Review (3/5): Spectra not Spectacular; Only its Price
I bought an expensive Norelco "Spectra" about eight weeks ago. I don't find it better than my last new and expensive Norelco, a "Quad Action," or whatever last year's "Razor-du-Jour" from Norelco was called, and I'm really disappointed. Each year the Norelco offers less and less value. (Ratio of quality to price.) It is not as close, and it takes longer to shave. The only difference I can see is the little adjustment wheel, which they've had before in different forms, the pretty pearlized colors, and the the holes versus slots moved to a different location on the perimeter of each of the three circular heads. The holes are much closer shaving, as they have always been on foil razors. Norelco claims that the slots are better for "longer hairs," but if you shave every day, why would you have "longer hairs" on your face? The bottom line is that this model is NOT faster or closer than the previous one, although it's a bit smoother, but it IS more expensive. I keep buying these in the hope that each successive one is actually an improvement, rather than a marketing device with marginal changes. (And the "James Bond" tie-in promotional gift is simply, well, juvenile. Anyone old enough to shave can see this is useless and unrelated. A small package of pre-shave, a shaving stick, or cleaning/soaking fluid would make more sense.) But the truth of the matter in my experience is that any of the past three major models ("Spectra," "Quad," "Reflex," whatever) are comparable if you use an appropriate pre-shave, clean the shaver often, and replace the heads as needed. (The ability to rinse the razor clean WAS significant, however.) The closest Norelco was the one with the micro-thin indentation in the center of each circular head around the perimeter. The fastest one had 36 (I think) cutting blades, instead of the reduced number now. (When I asked Norelco why they cut the number of blades, they said it had something to do with the "hair reservoir." What happened to the hair before?) I will continue to use Norelco, and I own three of them. I have used them for 48 years, and they're still the best rotary razor. But I wish they would wait for REAL improvements before releasing a new razor. (Maybe then the price wouldn't be so exorbitant, either.)