## Summary
We bought Philips ONE by Sonicare electric toothbrushes for travel. Here's why we chose this item and a short review of how it's been so far.
## What we wanted
We use Braun Oral B 3772 toothbrushes at home. They're not especially fancy as far as electric toothbrushes go, but they've been doing the job. Jen in particular notices a big difference in brushing with a manual toothbrush after a few days of travel; her teeth just never feel as clean as they do at home.
Our Oral B toothbrushes aren't particularly travel friendly though. The handle is rather large and requires a base charging unit that plugs into the wall that feels unwieldy, especially for carry-on bags. It originally came with a travel case (who knows where that ended up) but it seemed comically large to actually travel with. Our next trip is to Portugal and Spain, and because it’s not dual voltage, we'd need an additional converter to use the already large charger with.
So we decided to upgrade to a more travel friendly version, one that lands somewhere between what we have at home and a manual toothbrush.
Our primary consideration is portability: overall size matters most, including travel case and any charging cords. It also needed to have a two minute timer and a quadpacer, as much of the effectiveness of this level of electric toothbrush is simply about putting in the required time.
After surveying all the options, it came down to three choices:
- Quip
- Philips One
- Philips 4100
### Quip
Quip is about as simple as you can get: it's barely larger than a manual toothbrush and has one button. It has a timer and pacer, and a neat little carrying case that doubles as a stand and can stick to the mirror too. It's also waterproof, which probably doesn't matter for how I travel, but part of me has considered (_foreshadowing!_) getting one for my home shower where I currently keep a disposable toothbrush for an occasional brushing. There seem to be a variety of knock-off brush heads available, which is also nice.
The drawbacks? I'm not a fan of brush heads with rubber bits on them. And countless reviews claim the motor doesn't feel as strong as competing brushes, even though Quip says its motor provides 15,000 vibrations per minute (which is more than the 13,000 vpm that Philips One claims).
### Philips Sonicare 4100
The 4100 looks like a solid option for someone needing a more powerful motor—it functions at 31,000 vpm, more than double that of the Quip and Philips One. So it's a slightly different class of electric toothbrush. While it's more travel friendly than what we currently use at home, we decided to try a less capable but easier to pack model first and only upgrade if we needed it.
## We decided on the Philips One
We decided on the [Philips One by Sonicare Battery Toothbrush](https://amzn.to/3G11XH4) (affiliate link)
There seems to be a slew of generic replacement heads on Amazon, including some with their own head covers which would further reduce the overall packing size. The handle is nice and I prefer the brush head style—sans rubber bristles—and it feels a bit less spartan than the Quip.
The drawback of the Philips is definitely its size, however. It's one of the smaller electric toothbrushes you'd find, and it's case is not wonky large like many of its competitors, but it's long enough that it is an annoyingly snug fit in the "dental" area of my toiletry bags.
([Here's a decent review from Packhacker](https://packhacker.com/travel-gear/philips/one-battery-toothbrush-by-sonicare/))
## Why we got the battery over the rechargeable version
While a rechargeable toothbrush seemed ideal, the devil is often in the details. In this case, while the toothbrush has a USB-C port, it apparently [will only charge using a USB-C to USB-A cord](https://www.usa.philips.com/c-f/XC000019555/how-to-charge-your-philips-one-rechargeable-toothbrush), which is provided. We have no other devices that we'd use a C-to-A cable with, so that means we'd have to bring this extra cable or an adaptor on any trips that approach its "30-day" charge duration, and it's yet another thing to charge every time we get home.
Additionally, the rechargeable version uses a lithium battery, which means we couldn't keep it in checked luggage. While we normally carry-on, it's just another con for the rechargeable, along with its much higher price.
On the flipside, the 90-day battery life of the single AAA-powered battery version should last most of the year. The downside here is that, unlike the rechargeable version, you can't tell when the battery is running low. But we'd likely just replace the battery every 6 months just to be safe, swapping it out with one of our rechargeable AAAs at home.
## Ok fine, I bought the Quip too
Why? Because I _really_ like the form factor, and I was a bit annoyed that the Philips One didn't fit into the spot I had always kept my toothbrush and couldn't be used in the shower.
And, true to some of the reviews I read, I also think that the Quip is underpowered compared to its competitors and doesn't clean quite as well. That said, I'd still rate it as better than a manual toothbrush, though.
## After one month of travel...and at-home use
I'm quite pleased with the Philips One as a travel toothbrush. I’ve used it for about 30 nights now and I'd recommend it to others.
I’ve also been using the Quip in the shower for a couple months now. And I’ve come to like it more than I had expected.
When it really comes down to it, the timer is the most important bit in an electric toothbrush. If you brush for 2+ minutes, your teeth are going to feel clean.