I like both and wouldn't want to be without either. But boars are the buck bangers.
I know there's threads elsewhere about buying a good soap or cream brush for bowl or face lathering, but IMO a good brush should do it all. But a big brush will always be a handful for face latherers and a small one clanky for bowlers. A middler can do it all if someone wants to run the gamut of uses.
I've never bought a brush with the intention of it needing to be good at one thing or another (and I only have 6 - I know, you probably all thought it was 60. But two are 'resting' so that leaves a manageable number to play with).
I know I didn't want a brush too big or floppy. Only the 830 is letting me down on the latter, but it's such a nice thing to hold and work with, I still get it out regularly.
Having more than a couple of brushes you do have to make tweaks in use to get them to work best though, particularly if using soaps, where loading adds another variable to getting the right amount of product. Given I don't have a stable of razors, this is the fun part for me - getting my lather just so, regardless of what brush and soap combo I go with. Creams are easy, just scoop up your preferred amount and whack on - hard to miss, the rest is just water.
What I've found is the boars work best soaked and squeezed well - there's still enough dampness to load just how I like it to.
The Berk is a great little workhorse, a couple of shakes and it'll be at the sweet spot for any soap you put in front of it. I would recommend any Simmo around this size to anyone. Really easy to use, and not stupidly priced. For someone not into brushes and just wanting one good one, this one would make most people happy.
The Chubster is higher maintenance. But the muscular luxuriousness of it makes it really nice to use. But being so dense, it isn't as easy as the Berk. If I shake it, it's still too wet and my soap loading is sudcity. If I squeeze it, even gently, the tips dry out and the soap isn't interested. So my fix is a squeeze and a bit of water on the soap to put the water just where it's needed. It's a compromise over ruthless and machine like efficiency, but that's what it responds to.
Sorry, what was the question again...
