Quip Toothbrush Review vs Sonicare ProtectiveClean 4100: Pros & Cons and Verdict

Quip is the newer brand in the electric toothbrush industry but was featured in Time’s 25 Best Inventions of 2016.  With its sleek and lightweight design, will Quip be able to compete with a more popular and proven competitor such as Sonicare that is known for durability and powerful motors?

Electric toothbrushes are not new and are usually preferred by many consumers for the promise of more efficient plaque removal and better overall oral care.

There’s always a selling point in each brand, something that makes it stand out from the competition, and it can be confusing for consumers who are in the market to look for a better choice.

In this review, I try to reveal the strengths and weaknesses of both Quip and Sonicare, together with the features that make both brands stand out.

Quip has gained a lot of attention due to its aggressive approach to oral care. Unlike other brands that rely on consumers to keep track of their toothbrush usage and deciding when to refill or replace their brush heads, Quip offers a worry-free subscription service that delivers a package of everything that you need for oral hygiene every 3 months.

Sonicare, on the other hand, is a brand that is popular for delivering great quality electric toothbrushes, equipped with consumer-trusted powerful motors that often set the benchmark for electric toothbrushes.

Sonicare 4100 is one of their compact models that have gained a lot of traction due to positive reviews from consumers who are loyal to the brand.

• Is Quip just a hyped product or are they actually the real deal?

• Will the ProtectiveClean 4100 be able to live up to Philip's reputation?

• Or fail to surpass Quip’s design and features?

Let’s find out.

In-Depth Quip Toothbrush Review

Quip has a unique approach in oral care, and it has encouraged many consumers (like me) to test their service.

With their subscription, I had the option to just get the Quip toothbrush with regular delivers of consumables, or purchase all the essentials for better oral hygiene, including a travel case that can be wall-mounted Quip refill, and a sleek refillable floss, which I must add, I never thought I cared about dental flosses but this is my favrite and I started using it every night.

What I love about the Quip Toothbrush:

• I really love the minimalistic and sharpness of the toothbrush's build. This is probably the only toothbrush that I would leave on my bathroom vanity!
• Lightweight
• It has a built-in smart timer for 2-minute brushing, and every 30-second it gives a little pulse to remind you to change Quadrants.
• Sensitive, silent sonic vibrations
• The battery lasts for up to 3 months.

When switching from a manual to an electric toothbrush, the difference is self-evident. Quip, for example, can perform 15,000 movements per minute, which is way more than what manual brushes can offer.

The main reasons why people still like manual toothbrushes better than electric toothbrushes are; Electric toothbrushes are bulky and take up a lot of space. Also, they have wide handles, and they can get in the way when brushing your back teeth.

This is where Quip takes a jab on all other electric toothbrushes.

The size is almost the same as a manual toothbrush. That means there’s no bulky handle, and you can easily hold it at any angle, which makes cleaning the back molar easier and more effective.

And there are no cords to recharge the battery. It looks, feels, and weighs just like an ordinary toothbrush. This means your vanity will be as neet as it was before you made the change to an electric toothbrush.

We are all used to handling and using certain angles when brushing our teeth. Basically, Quip is a manual toothbrush that gives you the sonic vibration just like an ordinary electric toothbrush.

The Quip brush may not seem like a game-changer for electric brushes, but if you consider the lightweight design and sleek build, it’s not hard to understand why it has gained so much popularity from consumers.

The handle of the Quip is where you can find the removable AAA batteries and can easily be replaced with the batteries that come with their quarterly deliveries or with the ones that can be bought straight from electronics stores.

Quip batteries last for up to 3 months. Removable batteries for electric toothbrushes may seem like a huge disadvantage, but if it is waterproof and would mean that I won’t have to deal with bulky handle and wires, then I’ll be ok with it any day.

The only downside to the design of Quip is the lack of battery indicator. It’s not a must-have feature, but would be nice to know when to replace the battery. With a lifespan of up to 3 months; the lack of a battery indicator is not really a deal-breaker.

The Quip was designed to be lightweight, so novelty features that take up unnecessary spaces can easily be forgiven. Just keep this in mind when you decide to go with Quip – have some replacement batteries ready at all times.

Dentists always recommend that we brush for at least 2 minutes, but you’ll be surprised how long it takes when you have a built-in timer. Timers are not new in electric toothbrushes, but for most people who are using manual brushes, maybe it’s time to start practicing good oral habits with a reliable timer.

Quip features a 2-minute timer and delivers a pulse every 30 seconds, so you’ll know when to move to other areas of your mouth.

The motor is probably the biggest jaw-dropping feature of Quip. It’s just hard to comprehend how they were able to create a motor so small and still manage to deliver 15,000 movements per minute.

Imagine doing that with a manual toothbrush, which is almost the same size as this electric toothbrush. The motor is also removable and is covering the battery, so cleaning the handle of Quip comes naturally every time you replace the brush head and battery.

Being lightweight is not a feature that I normally find in electric toothbrushes, and this is where Quip is, hands down, the best. It’s portable, lightweight, and wireless, and whenever I have a road trip, I toss it in the travel case, put it in my bag, and I'm good to go.

Plus, the travel case can be wall-mounted, so your toothbrush will always be exactly where you need it to be.

The subscription plan may seem like a small deal, but try to give it a serious thought for a second, when was the last time that you went to the market just to look for a toothbrush? We rarely even think of getting a toothbrush while walking through the aisle.

It’s so basic, yet we always forget about it. So it’s not random and there’s a reason why you normally find them at the cashier just before you checkout!

With the subscription plan for Quip, the toothbrush heads, batteries and even the toothpaste will be delivered to you every 3 months. This serves as a reminder that you need to replace your toothbrush, clean the handle and replace the battery.

Not only does this encourage better oral care, but it also takes care of the burden of keeping track as to when you need to replace your toothbrush!

In-Depth Sonicare ProtectiveClean 4100 Review

Sonicare is a trusted brand when it comes to oral care, and their products last for years! In fact, one of my friends has used the same Sonicare model for the last 15 years!

The ProtectiveClean 4100 is the stripped version of their feature-rich electric toothbrushes, but it did not fail to include the features needed for efficient brushing and plaque removal.

Features of the Sonicare ProtectiveClean 4100:

• Smartimer and Quadpacer.
• Pressure sensor with indicator
• Built-in BrushSync technology.
• Easy Start program.

When it comes to the design, Sonicare 4100 feels sturdy and comfortable to hold. Once you get a hold of this electric toothbrush, you know that it was built with power and durability at the center of its design.

It is capable of delivering 31,000 movements per minute, making it more effective in going in between your teeth and providing better angles that a manual toothbrush cannot provide. It’s also not as bulky as other electric toothbrushes that have the same motor capacity.

It features a Smartimer to keep track of your brushing session and alert you when 2 minutes have passed. Everyone knows that proper brushing takes 2 minutes, but how can you be sure that you really take 2 minutes to brush your teeth without a proper timer? Of course, this is not new for electric toothbrushes, but another advantage that it has over manual brushes.

The Quadpacer on the other hand, delivers a pulse every 30 seconds, to remind you to switch to other areas of your mouth. It ensures that brushes are evenly distributed on all parts of your mouth, which is another good habit that a lot of people often miss.

Can you remember when was the last time you count 1 to 30 then move on the other parts of your mouth while brushing?

Too much pressure when brushing your teeth can damage your gums or remove the protective enamel of your teeth, and most people don’t notice it at all. Sonicare 4100 has a built-in sensor that lights up the handle when you are applying too much pressure while brushing.

This makes the overall experience more pleasurable and results in better oral health. Another advantage that it offers is that applying too much pressure while brushing shortens the lifespan of the brush head, so this feature improves the long-term value of the device as well.

Dentists are recommending that we replace our brushes at least once every 3 months, but who really has time to keep track of that? The built-in BrushSync technology keeps track of the number of times you have used the same brush head, together with the pressure that was applied each time you brush your teeth.

It will use both of these parameters and alert you when the brush head is no longer effective in removing plaque and when it’s time to replace it.

The Easy Start program will make it much easier to switch from manual brushing to electric toothbrush. If you switch from manual to a toothbrush with the capability to deliver 31,000 movements per minute, it can be shocking and may even lead some to avoid electric toothbrushes.

With this program, Sonicare will gradually adjust the power of the toothbrush for the first 14 times that you use it until you reach the full cleaning power. This is one of the features that made Sonicare a popular choice for consumers who are trying out electric toothbrushes for the first time.

The battery of Sonicare 4100 is rechargeable and lasts for up to 14 days in a single charge, which is impressive considering its size and the power that its motor has. It features a battery indicator that lights up when a recharge is needed.

What makes it better is that it doesn't just die down and still works on full power until the battery is completely depleted. 

The curved tip of this electric brush makes it easier for you to clean the hard-to-reach areas. These are the areas where plaque accumulates and are often ignored because they are impossible to reach with normal toothbrushes.

This makes Sonicare 4100 7 times more effective in removing plaque and provide better overall oral health.

Sonic technology is probably the pillar for the success of all Sonicare models, and 4100 also comes with this feature. What it does is that it performs different movements that push toothpaste bubbles in between your teeth to remove food and bacteria without scrubbing and scraping the surface of your teeth.

It also eliminates the bacteria from developing along the gum lines without irritating or damaging your gums. Both of these areas are the hardest to clean when you are using a manual toothbrush and are considered as one of the leading causes of deterioration.

Comparison of Quip and Sonicare ProtectiveClean 4100

Both products have different strengths and weaknesses. Quip provides a minimalist approach to oral care while offering better portability and comfort.

Sonicare 4100 is more focused on power, features, and durability. This is the reason why it can be quite difficult to have a direct comparison, as it is tailored to fit different needs.

1. Timer and Pacer

2 minutes is the time that it takes to properly brush your teeth and both the Quip and Sonicare 4100 have a 2-minute timer feature built-in. Since you don't have to track the time that it takes for you to brush your teeth, you can simply focus on brushing, or in the case of electric toothbrushes, focus on feeling that it is getting cleaned.

30 seconds on each side of your mouth. That's the time you need to spend on each side to remove bacteria and food. Both products have a 30-second pacer that delivers a pulse to remind you that it is time to move to the other part of your mouth.

This is a staple feature in every electric brush, and not having it will be a disaster, considering the power that these brushes deliver per minute.

2. Portability

Quip is one of the most portable electric toothbrushes that you will find in the market. In fact, it is just slightly bigger than conventional brushes and it's lightweight too! This makes it easier to bring wherever you go, and they did not fail to highlight this feature by adding a sleek travel case into the package that you will receive from your subscription.

Brush after lunch in the office, on a trip or anywhere you can think of. This is what Quip is encouraging you to do – practice better oral care anywhere.

The ProtectiveClean 4100 is also more compact compared to other brushes in the market. The design is comfortable and easy to use, but it is not as unobtrusive as the Quip. Since you can use it without a cord, it's also possible to carry it wherever you go. Although your options may be limited due to it's slightly bulkier design.

3. Handle and Grip

When brushing, our hands can, sometimes, get wet and this can be an issue for some consumers. The 4100 has contours on the handle making it easy to hold the device while brushing and even when your hands are wet.

Quip, on the other hand, is known for its sleek design and without the contours, it can be a bit easier to slip and fall so practicing extra caution for this device is advised.

4. Movements Per Minute

Compared to manual brushes, even the weaker Quip can surpass all designs and features that a manual brush could ever offer. Imagine performing 15,000 movements while manually brushing your teeth. Sonicare 4100 delivers 31,000 movements per minute – more than double of what the Quip can deliver.

Factoring in the recommended brushing time of 2 minutes, Sonicare can provide you with 62,000 movements that remove plaque from your teeth. However, this doesn't mean that the Quip is an inferior device, it was just made to be slim and lightweight.

In fact, with its size, it would rank as one of the strongest motors, delivering 15,000 movements per minute. It is still very impressive from such a small device.

5. Battery

There are 2 things to factor in, when determining which is better when it comes to battery life; the power that the device uses and its lifespan. If we consider the power that Sonicare can deliver, a 14-day lifespan is impressive. Quip can last for up to 3 months without replacing the battery, but it runs on a weaker motor.

So the winner on this area will be determined by the consumer based on their specific needs.

The battery indicator would have been a huge factor if the Quip batteries only last for weeks, but it can easily be forgiven since you only need to replace it 4 times every year. With the shorter battery life for the Sonicare, an indicator is a must-have, especially if you consider that it works on full power and shows no sign of a weak battery until it's completely depleted.

Rechargeable or removable. The winner can be arguable because it all boils down to the long term value of each device. The Quip uses removable batteries that will cost you money each time you need a replacement.

ProtectiveClean 4100, on the other hand, uses rechargeable batteries, which may seem a better option at first even though recharging batteries has its costs too. But if you factor in the long-term value of each device, replacing the whole device, once the battery has completely died may end up a more expensive option.

6. Modes of Cleaning & Pressure Sensor

ProtectiveClean 4100 fell short of the expectation when it was released with only one mode for cleaning as opposed to other Sonicare models that offer different modes for cleaning.

However, for this comparison, the lack of modes for cleaning is not a deciding factor as both devices only offer one. Some consumers even find it an advantage, because it's just a matter of turning on the device.

The pressure sensor is where Sonicare beats Quip. Applying too much pressure not only damages your gums and teeth, but it also shortens the overall lifespan of the brush head. This is an important feature that will help you make brushing healthier and more pleasurable.

7. Brush Heads

This will be a simple comparison if the Quip is not as lightweight as it is that it allows you to easily find angles to better brush your teeth and clean the hard-to-reach areas. The curved tip of the 4100 offers a better ability to get into those areas without finding the right angles for it.

For the bristles, the Quip features a familiar brush head that you would normally find in a manual toothbrush. The ProtectiveClean 4100 features a tightly packed bristle that is 7 times more effective than that of manual toothbrushes.

The Verdict

When it comes to daily use, overall performance and design, Sonicare 4100 is a superior toothbrush. It packs more power and features to provide better oral health than the Quip.

For those who are in the market for portability and lightweight without sacrificing cleaning capabilities, Quip is a better choice. Additionally, it is more focused on worry-free oral hygiene that is further improved by its subscription service.