Kobra +2 SS4

Take the strip-cut head from the Kobra +1 SS4, add a dedicated 125 mm media slot and a second bin for plastic waste, and you have the +2 SS4. It is the model to buy when the bulk of your paper is routine - 17-19 sheets a pass at DIN 66399 P-2 - but you also need to destroy access badges, expired cards and archive discs without mixing plastic fragments into the paper recycling.

Key Features

• 24-hour continuous duty motor. Kobra rates this drive for continuous running with thermal protection rather than a fixed on/off duty cycle, so a long clear-out session does not force a cool-down break.
• Carbon-hardened steel cutting knives. Kobra states the knives are unaffected by staples and paper clips, so you are not stopping to de-staple every file.
• Energy Smart standby. The machine drops into a power-saving standby after roughly eight seconds of inactivity, with an illuminated indicator showing which state it is in.
• Automatic start/stop, auto-reverse and safety stop. Photo-eyes start the rollers when paper enters; the cutters reverse on a jam and stop outright when the bin is removed or full.
• Separate 125 mm media slot with its own 1.5-litre bin. Discs and cards are destroyed and collected apart from the paper, which keeps a single-stream paper recycling route clean.
• 17-19 sheets a pass. The strip head asks little of the 250 W motor, so thick stacks go through in one go.
• Bagless 10.2-gallon paper bin. Slides out without lifting the cutting head; the front window shows the level.

Specifications

What's in the Box

Supplied assembled: cutting head, 10.2-gallon paper bin, 0.4-gallon plastics bin and power cord. No waste bags are included and none are needed - both bins empty directly. Keep the two bins separate at emptying time if you want the plastic shreds kept out of the paper recycling.

Who Should Buy This - and Who Should Not

The +2 SS4 fits a reception desk, a records office or a stockroom that gets through a lot of low-sensitivity paper and has an ongoing trickle of expired ID cards and CDs. The two-bin design is the reason to pay more than the single-throat +1 SS4.

What it is not is a compliance machine. P-2 permits 6 mm strips and this cuts 3.8 mm - readable fragments survive, and no US privacy framework treats that as adequate destruction of personal data. If your paper includes patient, payroll or customer records, buy the +3 CC4 (P-4, same two-bin layout) or the +2 CC2 (P-5, same cabinet). If you want raw speed above all, the +2 SS7 takes 25-27 sheets at P-1.

Running costs are effectively zero. Neither bin takes a liner, there is no oil cartridge to reorder, and the Energy Smart standby means the machine draws almost nothing between jobs. The only routine task is remembering to check the 1.5-litre plastics bin, which has no window and will not stop the machine when it fills.