Meridian Trimmer Review: How It Stacks Up Against Manscaped

Let’s face it, we’ve all had our fair share of days struggling with different razors or scissors to clean up our pubes, balls and body hair with failures that nearly led us to hospitals.

But after much grinding, experimenting and extensive use, I can certainly present you with a solution to all these troubles for good.

Take a look at this ‘Meridian Trimmer Original’ – a trademark from the ball-shaving expert producers to take good care of your manhood and come out fresh after each trim!

To push it a notch, this Meridian trimmer review holds its competitor Manscaped’s flagship devices as a benchmark for measurement.

Thus, a Meridian vs Manscaped way of analysis should tell you how special this Trimmer Original is in the standard market!

What’s Inside the Box?

Let’s start off with the things you’ll find upon opening the box the trimmer comes in. Firstly and most certainly, you’ll find your Meridian Trimmer Original placed firmly inside the cleft.

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When you pull off the trimmer holder, you’ll see the accessories organized together – two guide combs (3-6mm, 9-12mm), one cleaning brush, one charging cable and one instruction manual.

Aside from the manual, the rest of the accessories are secured inside premium plastic wrappers which ensures safety inside the box.

It’s worth noting that the ceramic blades come attached to the trimmer, sparing you some time and effort.

The comb guards are dual sided and easy to attach/detach. Each guard can be rotated around to reach a different length setting, leaving you with less accessories to deal with.

Adorable yet Smart Design Design

I will not only discuss the stylist aspects of the trimmer, but also how it adds up to the grooming operation as a whole. From its size to the quality of grip, everything will be elaborated here!

What I Like

What I Don’t Like 

Size and Shape

The first thing I noticed on the trimmer is its unique size and shape. It has a matte housing that guarantees firm grip during regular body trimming activities.

The device measures up to almost 3.65 inches in length, 2.88 inches wide and 2.89 inches of depth. Its housing is made of plastic and so are the two attachment guide combs.

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You’ll find the curved shape to be intriguing, not only to look at from an aesthetic point of view, but also to find smooth edges providing ergonomics important to body grooming.

Grip

Because of such unique size and shape, the entire trimmer fits perfectly in the palm of my hand.

It’s worth noting that my hands are quite large, yet it hasn’t been an issue for me to hold on with a full grip as well as angular hold, both in dry and wet conditions.

I let a friend of mine with smaller hands hold it in the same way as I did, and he claimed it feels great holding on to, better than many other body trimmers at this price range.

I must confess that it can be a little tricky to hold on to at tighter angles because of the smooth housing texture. I guess you can’t have it both ways for a trimmer and it’s a matter of preference in the end.

However, the tiny size is what enabled my operations between my legs which had proven to be difficult with larger trimmers back in the day. So for pube and ball trimming, it almost gets my full marks in terms of grip.

Color Options

The Trimmer Original offers two color variants at the same cost. I got the Sage colored unit while the other alternative was a suave black unit.

Trimmer guards are matched with the housing color of the device, so no worries in that department. With each color variant, the Meridian logo and back texts are printed in white.

Additional Details

On this trimmer, the on/off button is a single push switch which is quite convenient for me. This button is made of rubber and quite responsive upon pressing.

However, if your shaving style includes placing the thumb on the middle of the device, you might have to remain slightly vigilant for accidental turn-offs.

You can pull open the shaver’s head to clean off hair particles using a brush and apply lubricants to the blades. These blades are held firmly against a spring and don’t fall out upon undoing the head.

Other than the button, the front portion holds LED battery indicator lights and the tail end hosts a traditional trimmer charging port for attaching the charging cable.

Some might claim it would’ve been nicer to have an LED display on the trimmer, but think about the extra cost it would add to the unit without any performance benefit!

Lasting Build Quality

Despite the plastic build, I’d have to concede that the housing is sturdy enough to withstand accidental slips once or twice.

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What I Like

What I Don’t Like 

Although I wouldn’t recommend dropping it every now and then since that is highly likely to leave behind some dents.

If you’re a cleaning freak as I am, you might find the matte finish on the housing to host handprints quite easily. It’s easy to clean though, and a non-matte finish would cause the trimmer to slip so that’s understandable.

One thing to remember is that the blades are made of ceramic, thus these won’t withstand damage as much as stainless steel blades would.

But the blades are premium and some of the strongest ceramic blades I’ve ever handled, so it’s not a dealbreaker for me.

Another thing worth mentioning is that I found the guide combs to be made with average plastic. I’m not suggesting these wouldn’t last, rather there exists sturdier attachments for the same trimmer out in the market.

The tray holding the blade in place isn’t fully detachable. For me, it has both upside and downside.

Upside is that the tray is less likely to be lost due to the permanent attachment, although it wobbles a little when opened.

The downside is that it can’t be separated for a thorough wash and a compromised mechanism would be slightly trickier to replace.

Removing the blades is quite easy – undo the head, pull up the spring and swap the old blade with a new one – simple!

Keep in mind that it doesn’t come with a charging brick, you can safely utilize your phone’s brick in this regard.

Mandatory Features: Check!

We now turn our heads to the most important bits – how much the ‘Original’ delivers against the features Meridian advertises!

What I Like

What I Don’t Like 

Ceramic Blades

The first and most important feature I found to be attractive is the inclusion of a ceramic blade. Since it’s a body groomer, precisely ball shaver, ceramics have always been my preference for a close yet nick-free trim.

It has a sharp set of blades that can mow any density of your lawn effortlessly and with no hint of pain. My recommendation would be to swap the blades out every six months if you’re a frequent shaver.

Otherwise, these can easily last you up to a year. But regular cleaning and lubricating are essential to retain the sharpness.

You should know that ceramic blades are ideal for trimming your pubic region and significantly kinder than stainless steel blades.

Although I’m not courageous enough (and neither should you be) to go zero gap my man jewels without any guard.

Because no matter how much these products are advertised to be safe for ball shaving or similar actions, careless zero gapping can leave you bleeding for most cases.

Motor Power

Sharp blades require motors with high torque, and such a small unit has got both of these qualities. I wouldn’t call it the most powerful motor in the market, but it gets the job done when it comes to body trimming.

The motor is remarkably quiet, so if it’s one of your concerns, Meridian got you covered there. Just a minor buzz is all I got out of my frequent uses.

Waterproof

A good body trimmer must be waterproof – this is the motto I believe in and the Trimmer Original excels in this category.

Wet shaves have been almost as flawless as dry ones and the device doesn’t give in to any capacity of water flowing from the shower.

But in terms of closeness, I’d still go back to dry settings as it gives me more of a practical sense of how much hair I got to remove and the degree of hair heads popping out on my skin.

Another great thing about the waterproof feature is it lets me wash the device under running water. So gone are the days where you had to undo your blades for washing or struggle with the brush to get every nook and cranny cleaned.

Remember to keep the device turned off while cleaning the blades under water for extra safety.

Battery Life

Meridian advertises this device to carry an 800 mAh battery inside. As mentioned, there are LED indicators on the face of the trimmer with three levels of lights to indicate how much charge you have left.

Ideally, such a battery shouldn’t take much longer to charge and I was able to crank it up fully within a 2 hour threshold.

How long does it last? It lasts considerably long if I state casually. Since my ball shaving routine consisted of performing twice a month, I squeezed out optimum performance throughout a month with one full charge.

At a stretch, you’ll easily get the full throttle of the motor for over an hour, and slightly reduced torque up to an additional 30 minutes before the trimmer demands another charge.

I’d rank this battery life alongside other top body trimmers like Manscaped or Phillips. Highly satisfied would be my opinion on this.

As per the charging cable, I’m highly disappointed that the ‘Original’ variant consists of the older generation of charging ports. But most other trimmers at this price point haven’t upgraded to Type-C, so that’s a loss we have to concede.

One skeptic take on the charging would be the absence of a charging dock, but most trimmers that come with such docks cost a little bit extra.

No Travel Lock?

I would’ve expected this trimmer to have a travel lock for my convenience of carrying it around inside a luggage.

Other trimmers like the Lawn Mower 4.0 have one. Despite the price gap, this is something I’d expect this ‘Original’ device to have.

Although, an additional lock button would compromise the sophisticated look on the housing. So if that was Meridian’s concern, I’ll have mixed feelings about this.

Performance

How does it feel to use this trimmer for ball shaving and body grooming? Let’s see from an experienced user’s point of view!

What I Like

What I Don’t Like 

Quality of Shave

Let’s now tackle the big issues here. As for the quality of the shave, I don’t really have many complaints. The blades latch on to the pubic hair conveniently and get rid of the volume without leaving behind any trace of discomfort.

That said, don’t expect a fully clean shave like a wax-job or manual razor shave. Even if you go for a close shave without the guide combs, it won’t exactly be as good as a ‘clean’ facial shave.

But I was ready to concede this anyway because most other ball trimmers at this price range perform somewhat in a similar manner.

The guide combs do function properly, trimming down at the set length between 3 mm to 12 mm with four increment points.

No matter how you look at it, these guides are merely there to protect your sensitive skin bits and nothing more than that.

Trimming with such guards on both the balls and body leaves behind a trail of hair and is quite impractical if you desire to have a clean shave, so keep your expectations limited.

If it’s any consolation, most other trimmers priced like this have the same issue with comb guards, this has to do with the limitation of technology.

What are we left with when the shaving is done? A skin with slightly tangible hair heads but looks clean from a broader spectrum.

The zero gap shave gives you about 3-5 days of freedom from any degree of body hair and about a couple week’s escape from trimming your testicles.

But of course, it varies from person to person based on their hair growth rate.

Comfort

This Meridian ball trimmer is comforting – both during the operation and experiencing the aftermath of the grooming.

Guide combs safely protect the skin from the sharpness of the blade and sufficiently feed the hair to be chopped off neatly.

Though I wouldn’t be too adventurous around my testis. Learn the proper protocols of ball shaving and treat it like most other expensive ball trimmers, it doesn’t offer anything magical to protect your precious parts from nicks or cuts.

Apart from the parts where you have loose skin, even the sensitive areas could be trimmed without enduring any nicks. But I’d recommend going that far only if you sufficiently know your way around with a trimmer.

Other than that, body shaving has felt the safest for me even without the guards. If you’re careful enough, you can even get away with a cleanly trimmed body with no burning sensation and ingrown hair afterward.

If you didn’t know already, this device is a unisex trimmer for both male and female. From the bikini wax to leg-shaving, it has the caliber to deliver fine results in the scale of body trimming.

Shower Shave

I’m not big on shower shaving because water makes it tricker to trace how much hair I precisely have left to be trimmed.

I treat it as more of a pre-shower ball trimmer since this is more convenient to remove all the hair, flush them out and get a full shower to clean off the remaining mess.

If you must, the running water can help soften down your body hair and wash away the mess instantly. But it complicates shaving the testicular region by a significant margin.

First off, moisture makes it difficult to be precise at that area, and secondly it’d be quite difficult to see where you’re actually operating since it doesn’t have any LED light up front like the Lawn Mowers.

From my perception, I’m not a big fan of Meridian for shaving my balls in the shower – I’d much rather do it in dry circumstances. No complaints about body shaving though.

Just a word of advice, be extra careful with the grip if you use it inside the shower. The lack of defined edges on the housing might slip the device out of your palms without a firm hold.

Ease of Use

As you can see, this is one of the most straightforward body trimming devices you could ever find on the market.

Simply charge it up, pop the button to turn it on and go shaving any part of your body! Post-care and cleaning are quite easy too, rendering it a low-maintenance trimmer you could possibly own.

The weight in this trimmer is around 4.23 ounces – nothing to exhaust your hand even after longer trimming sessions.

As an anecdote, I tried using this trimmer to shave my face to check out its capabilities and surprisingly it worked quite well! My facial hair isn’t the coarsest kind, so I got away with a semi-clean trim.

If your facial hair is coarse and thick, I don’t think the Meridian would perform as good as other specialized shaving units.

For the ones with facial hair like me, this beauty is capable of being pushed that far! BUT it is highly inadvisable to use the same trimmer on your body/pubes and face – it can cause all sorts of infections!

Price to Performance

No matter how good of a trimmer is out there on the market to safely trim your balls and turn the pair into the smoothest state possible, budget remains an issue at all times.

On one hand, no one would want to spend hundreds on a trimmer that underperforms, and on the other cheap trimmers causing bloody balls would be a nightmare for our manhood.

Priced below a hundred bucks, I’d say Meridian has placed a spot-on price tag on the device! Only alternative to this device for ball trimming and body shaving would be the Lawn Mower 4.0 which costs somewhat extra.

We are getting a waterproof trimmer carrying premium ceramic blades and a motor powerful enough, good battery life, guide combs, brush and charger – all the necessities within this price point.

For what it’s worth, the fact that it doesn’t come with a charging station and the charging port isn’t a Type-C can be easily overlooked.

I’d have to call it a bargain for people who want to make a long-term investment in body grooming since it can perform almost all of it conveniently.

Manscaped vs Meridian: Difference in Features

Manscaped Lawn Mower 4.0 and Meridian Original are two of the most wanted body grooming units in the market, especially in the area of ball trimming.

Let’s see their differences to know precisely how they stack up against one another!

There are some more unique differences between the Manscaped device and Meridian Original that separate one from the other neatly.

I don’t think these variances would be a game changer for anyone, but it’s better to put them out there for the ball shaving enthusiasts to grasp a better understanding of each.

Blade Width

The Meditian trimmer excels here with a miniscule width advantage of ¼”. I know it’s not much but it tends to add up to the bigger picture if you’re to deal with huge chunks of chest or leg hair.

Lawn Mower 4.0 has a blade width of 1.25” while the Meridian’s is 1.50”. If I’m being honest, this gap doesn’t matter much if solely utilized for ball or genitalia cleaning purposes.

Battery Type/Capacity

Manscaped has always been proud to announce the capacity of their battery for all the trimmer geeks (including myself) out there.

Lawn Mower contains a 600 mAh li-ion battery, one that most of the advanced trimmers are equipped with. I’m sure the Meridian trimmer has something similar within, but the brand has never disclosed this information with their consumers. What a shame.

RPM

Rotations per minute indicate how efficiently the ceramic blades can trim through your bushes and how little irritation it can cause.

Manscaped has the edge here with their 7,000 RPM motor as the Meridian unit carries a 6,000 RPM motor. However, for comfortable body grooming, both are above the minimum 4,000/5,000 RPM range.

Weight

Such a powerful motor demands a strong battery and all of it tends to pile down on the weight of a device. That’s why Lawn Mower 4.0 weighs 8 ounces while the Meridian device weighs almost half – 4.23 ounces.

With a borderline compromise that doesn’t harm performance, Meridian managed to design this super lightweight trimmer for maximum trimming comfort.

And it does pay out well! I never got tired of holding on to it even during longer manscaping sessions. You don’t win if you’re not smart!

So all of the cats are out of the bag now. As I lay these devices and their secret bare before you, it’s time for you to check whether your verdict is the same as mine!

Does the Meridian Trimmer Have Any Warranty?

Yes! Most of the Meridian trimmers are covered by the brand with a limited warranty period. This device in particular comes with a 1-year warranty for defects that are in compliance with the manufacturer’s policy.

However, they only provide warranty for the product and not for your nicked balls, so constant vigilance while trimming down there!

About Meridian

If you’re an old-school grooming enthusiast with knowledge of the industry, Meridian might strike as an unorthodox brand to you.

But if you’ve been active in the grooming market since 2018, there’s no way you haven’t heard of Meridian and their prowess with body grooming.

The company initially began with ball shaving ventures and it soon branched out into other relevant products focused on bodily parts.

Inclusivity is one of their biggest approaches these days and the trimmers (even the ball shavers) are equipped to serve both men and women’s body grooming needs.

Good thing is, if you need attachments for your Meridian trimmer, replacement parts, blades or even care products for your pubic region – they have got it all at your disposal!

The Meridian Family: Trimmer vs Trimmer Plus vs Trimmer Premium

Photo Credit: @Meridiangrooming

Meridian went for a unique manner of naming their three body grooming aka ball shaving trimmer units.

The three available models are named: Trimmer Original, Trimmer Premium and Trimmer Plus. Each has their very own characteristics and features.

These versions look almost identical apart from the Meridian Trimmer Plus, which has a separate outlook in terms of housing design.

Let’s get their major differences out of the way with a compact table of comparison to learn how they are distinct devices from one another.

As you can see, the Trimmer Original consists of the most basic features Meridian offers. In terms of performance or quality, the three are almost inseparable.

Major differences lie in terms of color choices as the Plus and Premium offers four (04) additional options.

Also, the Plus and Premium takes lead from the Original when it comes to a universal USB Type-C port and availability of travel lock.

Otherwise, the Trimmer Plus is the most feature-heavy among three, with an in-built LED guide light and a charging dock that comes with the package.

However, apart from these gaps in features, there’s little difference among the three units. So it really comes down to your preference – how much more you want from a convenient grooming experience.

Out of these three, our prime focus today would be on the Trimmer Original – the pioneering version of godlike ball trimming within our pocket’s reach!

Verdict

We’ve turned over every possible page of design, feature, performance and experience for this Meridian trimmer review.

It’s not time to choose sides – would I buy it if I were a regular consumer or would I not?

My heartfelt and most genuine answer would be – YES! I’d most certainly grab it for me in a heartbeat!

I mean, think about it, a trimmer that looks good, built to last, blades that don’t terrify my testicles and superior comfort after getting the job done – all of it way under $100 – what’s not to love about it!

This could be a solution to every body grooming challenge considering the price point because I clearly don’t see another unit at this price defeating the Meridian monster!