My current brush is a Plisson high mountain and its over ten years old. I thought I would give some of the English brushes a try and with the help of a friend lathered up a Jagger, Vulfix, Taylor of Old Bond Street, and Kent. The one I really wanted to try was the Simpson chubby 2, but alas it was not available.Well the Plisson high mountain white is readily available in Paris, and in fact is one of my souvenirs from Freedom -- it's very nice.
The verdict after these trials was resoundingly clear. The Plisson crushed them all. A speckle of good cream lathers into a rich thick foam with the French brush. The other brushes needed a large dollop of cream and even then, the lather was thin and watery. I would never have guessed that the brush could make such a huge difference! Then it was explained to me that the density of the pack as well as the quality of the badger used, made all the difference. Upon inspection, the Plisson feels like a soft, thick carpet compared to the thinner, more loosely packed brushes.
So I am about to jump on onto the Eurostar with zero UK brushes in tow, and a great desire to buy a new Plisson.
Cheers