#MMarch24 Madness: NO vs M&W
- Brush: Farvour Turn Craft “Worm” 26mm Brown Synthetic
- Razor: EldrormR Industries MM24
#MMarch24
- Blade: GEM (42)
- Lather: Noble Otter - Lonestar - Shaving Soap
- Post Shave: Noble Otter - BarrBarr - Aftershave
- Fragrance: Olympic Orchids - Tucson
- Passes: WTG, XTG
- Coffee: DR Congo. Kalehe. South Kivu. v: Bourbon. Typica. p: Washed. Dried on Raised Beds. r: 02/20/24
- Music: Joe Ely - Honky Tonk Masquerade
While Tabac's OG base remains really darn good (can't speak to the current version), I put up with the Tabac scent, and at best find it to be comforting but musty. It's a classic for a reason, but my ceramic jar sits unused these days; I don't mind the scent slowly fading into oblivion. I'm convinced Tabac's popularity around here is 80% meme.
Noble Otter, on the other hand, has just about everything going for it: some of my favorite wet shaving scents (Lonestar, Orbit, Thé Noir Et Vanille) and rarely a dudd in the bunch; best-in-class branding and packaging (though I vastly prefer the old label style to the new ones); a reliable soap base. As a counterpoint, while Noble Otter's current base is very quick to lather, I don't think the performance is top-tier in any other area. Still, it's a very good base. Combining that easy-mode lathering quality and above-average performance with every other metric takes the brand's soaps from good to great.
Noble Otter does it all really well and has a shot at winning this tournament.