Review (5/5): Made me a Convert (from Razor Blades)
I was skeptical about this shaver because of my past experience with electric razors. I want a very close shave and get it using shaving cream and Mach 3 blades (along with the cuts and chafing). In the past, I just couldn't get it with electric razors. With the first shave, I wasn't real happy (not bad, but not great). My wife suggested reading the manual. There I discovered that I was using the shaver like I did a blade... pushing down hard against my skin. The correct way is pulling the skin tight and going lightly over the skin. This made all the difference. A really smooth shave was the result with no pain or chafing. Also the razor heads ran cooler (a little warm but not hot). I'm a convert... haven't gone back to blades!
Philips/Norelco claims that a charge will get you about a weeks worth of shaves (65 minutes of runtime per charge). That may be true for most people but I really want a close shave and take about 10 minutes to shave. That gives me 6 shaves on a charge plus a few extra minutes for cleaning). The top of the line model actually has a display that tells you how many minutes of shaving time is left on the battery. At first I thought this was a gimmick but as you charge it the display counts up. This allows you to charge the razor just enough for a shave if you find your battery completely run down.
As for cleaning, these are 3 ways to do it. The slow (and least effective) way is to open the heads and use the included brush. The heads just pop open by squezing their sides. The 2nd way is to rinse the open heads off under hot running water with the razor running. This is fast, very effective and my favorite method. A third method is to fill your sink with hot water and submerse just the heads with the razor running for a few minutes. With the last 2 methods, you need to leave the heads open so that the razor can dry. Any way you do it, cleaning is quick and not a pain to do.
The shaver comes with a nice stand (that also can charge the razor). It features suction cups on the bottom so that it wont slide if the vanity top gets wet (a nice touch). It also comes with a hard plastic travel case (that doubles as a charger). The included AC adapter plugs into either the case or the stand but not into the razor. Note that the razor runs off of the battery only (can not run off of the AC adapter). One complaint with the charger is that the manual says not to leave the charger plugged in (more of an inconvenience). This is offset by the fact that the battery fully charges in less than an hour.
Even though it's not perfect, I really recommend this shaver. If something would happen to it, I would replace it right away.