****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
Bottom line is that it shaves as close and fast, maybe closer, than brand new blades and foils on my wired Braun. Including its incredible value, I give it 5 stars, a little reluctantly, because…Before shaving, powering it on, it seems less energetic than an electric toothbrush with a single AA battery. RPM seems slow, maybe 500–1000 RPM. But, even at 500 RPM, with nine blades per cutter, that’s a blade going under each slot 75 times per second. There may not be any reason to go faster. Subjectively, it seems that it should feel more powerful as the head seems well constructed, with head linked for a coordinated convexity and true floating action for each individual cutter. Once a shaver puts the cutter against the skin properly, the performance is really a function how well regularly replacement cutters work. It makes no sense to pay almost $300 for a super-premium razor when the performance really comes down to regularly replaced cutters.Out of the box, and regularly, needs a few drops of mineral oil on the blades.The PROs are overall performance and value. There are two CONs related to charging: 1) it says don’t charge over 10 hours to avoid damage, but charging should have protection circuits so that it can be left plugged in (preferably in a provided stand). 2) Although it’s convenient to charge with standard, available USB, as mentioned in another review, the cord is proprietary, instead of using a USB C connection. This means you have to keep track of the cord at all times when it would be far preferable to be able to just have the shaver charge on what is regularly at hand, USB charger with standard cables.Also, the protective cover should attach more securely. FYI: just blowing doesn’t really clean around the blades; they need to be removed and brushed, an easy time to re-lubricate.10/12/23: When I got replacement blades early, on sale, I noticed they only have a single ring, same as my original Phillips/Norelco. This razor, however, has two concentric rings, and each arm is Y shaped so that each arm has two blades, for a total of 18 each disc, instead of 9. Increased cutting area may be why it works well. When I looked into this further, I found another couple brands, well under $20, that have a USB-C connector, also 18 blades, and built-in pop-up trimmer, not separate attachment. This brand, Pritech, now offers a $15 version, with the more desirable USB-C connector and, remarkably, including a second head with three cutters. $15 for two sets of replacement cutters is a bargain, even disregarding the included razor!11/3/23: it seems that the screens are very prone to clogging, and I should backtrack on the advice to oil. Just a film of oil after disassembly to clean might be good, but putting drops of oil in the assembled head just accumulates sludge. Simply blowing to clean the head after use doesn’t work well. Now I’ll try flooding with water from the bottom and the top.
