E is simply great: precise cut and good guidance. The clipper literally glides through your hair. No challenge that the steel blade can't handle. But for the very filigree cutting of contours the hair professional better uses a small contour clipper.

Conclusion

The FX8700E from BaByliss Professional in its very noble design is deservedly aimed at professionals who are primarily dedicated to male haircuts and beards. But nothing else is expressed by BaByliss with the labels "Barbers Spirit" and "recommended by barbers". You not only get a device that works very well in the matter, but also a real eye-catcher.