Wahl Colour Pro Cordless Review: The £25 Home-Haircut Clipper, Honestly Assessed
Wahl’s cordless Colour Pro is built for the kitchen-table haircut, and the buyer evidence says it does that job well. The catch is in the charging: a twelve-hour charge for an hour of cordless use. We set out what Wahl promises, what buyers report and what nobody has measured.
Where the reviews line up
We could find no independent editorial bench test of this clipper, so the evidence comes from three places: Wahl UK’s own product page and specification, 167 verified buyers on Coolblue (who reviewed the Combo kit, which pairs this same clipper with a mini trimmer), and 75 customer reviews at Superdrug. On the essentials they agree.
Three things come up everywhere. It cuts well for the money — the blades get praise for sharpness from buyers who are mostly cutting family hair at home. The colour-coded combs are the point: eight guides from #1 to #8 plus left and right ear-taper combs make it hard to grab the wrong length, and beginners single the ear combs out as genuinely useful. And it is light and easy to handle.
The complaints are just as consistent. The battery is the weak spot: Wahl quotes 60 minutes of cordless use from a 12-hour charge, which buyers on both retailer sites call slow, and Superdrug reviewers mention a confusing charging light and patchy battery life. The good news is that it also runs plugged in, so a flat battery does not end the haircut. The plastic combs feel cheap, and only the blade rinses under the tap — the body is not waterproof.
Our reading: at around £25 this is a sensible first clipper for straightforward home haircuts. If you want a longer run time, a fully rinseable blade and a sturdier build, you are paying more than double for it.
The three reviews this summary is built from
- Wahl UKThe manufacturer’s own page: run time, charge time, what is in the box, the 3-year warranty.
- Coolblue8.6/10 from 167 verified-buyer reviews, on the Combo kit that includes this clipper.
- Superdrug75 customer reviews on the clipper itself — the clearest picture of the battery complaints.
Before the review: why this is not the Remington we planned
This page was meant to review the Remington HC5880 Virtually Indestructible clipper (sometimes wrongly listed as a “Pro Power Titanium Ultra” — that name belongs to the older HC5800, which Superdrug now shows as no longer available). On 6 October 2026 Remington’s own UK shop listed the HC5880 at £59.99 but out of stock, and we could not find a UK high-street retailer selling it new. Remington names no replacement, so we have reviewed the best-known cordless home clipper in the UK instead. For comparison, Remington quotes the HC5880 at up to 120 minutes cordless from a 4-hour charge, with a washable blade set.
Specification at a glance
| Spec | Figure | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Model | 9649-017 (sold as 9649-017X; Argos also lists a 9649-317X “Hair & Beard” version) | Wahl UK; Argos listing titles |
| Cordless run time | 60 minutes | Wahl UK, Superdrug, Notino all agree |
| Charge time | 12 hours | Wahl UK; buyers call it slow |
| Corded use | Yes — runs from the mains if the battery runs down | Wahl UK |
| Blade | Detachable, rinseable blade. Wahl UK says “precision ground”; one UK reseller says high-carbon steel; Wahl USA describes its US Color Pro as self-sharpening stainless steel | Sources disagree — see below |
| Cutting lengths | 0.8 mm to 25 mm | Wahl UK; Trolley listing repeats it |
| Guide combs | 8 colour-coded combs (#1–#8) plus left and right ear-taper combs — Wahl’s “10 attachment combs” | Wahl UK |
| Washable | Blade only. The body is not waterproof | Wahl UK; Coolblue buyers repeat it |
| Oiling | Recommended after each use; oil supplied | Wahl UK |
| In the box | Clipper, 10 combs, scissors, barber comb, soft case, blade oil, cleaning brush, charger, instructions | Wahl UK |
| Warranty | 3 years | Wahl UK; registration not mentioned |
| Price | £24.66–£37.00; Wahl’s own “was” price £36.99 | Wahl UK and Trolley price check, 6 October 2026 |
Wahl UK
Wahl’s page is the only place that sets out the full kit, and it is refreshingly plain about the numbers: 60 minutes of cordless running, a 12-hour charge, and the option to carry on cutting with the lead plugged in. That last point matters more than the run time. A family haircut takes ten to twenty minutes, so an hour covers a few heads — but if you forget to charge it, you are not stuck.
The box is generous for the price: eight colour-coded guide combs from #1 to #8, left and right ear-taper combs, scissors, a barber comb, oil, a brush and a soft case. The blade detaches and rinses; the body does not, and Wahl asks you to oil the blade after every use. It offers a 3-year warranty and says nothing about needing to register. This is a clipper, not a trimmer or a shaver: the guide combs are built for lengths on the head, and it is not designed to take beard stubble down to skin the way a foil shaver or a OneBlade-style hybrid does.
Watch: Wahl Colour Pro Cordless Hair Clipper 9649-017X
The exact UK model number in the title, so the most direct look at what you get in the box.
Watch on YouTube ↗Coolblue
Coolblue is a Benelux retailer, and its reviews cover the Combo kit sold there rather than the UK clipper-only box — so read the clipper comments, not the trimmer ones. With 167 reviews it is the largest rated sample we could reach for this clipper, and the score of 8.6 out of 10 is a solid rather than glowing one.
Buyers praise the sharpness of the blades and the number of combs, and the ear-taper guides come up as particularly helpful for beginners — a good sign for anyone attempting a first home haircut. The criticisms are specific and believable: a 12-hour charge for an hour of use is slow next to rivals, the plastic attachments feel fragile even though they work, and the body cannot go under the tap.
Watch: Wahl Colour Pro Cordless Hair Clippers, Full Review with Full Head Shave Demo
A full head-shave demonstration — the closest thing we found to a hands-on home-haircut test.
Watch on YouTube ↗Superdrug
These reviews sit on a page that sells the product, and without a visible average we are citing themes, not a score. They are still useful because the complaints are consistent with Coolblue’s. Several owners report short or inconsistent battery life, and the charging indicator light confuses people. Others find the jump between guide sizes too coarse for fine adjustments — a fair point for anyone trying to blend a fade at home — and some doubt how long the accessories will last.
On the positive side the same buyers like the cordless convenience, the light weight and the value. Read together, the message is that this is a well-judged basic clipper whose battery is the part most likely to disappoint, which is why the option to run it on the lead matters.
Watch: Don't Buy Wahl Color Pro Cordless
A critical take, and the US-spelt title suggests it shows the US Color Pro 9649, a close sibling of the UK model.
Watch on YouTube ↗Strengths and weak points
What holds up
- Sharp blades and an easy cut for straightforward home haircuts.
- Colour-coded #1–#8 combs make it hard to pick the wrong length.
- Ear-taper combs that beginners find genuinely useful.
- Runs on the mains when the battery is flat.
- A full kit — scissors, barber comb, case, oil — for around £25.
- 3-year warranty from Wahl.
What people complain about
- 12 hours to charge for 60 minutes of cordless use.
- Patchy battery life and a confusing charging light, per Superdrug reviewers.
- Plastic combs feel fragile.
- Only the blade is washable; the body is not waterproof.
- Steps between guide lengths are too coarse for fine blending.
- No editorial test exists, so durability rests on buyer comments alone.
Who it actually suits
Buy it if you want to cut your own or your family’s hair at home with guide combs — short back and sides, a grade all over, a tidy-up between barber visits — and you would rather spend £25 than £60. The coloured combs and ear guides make it forgiving for beginners.
Look elsewhere if you want a single tool for face and head stubble — a hybrid like the Philips OneBlade 360 is built for that — or a close daily shave, which is the job of a foil shaver such as the Braun Series 9 Pro+. And if a two-hour battery and a quicker charge matter, expect to pay more than double.
What we could not check
- Independent editorial testing. We found no Which?, Expert Reviews, T3 or similar bench test of this clipper. Nothing here should be read as expert-test backing.
- Blade material. Wahl UK says “precision ground”; UK reseller McGrocer says high-carbon steel; Wahl USA calls the US Color Pro’s blades self-sharpening stainless steel. We could not settle which is right for the UK 9649-017.
- Argos rating and price. Argos lists the 9649-017X and a 9649-317X version, but its pages did not render for us, so we have no Argos score, review count or price.
- Whether the 9649-317X differs from the 9649-017X beyond the “Hair & Beard” name.
- Warranty registration. Wahl UK states 3 years but does not say whether you must register.
- Battery type, weight and noise. No source we could reach published them.
- Superdrug’s average score. The page showed 75 reviews but no star rating.
- The videos were confirmed through search listings showing the exact watch addresses and titles, not by opening them; channel names were not shown in those listings.
Sources last checked 6 October 2026. Clipper prices move often — check the listing in front of you before ordering.