NOVAH Clipper Review: What They Do Well and Where They Fall Short

By Elias Becker · Written and reviewed by a working barber · Updated September 2026 · 10 min read

Who Is Writing This, and Why That Matters

NOVAH Grooming makes the clipper reviewed here. This is not an independent test and it would be dishonest to present it as one.

That being the case, the only thing a review like this can usefully offer is specificity. Anyone can write that their own product is excellent. What is harder, and more useful to you, is naming the things it does not do, the figures we will not publish, and the buyer we think should choose something else. Those sections are further down and they are the reason this page exists.

For an independent view, the Amazon listing carries a 4.6 star average across more than 11,000 reviews at the time of writing. Those are written by people who bought the product and owe us nothing, and they are a better source than we are for whether it holds up in ordinary use.

What Is Actually in the Box?

The core combo pairs a clipper and a trimmer. Both share the same design language: a lightweight metal unibody, an LCD screen showing battery level and the current setting, and a two-speed control.

Guards are metal rather than plastic, and the set includes half sizes. That last detail sounds minor and is not. A #0.5 and a #1.5 are the guards that do most of the blending work in a fade, and plenty of kits at this price ship whole sizes only, which quietly makes fading harder than it needs to be.

The unibody construction is the thing most people notice first, and the reason it is built that way is hand fatigue. A fade is a long cut. Holding a clipper at awkward angles for forty minutes, in a mirror, is where cheap tools become genuinely unpleasant to use, and weight distribution matters more than raw weight.

What Does It Do Well?

The taper lever has a usable range. This is the single most important thing about a clipper intended for fading, and it is where budget machines most often disappoint. The lever needs enough travel that a three-quarter position genuinely cuts differently from a fully open one. If the range is too narrow, every lever position does roughly the same thing and you are effectively back to blending with guards alone, which does not work.

The motor holds its speed under load. 6,000 RPM standard, 7,000 RPM in turbo. The figure matters less than the consistency: a motor that bogs down when it hits dense hair leaves lines, because the effective cutting length changes mid-stroke.

The guard set is complete. Half sizes included, metal rather than plastic, so they hold their shape rather than flexing away from the blade under pressure.

It is a reasonable tool to learn on. The video above is a working barber cutting a full self-fade with this set, which is a fair demonstration of the ceiling. If a barber can execute a mid drop skin fade on his own head with these, the tools are not what is limiting a beginner.

Where Does It Fall Short?

Three genuine limitations, stated plainly.

1. We do not publish a battery runtime figure. Not because it is embarrassing, but because we have not run a test we are confident enough in to print a number from. Runtime varies with speed setting, hair density and battery age, and a single headline figure measured under favourable conditions would be marketing rather than information. The practical consequence for you is real: if guaranteed runtime is the deciding factor in your purchase, we cannot currently answer that question and you should weigh that accordingly.

2. The warranty term is not something we will state here. Our product specifications list one year. Some older material has circulated with a different figure, and until that is reconciled we would rather point you to the warranty terms on the product page at the time of purchase than repeat a number that might be wrong.

3. It is a cordless consumer and prosumer tool, not a shop workhorse. A clipper running most of an eight-hour day, every day, is a different category of product with different tradeoffs, usually corded or with a swappable battery system. We do not build that, and buying this for that duty cycle would be a mistake.

Who Should Buy Something Else?

Full-time barbers cutting all day. See limitation three. Duty cycle is the issue, not capability.

Anyone who needs a guaranteed runtime number before buying. We cannot give you one. A brand that publishes a tested figure has answered a question we have not, and if that question is decisive for you, that is a legitimate reason to buy theirs.

Anyone who only ever cuts one length all over. If you buzz your head at a #2 and have no interest in fading, you are paying for a lever, a half-guard set and a two-speed motor that you will never use. A basic single-speed clipper does that job for considerably less money and we would rather you kept the difference.

Anyone who wants to cut with scissors over comb. That is a shear technique. No clipper, ours included, is the right purchase for it.

Who Is It Actually For?

The person cutting their own hair, or their family's, every two to three weeks, who wants to fade rather than just buzz.

That is a specific buyer and it is who the feature set is built around. The lever range, the half guards and the two-speed motor are all things that only start to matter once you are trying to blend rather than clip. If you are that person, the case is straightforward: the tool will not be the limiting factor in your results, and everything after that is practice.

The secondary case is the barber who wants a cordless machine for lineups, home visits or as a backup rather than as their primary chair tool. The weight and the guard set suit that. The battery question above is less pressing when the machine is not carrying an entire day.

How Does It Compare on Price?

We are going to be careful here rather than comprehensive, because comparing our own product against named competitors in our own review is not a position from which we can be trusted to be fair.

What we can say usefully is what the money is buying, so you can judge any clipper against the same list. At the sub-100 dollar end, the things that usually get removed to hit a price are the taper lever range, the half guards, the metal guard construction and the motor's ability to hold speed under load. Those four are exactly what a fade depends on. A clipper missing them is not a worse fading clipper, it is a clipper that is not really for fading.

Above roughly 150 dollars you start paying for duty cycle, replaceable battery systems and blade metallurgy aimed at all-day professional use. If you are not cutting all day, most of that spend does not reach you.

Our position is in the middle of that, and the honest summary is that we have prioritised the fading feature set over the professional duty cycle. Whether that is the right trade depends entirely on which of the two buyers above you are.

NOVAH Pro Clipper + Trimmer

A cordless clipper for the bulk of the cut and a trimmer for lineups, edging and detail work, sold together as one set.

View on Amazon

Frequently Asked Questions

Are NOVAH clippers good for fading?

Fading is what the feature set is built around: a taper lever with real range, metal half-size guards, and a two-speed motor that holds speed under load. Those are the four things a fade depends on. We make them, so weigh that, but the 4.6 star average across 11,000-plus Amazon reviews is a more independent read.

How long does the NOVAH clipper battery last?

We do not publish a figure. We have not run a runtime test to a standard we are willing to print from, and a headline number measured under favourable conditions would be marketing rather than information. This is a genuine gap, and if guaranteed runtime is decisive for you, it is a fair reason to buy elsewhere.

What RPM is the NOVAH clipper?

6,000 RPM on the standard setting and 7,000 RPM in turbo. Those figures are confirmed and we will stand behind them.

Do NOVAH clippers come with half guards?

Yes. The set includes half sizes such as the #0.5 and #1.5 in metal. This matters more than it sounds, because half sizes do most of the blending work in a fade and plenty of kits at similar prices ship whole numbers only.

Are NOVAH clippers suitable for a working barber?

For lineups, home visits or as a backup, yes. As the primary machine running most of an eight-hour day, no. All-day duty cycle is a different product category, usually corded or with a swappable battery system, and we do not build that.

What is the warranty on NOVAH clippers?

Our product specifications list one year, but some older material has circulated with a different term. Rather than repeat a figure that may be wrong, check the warranty terms shown on the product page at the time you buy.

Sources

1. NOVAH x Faded Culture self-cut tutorial (embedded above)
2. NOVAH Pro Clipper product specifications
3. Amazon customer reviews for NOVAH Grooming clippers, 11,000+ ratings
4. NOVAH Grooming internal product documentation, 2026

Related Reading

• How to do a skin fade at home, step by step
• How to blend clipper guard lines without leaving a shelf
• How to cut your own hair with clippers
• One Clipper Kit for the Whole Family: What Actually Matters
• Head, Face and Neck: A Complete Routine With Clipper, Trimmer and Foil Shaver