Axel Glade Spade HD Video Guided Ear Cleaner Review

Axel Glade Spade HD Video Guided Ear Cleaner Review

Buy it at Amazon: Axel Glade Spade HD Video Guided Ear Cleaner [Affiliate Link]

Takeaway: Easy to use, clear video, comfortable and effective.

A big thank you goes out to Axel Glade for sending me a complimentary Spade for this video, so I could try it out and let you guys know how it works. In the box, you’ll receive a carton of accessories and the Spade ear cleaning device in its charging base. The included accessories are a set of three feather ear canal massagers, three individually packaged cotton swabs, an extra set of soft earpicks, an extra set of clear ear picks, a 20” USB-C charging cable, a set of instructions, and a safety warning card.

The three feather massagers have different shapes and textures ranging from really thin to wide and fluffy. The metal handles are sturdy but flexible and lightweight. You'll receive three individually wrapped cotton swaps so you can gently clean the Spade’s camera lens. There are two tubes of spare picks: the first contains 6 soft, reusable, cotton-tipped ear swabs; the tips are thinner than disposable cotton swabs and can be washed, sanitized, and reused. In the second tube, you’ll find 6 clear plastic scoop ear picks and a spare metal washer that secures the tips to the Spade.

The Spade device is roughly the size of a pen. It measures about 5.5” long and is made from a lightweight but durable aluminum, as is the charging base. The device weights about 1.5 oz with the magnetic cap and just under 1 oz with the cap removed. As soon as you pull the cap off, the unit turns on and you’ll see a ring of tiny LEDs light up just under the pick tip. This helps illuminate the inside of your ear for the HD camera in the unit. When you need to change or clean the tip, unscrew the metal washer just under the tip and pull the tip straight out. Press a new tip into the end and replace the washer to lock it in place.

At the bottom of the Spade, is a gold charging contact that sits on a small post inside the charging base for wireless contact charging. The base weighs about 3.5 oz and measures 1.5 in diameter and just over 1 in tall. It has a USB-C port on the back, just under the brand name. The top of the base unscrews to reveal a storage compartment for your pick tips. There are ten picks included inside. The blue ones are silicone coated picks, while the black ones are the cotton swap tips. There are several different shaped tips to suit your needs like a spoon-shaped tip, a mushroom-shaped tip, and a wide-scoop tip.

To charge the spade, replace the cover on the device and the magnets inside will keep the cover on. Then place it logo side down into the charger and plug the USB cable into a powered USB port. The LED ring just under the cap will illuminate green when charging and turns off when the battery is full. After charging, you can turn the Spade device over in the base for storage to avoid over charging the battery. The instruction manual is clearly written and has picture guides for each instruction. There’s a QR code that you can scan to download the Spade app in the Google Play or Apple App Store. In the app you’ll see the live view from the Spade’s camera. The video is high definition with clear, crisp images and good brightness and saturation. One important thing to note is that when viewing the camera, the top of the screen is on the same side as the Spade logo printed on the unit, knowing this will help you orient and maneuver the device as you use it.

You can switch between landscape and portrait views, takes a snapshot, and even record footage from the camera to your phone. In the main part of the app, you can see the remaining run time and battery life as a percentage so you’ll know when it’s time to charge the device. On a full charge it will run for about 90 minutes total.

I did find that using just one hand was a little bit tricky. With two hands I was able to pull back my ear a bit so the camera could get a better view. Maneuvering around also took a little getting used to because watching the camera isn’t like looking at yourself in the mirror, so getting the scoop behind pieces of wax and scooping them out can take a couple of tries. But I finally got my first success after a minute or two. What I will say is that the silicone tipped scoops were pretty gentle and non-irritating. I don’t feel like I went super deep into my ear and for the most part the experience was comfortable and painless. Just go slow and do be super aggressive. Another thing to know is that the unit will get slightly warm during use due to the heat put off by the LED lights.

Overall, I’d say the experience is kind of nice. It feels kind of weird but in a good way. I definitely think it’s a safer way to clean your ears than using Q-tips and seeing everything with a camera helps you navigate and be safer with it.

Buy it at Amazon: Axel Glade Spade HD Video Guided Ear Cleaner [Affiliate Link]