I got this as part of some travel-oriented shaving gear ahead of travelling home for Christmas. The first shave with this wasn't great, namely because I couldn't seem to work up a decent lather. I swapped out and mixed and matched items from my travel set up with my regular gear, and it seemed like the brush was the problem. But, it seemed better the second time than the first, so I started to think it just needed some breaking in. The third try was almost as good as my regular non-travel shave, so yeah, I'm happy now! I guess this is just a bit of forewarning - don't dismiss it immediately, it needs breaking in!