REVIEW – When was the last time you thought about nail clippers and their worthiness as a gadget? Never, right? I’m going to change that with this review of the ClipDifferent Pro automatic nail clipper. Let’s check it out.
What is it?
The ClipDifferent Pro is an electric powered fingernail clipper.
What’s in the box?
ClipDifferent Pro
AC power adapter
Design and features
The ClipDifferent Pro is a round white plastic device that has a large easy to toggle power switch on the top back edge.
On the front is a narrow slightly curved slot with blades inside it. The clipper part is made of surgical quality stainless steel blades which are designed not to dull. Below the cutting slot is a small drawer that holds the nail clippings.
On the back is the power cord socket which you use to charge the internal batteries which will run for months on a charge. On the bottom is a non-skid base. The unit is pretty basic as far as design and style, but it feels well made and is heavy enough to stay put on a table without sliding around.
Let’s get clipping!
I like to keep my nails very short, so for me, the nails in the image above are ready to be clipped. I usually use a cheap pair of Curell clippers purchased from Walmart. Clipping my nails with traditional clippers works fine, but I have to do it over a trash can and I have to see what I’m doing to make sure that I don’t trim them too short, at the wrong angle, etc.
With the ClipDifferent Pro automatical fingernail clipper, I just flip the switch and stick my nail in the slot with the blade that is continuously moving up and down. You can only insert your fingernail in the slot until the flesh of your finger presses against the front of the unit. As you do, that section of the fingernail is clipped and the clipping is deposited in the clipping drawer inside the unit.
You slide your fingernail side to side in the cutting slot to round off all the edges, and then switch to the next finger, and so on until you’re finished. It usually takes me several minutes to manually trim my nails, but with the ClipDifferent Pro I was done in less than a minute and there wasn’t anything to clean up.
Here’s the same hand as before, but with freshly clipped nails. I’ll admit that my fingernails do not look like I’ve gone to a nail salon, but I was surprised that the edges of the freshly clipped nails did not feel sharp or snaggily. You really don’t need to use a file to smooth them, but doing so doesn’t hurt anything.
Then when you’re finished, you can pull out the little clipping drawer and dump the clippings in the trash can. That’s one of the nice things about using the ClipDifferent Pro – there are no rogue clippings on the floor after you’ve clipped your nails.
What I like
- Very easy to use
- Portable – has rechargeable batteries
- Safe, won’t cut your fingers
- Can use even if you can’t see
- No clean up
What needs to be improved
- Pricey
Final thoughts
You might wonder why anyone would pay $150 for a fingernail clipper even if it does clip automatically. Well, what if you have arthritis or other dexterity issue and can’t use a clipper without pain? What if you’re blind and don’t want to ask someone to clip your nails for you? What if you only have one hand in the first place? These are just some of the reasons why the ClipDifferent Pro Automatic Fingernail Clipper is a useful product. It might be expensive, but it’s built to last. I’ll definitely follow up with updates as time goes by.
Updates 04/25/19
I’ve been using the ClipDifferent as my primary nail clipping tool for 5 months and it’s still operating on the first battery charge and the blades seem to be just as sharp as they were out of the box. I really enjoy using this handsfree nail clipper and I’m not really their target demographic, so I can definitely see how this product could be a game changer for many people.
Price: $149.00
Where to buy: ClipDifferent and Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by ClipDifferent.
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Yet even more proof that you are braver than me.
I might have felt a slight twinge of unease the first time I stuck my fingernail in the slot, but that quickly faded.
So you get a nibbling sensation as the blade goes up and down?
I guess you could call it that.
Feet!
How did I miss this post?
That is a whole load of hardware just to clip finger nails. My ocd (which somehow doesn’t extend to dusting or putting away my clothes) finds the nail drawer appealing.
But the only advantages are power and storage of nail clippings. If it shaped my nails and gave them a quick clean…. I might consider it.
I have a manual toe clipper (I am told if the blades are almost an inch wide, those are toe nail clippers) which has a plastic sleeve to attempt (4/10) to catch clippings. It cost me $2 10yrs ago. It still works. The only tradgey is if some parvenue dropped it before I had emptied it.
Back to my initial outburst. Does it do toe nails or did something happen that you must never speak of?
It’s not designed to clip toenails. The slot is small and I just don’t see how it would work that well for that application.
Can the depth of cut be adjusted?
Yes by how far you stick your fingernail in the slot. What you see in the picture is with me sticking my finger in as far as it will go without forcing it. So it can clip really short but still leaves some of the white part of the fingernail.