Review (3/5): Somewhat underimpressed
I got this razor as a Christmas gift after telling my girlfriend about it and it frustrated me a bit when it just didn't work as well as I expected it to. I thought I was going to have the most amazing shave of my life, and most convenient and comfortable to boot (especially for the price of this shaver). Well I'm sorry to say I eventually got a decent shave by the 3rd try, but as for my expectations well it just didn't happen.
Some background, I used to use a really basic Norelco triple rotary head as my first razor when I got it in my early teenage years to get rid of my meager beard. That was about 20 years ago, and I long ago abandoned using an electric razor. So even though I don't normally use one, instead preferring to use a triple blade and shaving gel every 2-3 days, I knew what to expect. And after reading the literature, the description/outer packaging, and viewing ads on TV I thought this unit would be head and shoulders about anything I'd used before.
I hate dealing with shaving and the possibility of any nicks/cuts/razor burn and ingrown hairs so in addition to avoiding that I wanted this for convenience and to save time, but the first problem I had with this shaver was that it took almost as long to shave using it as it would with my old razor and shaving gel. I used this Philips/Norelco 3 times to make sure I'd given it ample opportunity to perform and there wasn't any fluke, then if I still didn't like it I'd return it and go back to what I was doing or get something else.
Shave #1 - Fresh out of the box. Had about a 2.5 - 3 day beard going (I have a medium growth of mostly straight hairs) Was impressed how it felt and balanced in my hand. Unique flex head didn't flex as much as I thought it needed to, but probably not much of a detriment. Not atypical for me, but a good amount of hair to get rid of for any shaver. Used it to shave with dry skin. Had to get used to the most effective way to use/hold it, but it did well near my cheekbones (the easiest part), OK on my moustache and goatee area, and so-so on my jawbone and neck. Hardest part was my neck but also near my jaw. Had to go over the same areas several several times using medium pressure - much more than expected. And since I knew it takes a few shaves for your skin to get used to it and there is much more likely to be some discomfort the first time I thought OK no big deal. But I could tell there was a lot more "chafe" on my face than I expected and the neck area had quite a bit of razor burn / redness even though I really wasn't pushing hard or using it at what I would call a bad angle. Did not really cut the sideways hairs as well as I expected, since they advertise it will obliterate those and I have quite a few on my neck. Rinsed the thing under water, dried with towel and put it away. Put a bunch of lotion on my face to help, still feeling some light discomfort / itch all over immediately after.
Shave #2 - 2 days later. Opted to go with some water on my face since that is how I'm used to shaving and normally expect to get slightly better results, and a bit less irritation. It worked pretty well, but the shave still took around 8 minutes or so, a bit too long and I still needed a mirror the whole time. My face wasn't quite as irritated as the first time, meaning slightly less chafe and razor burn on my neck, though a few ingrown hairs had made themselves known directly under my chin from shave #1 and I did whatever I could to get rid of those with a tweezer beforehand. Sideways hairs still wouldn't cut quite as well as I expected, though I didn't quite have to go over my neck and rear of my jawbone quite as many times as the first shave. After this shave I still managed to have a few stray hairs that either would not cut easily even after 5 or 10 direct passes or (for a few) if they were facing sideways, then not at all. I went back with the tiny but fairly effective trimmer and knocked these out, but didn't expect to have to do this and added another minute or two to the process. Not much razorburn this time, put a normal amount of lotion on my face and I was good to go. Pretty good shave. Emptied the heads into the sink and rinsed and dried with water.
Shave #3 - 2 days later. Easily the best shave of the three, which was what I was hoping for. Still went with the wet shave, meaning I made sure there was plenty of water on my face to start. Again upper cheek was the easiest and took almost no time, then moustache, goatee, jaw and sideburns, and then neck. Initial shave took roughly 7 minutes. Not as bad but not what I would call super fast. The rotary heads got almost all the hairs this time, except for 1 or 2 stubborn / sideways hairs on my neck near my adam's apple. Some hairs / areas took 5-10 passes with the shave head but went away with the appropriate pressure/motion. Almost no razor burn on my neck and a pretty low amount of chafe. Was impressed how it got the hairs right under my nostrils this time, due to my practice and the shape of the head. After the shave, I had to go back to get about 3 hairs that didn't make the cut (literally). This again added 1-2 minutes of shave time. I applied the usual amount of lotion and rinsed and dried the heads. The weird thing was this time, for some reason due to the water when I opened the heads to clean it, there were almost no hairs inside. Usually with a dry shave and 2-3 days of growth the heads get pretty full quickly. But in this case there was none, and not many showed up in the sink or countertop either. Weird, I guess the water had some strange effect where they either disintegrate into much smaller hairs and/or made them fly out somewhere I couldn't see. Either way I was done. Still, I didn't think this performance was quite up to my initial expectations, or the billing that Philips/Norelco gave it as their "most advanced shaver". But, it was "close" to a wet shave with a blade. Maybe a 8 / 10 this time. However I didn't like having to use a mirror the whole time still. And for the price, especially since it's described as waterproof shouldn't you be able to take it in the shower for the ultimate convenience? I dunno, I figure with a top-of-the-line shaver from this company, you should.
I didn't bother with the cleaning / charging compartment since I didn't know if I would keep the razor or return to the store, and didn't want to learn something I wouldn't need to know, nor use up any of the shaving fluid or dirty it up if I planned to return. Just more hassle. I really think it's a little pointless to do this full cleaning process every time, maybe every few shaves but that's just me. Water works OK and the blades are billed as self-sharpening which means less worry and as long as you pat dry after the clean it should be OK.
The carrying case is the alternative charging mechanism, and you can take it with you on the go. It also comes with a slide-on head cover if you're just going to put the unit away say in a drawer until the next use and don't need to charge it. One problem, the plastic head cover that slides on doesn't work with the travel / charging case. Why they made it so this won't fit, I don't understand. You're prone to lose or break it I think if you can't keep it inside, and why else would they give it to you if you can't take it with you in the travel charging case?
My take is this shaver probably works best if you have a light or medium beard and you shave every 1-to-2 days. Otherwise, stick to a blade and heavy shave gel if possible.
Strengths:
- Good overall shave and closeness, with patience
- Reasonably comfortable shave
- Flexible head, very unique design adds an extra dimension
- Strong trimmer for the size
- Very quick 1 hr. charging in either the cleaning unit or travel case
- Works with wet or dry skin (warning: not designed to work in shower or submerged)
- Good for people with light to medium beards that shave every day
- Self-sharpening heads
- Motor seems strong and good RPM
- Cleaning unit makes maintenance a bit easier and worry-free
- 2 year warranty
- 30 day money back guarantee / trial
- Made in Europe, not China
Weaknesses:
- Price / Value
- Too many passes to get all hairs = longer shaving time
- Had to use a mirror entire time to get accurate shave
- Trimmer is absolutely tiny and I'm not sure how sturdy over time
- Plastic head cover doesn't fit in travel charging case, or have a home when not in use
- Doesn't cut sideways hairs near as well as advertised
- Charging and cleaning processes require more attention than desired
- Not good for people with very heavy beards who only want to shave every 3 or 4 days
- "Clean shaver" icon is not smart - it always appears even after rinsing heads under water
- Can't use in shower
- Overall, just not quite as 'advanced' as advertised
Time for me to bring this back and try another high-end shaver from another european-based company which should remain nameless.