Review (4/5): Decent Shaver with a few Quirks
I've been using Norelco shavers since I began shaving. I briefly tried both another brand and bladed shaving, and didn't like either. I tried this out as a replacement to my 8140XL.
As with most electric shavers on the market, you get convenience, simple charging, savings on consumable blades and cream, and a nice little gadget for your bathroom with this shaver. A blade always wins on optimum closeness, but takes longer and is more "dangerous" to those of us with a not so fine touch. Those aside, there were a few things that I liked, and a few things that bugged me about this specific shaver.
Pros:
-Lightweight
Wow, this shaver is really light and easy to handle when shaving, especially tougher areas that require holding the shaver upright at times.
-Waterproof
The fact that you couldn't get in contact with water or even in a shower used to be a huge disadvantage to electric razors. This unit is fully waterproof, which also makes it easier to clean.
-Uses Li-ion batteries instead of NiCad
One of the things that irked me about the last razor I bought was that it still contained a ridiculously obsolete NiCad battery. NiCad cells suffer from the "memory effect", which means they can hold a smaller and smaller amount of charge over time. This shaver has Li-Ion, the best kind of battery available, with no memory effect. This means it will continue to hold the same charge for years to come.
-Cool Charger base
This is a lot cooler looking, and takes up less space on the countertop than just plugging into the wall and laying the shaver sideways to charge. It also keeps track of the cord.
-Flex Tracker System
The head conforms to whatever surface I'm shaving pretty well, and just looks cool.
Cons: (these won't apply to everyone, and are my opinion only)
-Built in lotion dispenser
I've never wanted this feature. It's simply another way for them to continue to charge for refills of the product, when part of the reason for having an electric razor is so you don't have to keep paying for blades! I also have extremely sensitive skin that doesn't enjoy contact with any kind of chemical, especial alcohol. The stuff doesn't smell too great either. You don't need this goop to use the shaver, so I would skip it.
-Not as speedy as older models
This is something I also noticed with my past model, but it seems like Norelco shavers have for whatever reason gotten *less* effective and take longer to shave. It's not a huge issue for me because I have a light beard, but I thought these things were supposed to get faster with time, not slower.
-40 minutes of charge time
This is not amazing compared to other models, I wish they had skipped the lotion chamber and put three times as many batteries inside instead.
Overall I'd recommend this shaver, it has some great features you'll probably enjoy. You might want to be aware of the cons I've noted, and keep in mind you can follow up on Norelco's guarantee if you're not happy with your individual shave.