Review (3/5): Does a passable job, but not a great one
I bought this to replace a Braun shaver that was about 5-6 years old. I've used it for about a month, and here are my pros and cons.
Pros:
-I love the trimmer. It's far enough away from the cutters to make trimming easy, and it does wonders for my skin as a pre-shave in case I missed a day. That might actually be the best part of the product.
-It's very quiet. I can shave at night without disturbing anyone. My last shaver sounded like a wood chipper, so this is a welcome feature.
-Cleaning isn't much of a hassle. (This isn't a great pro, but it is worth mentioning.)
-Affordable, which is probably why I'm not sending it back. If I spent $100+ on it, it wouldn't be in my house right now, but the current price is what attracted me in the first place.
Cons:
-To be honest, it doesn't really come through with a complete or very close shave. It still leaves many hairs, especially on my neck, and I can still feel a little bit of stubble, even after going over my skin enough times to chop it to bits.
-Irritation is still a problem. I have the unfortunate combination of coarse hair and sensitive skin, so it's very hard to get a close and comfortable shave. This doesn't help. I end up cutting myself about half the time in order to get a full shave, and in some cases, the razor burn is brutal. I find myself applying aftershave at least twice after a regular shave.
-The design makes it difficult to shave particular places, like under my sideburns and above my mouth. Having a wide face is good for shaving a larger surface area, but it makes finer shaving a bit clumsy.
Honestly, this unit should be better. If I didn't need a new foil on my old razor (which would be about $30 after shipping), I would almost be financially obligated to send this one back. For its main functions, it really isn't an improvement on my old razor, which is disappointing when you consider that this is new and carries a trusted brand name. Some of the other features provide added convenience, but I didn't buy this just to have a quiet trimmer.