As one of the most expensive professional grooming clippers, the Andis Super AGR+ Cordless Clippers are implicitly making huge promises. I mean, they are roughly three times more expensive than most other equine and dog clippers out there; so we’re expecting at least three times more of everything to justify such pricing.
Andis is a leading grooming brand — both for hair salons and professional animal groomers — and the competition from Oster, Wahl and lower-quality brands has saturated the market. Andis has clearly made a leap of faith by producing a more-premium-than-premium product with a hefty price tag.
The question is — is that leap of faith a success?
To cut the long review short, the Andis Super AGR+ Cordless Clippers are worth every penny — they just are! The most impressive fact about these clippers is how much power they provide while being cordless clippers. Generally, you have to drop on some power or smart features if you want to go cordless, but not here.
Let’s dive into our review of the Andis Super AGR+ clippers and see what’s good about them, what’s bad, and why they are a good purchase if you can afford them.
Andis Super AGR+ Clippers — What’s So Special?
With such a premium product, Andis had to deliver on so many levels to make it worth a purchase. It’s a total success like we said, but we wanted to pinpoint some of the highlights of this beast—arguably the best grooming clippers available on the market in 2017!
Powerful Rotary Motor
A lot of groomers choose their motor by looking at the rotations per minute for magnetic motors, or the strokes per minute for rotary motors. In the new war of which type of motors is better than the other, there is no winner.
However, there is a winner for a particular type of grooming usage:
- Pivot Motors — delivers high power with a lower blade speed (best for coarse and matted coats)
- Rotary Motors — delivers equal power and blade speed (best for most cuts and coats)
- Magnetic Motors — delivers lower power but higher blade speed (best for bulk trims)
Now, where things get complicated is the more efficient the clippers are in terms of power and blade speed, the more heat is generated by the clippers. Therefore, the rotary motor is the absolute best compromise in terms of blade speed and motor power.
The Andis Super AGR+ Clippers boast a whopping high single-speed motor going at 3800 strokes per minute. For those in need of a higher power level, you can use the Andis AGR cord pack and reach 4500 spm. These are very, very good motor specs and they should perform well for most cuts you will ever encounter.
High-Capacity Battery Pack
Delivered with its charging stand, the Super AGR+ Clippers will deliver at a very consistent high power for an hour, and while then start slowing down a little. It takes less than an hour to fully recharge the battery thanks to the proprietary Sensa-Charge charging technology.
The battery is removable so you could buy extra batteries if need be, or if you are after more rotary power and blade speed, you could buy the AGR+ Cord Pack to turn these cordless clippers into corded ones.
In order to keep the battery at maximum performance every day, you should use the Refresh mode overnight or every few days. This special mode maintains the quality of the battery but takes longer to reset and recharge it.
Detachable Blades
Although this does not sound like a big deal, having detachable blades is pretty awesome since it brings strong versatility to the Andis Super AGR+ clippers. Dog and grooming clippers are often used on different animals, and each animal has different coats. Clipping a horse is very different to clipping a Newfoundland.
Now, to make the clipping easier for a particular type of coat, you should use a blade that is more adapted to the specificities of the specific animal’s coat. Some groomers have pouches with dozens of blades and combs, while others do just fine with two or three different blades.
Regardless, you want to be able to remove them in seconds and place the other one in as easily. This is also valuable for the cleaning of your blades.
The Andis Super AGR+ does work with all UltraEdge, CeramicEdge and ShowEdge blades — i.e. the largest selection in the industry. Additionally, these clippers also work with Oster A5 blades.
Andis
If you can afford them, get yourself the CeramicEdge blades as they seem to be the blades that overheat the least. Thus making them the best blades for longer grooming sessions, and sensitive pets.
Very Heavy Duty
Once you grab them in your hands, these professional dog clippers feel indestructible. The quality of the break-resistant housing has virtually no competition and should satisfy the most demanding groomers and breeders out there.
At 18.4oz or 520 grams, these grooming clippers aren’t the lightest but they are well-designed so handling them remains a pleasure. You should get used to the weight after a few trimming sessions.
Horse trainers in stables mention these clippers as the best they ever had and don’t miss on mentioning that even after six years of intense use, they are still as good as gold. If you’ve owned several clippers to date, you probably noticed how the cord is often the first thing to break — well you don’t even have that worry with the Super AGR cordless clippers!
Infographic: what matters when picking the best dog clippers for professional groomers.A Few Shortcomings
There is one main problem with our Andis Super AGR+ Cordless Clippers review and it may bother some groomers more than others. It’s the weight of the Super AGR; these clippers are extremely durable but that has to come at the expense of a lighter weight. Extended use of these clippers may cause wrist fatigue in the occasional groomer while experienced groomers usually know how to diminish wrist tension.
Besides the weight, there aren’t many lacks in these upmarket premium clippers.
Verdict on the Andis Super AGR+
Our verdict: a must-buy!
In my humble opinion, with so many upsides and weight as the only downside, the Andis Super AGR+ Cordless Clippers are the absolute unquestionable best professional heavy-duty animal clippers. They just deliver on all levels from the battery and the motor to the blades. These clippers are very versatile and are built to last for many years to come, even with intensive use.
Yes, they are not cheap but we didn’t put the price in the shortcomings section because if you demand a great product, you must be ready to pay the right price for it.