why you should give a “Q” about a new hair dryer!
Conair Infiniti 3Q brushless Hair Dryer
You must have a hair dryer already, so why would you give a “Q” about getting another one?
Here’s why: This is a review of the new Infiniti Pro by Conair 3Q and it just might be a better, quieter, and more efficient upgrade to the one you have. And who doesn’t want something that works better?
The sleek-looking, bullet-shaped, hair dryer has a sleek, metallicized silver plastic body and it feels quite substantial in your hand. But it is the first brushless motor hair dryer available at mass market and the “Q” in it’s name is for the three main benefits it is offering: quick, quiet and quality. The claims by Conair are as follows”
- Quick: The advanced brushless motor in the 3Q provides ultra-fast airflow to reduce drying time by up to 70%. This means that hair is less exposed to the damaging effects of heat styling.
- Quiet: The 3Q is powerful, but boasts 40% less noise with patent-pending, noise reduction technology.
- Quality: Standard motors use carbon brushes that wear out over time and cause the motor to stop working. The 3Q uses magnets and electronics to power the motor, which extends the life of the dryer by up to 10x. When compared to dryers that use carbon brush motors, the 3Q is more powerful with 19,000 revolutions per minute (RPM) versus 16,000-18,000 for standard AC or DC motors.
The dryer also has some of the usual bells & whistles that a decent, pro-style dryer should have, such as:
o Ionic Technology for 75% less frizz, Titanium Ceramic technology for infrared heat to gently dry hair, 3 rocker switches for custom heat/speed settings: 3 heat settings, and 2 speed settings
o Locking True Cold Shot button which glows blue when in operation (this one locks and gets cold really quickly, a true bonus–and helps make hair shiny, lock in your style)!
In case you’re wondering what the big deal is about a brushless motor, it’s similar in this dryer to the Conair Curl Secret’s proprietary technology that launched last year. That unique device also uses a brushless motor to run more smoothly.
“The 3Q motor doesn’t have any brushes,” said Vito Carlucci, director of engineering at Conair. “The outside part spins so it gets a lot more torque. What makes the motor spin is the electronics and magnets so you get a smoother operation.” Also, the dryer runs at 19,000 revolutions per minute, which executives claim is the fastest of any retail dryer on the market. In comparison, a traditional direct-current motor has about 175 hours of life. An alternating current motor features 400 to 500 hours and the brushless motor consists of around 5,000 hours.
So does this dryer live up to the hype, and is it worth the suggested retail price of $119.99? I think it depends upon what your expectations of a hairdryer really are. Conair hopes to woo younger users with this dryer but I think it will be a hit with people of all ages, especially around holiday time.
Here are my thoughts, after testing the 3Q by Conair, for a while:
Quick: I have a lot of hair, and it is thick and wavy. It takes a long time to dry it. This dryer heats up to 160°F thanks to 3 heat and 2 speed settings with 1875 watts of drying power. But even at the highest heat level and speed, the hairdryer didn’t really reduce drying time dramatically by 70%. It did dry my hair reasonably fast, and with less frizz. The faster you can dry your hair, the faster you can get on with whatever else you want to do, but it also means you’re exposing your hair to less damage from heat. So I’ll give it 8 out of 10 points for being being “Quick” (the first Q)
Quiet: The dryer is not noisy, but it’s not the quietest dryer I have ever used. The company says that the Q3 dryer features up to 40 percent less noise from its patent-pending noise reduction design. Conair developed foam insulation that sits inside the dryer’s rear attachment piece and reduces the noise in the dryer. To my ears, this dryer is reasonably quiet. It would not disturb the average person sitting in the room with you, but I’d bet it would annoy a sleeping baby. Again, it’s all a matter of expectation. It’s quieter than most. I’ll give it 6 out of 10 points for (the second Q)
Quality: The dryer is definitely solid, very well made and well priced for the innovations that Conair is offering. In fact, Conair has always offered good quality appliances at varying price points. The dryer also comes with a very large wide diffuser and a concentrator. The 72″ cord is long and heavy-duty. I’ll give it a 9 out of 10 for quality.
The Infiniti Pro 3Q, is priced $119.99, and is in stores this month. It will launch in more than 15,000 U.S. doors, including Target, Ulta and Wal-Mart. For more information visit the Conair website
