Rusk W8Less Ceramic and Tourmaline 2000 Watt Dryer

This is my second W8Less driver. What was wrong with the first one? Was it broken or lost? Nope. My son loved it so much that when he moved out to his own place he took it with him!

So I was in the market for a new dryer, but the Dyson was too pricey (and the reviews mixed), my previous SpeedFreak's housing cracked and its intake filter cover fell off and couldn't click back securely into place; and its successor the T2's heat function stopped working just after its warranty expired. I've never had good results with drugstore brands like Conair, Revlon or Hot Tools--either too underpowered (no better than travel or wall-mounted hotel dryers) or didn't de-frizz as the "tourmaline" and "ion" features promised.

This is cheaper than the BaByLiss, CHI and Elchim models (all >$100, some nearly $200), but it gets the job done. Is it weightless? No. Though it weighs more than a folding travel dryer it's way lighter than the pro models I've seen stylists use. Is it sophisticated-looking or feature-laden? No, but it gets the job done--and dries my hair faster than its brandmate SpeedFreak. Fast enough to keep the frizz at bay without damage. I have long, fine, thin (gee thanks, menopause) color-and-keratin-treated hair.

Do I have to use a styler (flatiron or hot-air brush) afterward? Usually--I like to shower & wash my hair at night, putting it up in a clip to keep it off my neck as I sleep. My neck--and to some extent scalp--sweats due both to age and the anti-estrogen drug I must take to avoid or delay breast cancer recurrence. And since those keratin treatments every 3-4 months are a big investment, I must be careful to avoid letting anything with sodium chloride near my hair lest it strip out the keratin. Sodium chloride=salt, with which sweat is loaded.

So when I get up in the morning, there are usually creases or unwanted waves that ruin the sleek straight look for which I spend megabucks on keratin treatments. (At 68, I am totally mystified by those fashionable "beachy waves" that make even the priciest cuts look like they were done by nearly-blind amateurs). So I haul out my trusty CHI flatiron (which I had to replace...after 15 years) and hit the trouble spots with a few passes. And on days when I wash, dry and style in one fell swoop, I can often even skip the iron in favor of a $30 heated ionic smoother brush.

Cheaper dryers take forever. My stylist uses a Dyson--which he says I don't need (he suggested I might like the Airwrap, but it's backordered everywhere, costs as much as a used car and has lukewarm reviews). The W8Less gets my hair from not-quite dripping to dry in 5-8 minutes, For the life of me, I can't understand what the upscale models would give me, other than a slimmer bank account.

I used to air dry and flatiron. Blowdrying wasn't even an option until I got this dryer, because my hair would look like cotton candy. This does leave your hair silky. Its 2k watts and dries my thick coarse hair from soaking in less than 20 minutes.
Please note, I have tried other high end dryers and like the other reviewer below, I use this one.
The w8less part is legit too. I received it in the mail and got pissed cause I though the box was empty. This would be great for a professional hair stylist.
After about 2 years a steady use, I had to clean the lint filter thing, but its designed to remove to clean.

So I wanted to upgrade my cheap conair hair dryer, but without breaking the bank.
I chose this over speed freak and elchim 2000hp because I wanted tourmaline (heard good things about it - newer technology and good for hair etc etc).

It is not bad, but it is not a lot better than what I had and it costs a lot more.
It is not small or compact, and is certainly not weightless, which was one of my requirements. It weighs as much as the conair one. The only thing it does better than conair is less frizz. My hair definitely feel softer and shinier - must be the tourmaline magic.

But if and when I replace this, I will probably not make tourmaline a requirement and go for a more established brand/model like Elchim Professional or Super Solano and definitely go for a lighter, more compact one.

I am in love with this hairdryer. I come from a long line of drugstore brand dryers, because honestly, how different can a Conair be from some $70+ dollar blower? Well, I am here to tell you, this is seriously so worth it.

I first bought the Rusk SpeedFreak, and while I loved how it styled so quickly, I noticed that it was just a little too strong for my fine hair. It ran a little hot, even on medium (always dry the majority of your hair on the "medium" heat setting, and then style on "hot" - you'll save your locks). Also, the large airflow kept tangling my hair. So I returned it, and bought the W8less instead.

Perfect temperature (3 choices, and a cold shot) plus low and high air speed. It dries my hair super fast (shaved off about 5-7 minutes from a 20 minute dry-time), and the drier itself lives up to its name by being extremely lightweight. I was able to achieve superior styling (and I'm no stylist) because the drier was easy to maneuver and has perfect airflow - my hair was noticeably styled better. And, it's a pretty quiet hairdryer for having such good flow.

During this time, my boyfriend also bought me the Fire Red Chi hairdryer to try out in case the W8less was another return. I hated it -- after using the W8less for a week, I was spoiled, and hated that the Chi didn't have heat settings, and had a longer dry-time than the Rusk. I returned it immediately (after thanking my boyfriend for being so thoughtful!) and have been using the W8less ever since.

Bottom line: Extremely lightweight. Perfect airflow for a drastically reduced dry-time. Multiple heat settings. Easy to actually create a blowout. Hoping it lasts (already had it a year), but will definitely repurchase.

So far I love this dryer. It's relatively quiet, small, sleek and light, has 3 heat and 3 speed settings and airflow that dries and styles without blowing my hair right out of the round brush I use. So far so good, I'm really glad I found this.
11/2014 - Two years later and I repurchased (can't say I've ever repurchased the exact dryer in the past). I love it but it was acting up and I'm not surprised as I start and stop it many times a day in straightening my hair with a round brush. Had to buy online - is Ulta not carrying this anymore? I'm feeling a little paranoid so will baby this one :)