Electric Shavers Review : Discount Sale

In the quest for a truly thorough shave, new Series 5 from Braun leaves no stone unturned. With a unique Power Comb that lifts and cuts hairs growing flat against the skin that otherwise would be missed. Series 5 provides smoothness as standard. Together with a slim, contour-adapting head that slides effortlessly into hard-to-reach areas and hand-friendly ergonomics for total control all over the face, Series 5 delivers a thorough shave all over the face, with no missed hairs. Sleek and sophisticated, Series 5 exists to give you a thoroughly smooth shave, with a combination of technical superiority and design excellence. Poised beneath Braun’s microscopically thin Smart Foil, a unique Power Comb works in harmony with the hand’s natural up-and-down linear movement to trap and cuts hairs that grow flat against the skin. They sure won’t be missed. Grip-friendly ergonomics just cry out for a firm hand, allowing Series 5′s slim, contour-adapting head to produce a thorough shave no matter what the facial terrain throws at it. Mean and clean, Series 5 is fully washable under running water¿or available with Braun¿s patented Clean & Renew system. An integral, adjustable long hair trimmer for beard, moustache and sideburns and a choice of elegant color combinations completes the package.

Customer Reviews

Smooth and Impressive
It took me awhile to decide on this Braun after all I’ve never paid this much for a shaver. However, I had a problem getting parts for my old Remington so decided to bite the bullet. The unit arrived nicely boxed with a semi-hard black zippered travel case which is not mentioned in the literature. It uses the same power cord for rechargeable and corded operation. The shaver feels comfortable and solid in the hand and looks nice. I like the trimmer and flexible head. I find setting the sensitivity of the head to medium works best especially in the neck area. When not in use, the shaver sits in the cleaning station which also acts as a charger. At night, the cleaning station gives off a small blue light which is nice should you have to find the unit without turning on the lights. I’ve had the unit a few weeks and so far, I love it.

Why? Because it’s quiet (compared to my old Remington), and gives me smooth, dry close shaves. For my face and skin, it’s pretty close to a razor. The head and cutter is washable under running water and if that’s not enough, you can use the Clean & Renew System. Since I’ve only had my unit for a few weeks, I didn’t see the need to give it a bath so soon. I’ll do what others suggest and do it periodically. Besides, I didn’t want to open the sealed cartridge filled with cleaning solution for fear I would spill it and have to buy more refill cartridges.

Things I didn’t like were that it was relatively expensive and the cleaning station base footprint was large. The shaver sits head down in the base unit so the bottom of the shaver is 8 3/4″ above the counter. But if you don’t mind charging it with the A/C cord, you can put the base unit away for another day when cleaning is needed.

I decided against the Braun Series 7 Pulsonic because I didn’t see how 10,000 micro vibrations would help with a smoother closer shave. Besides, my Sonicare toothbrush vibrates and I can see the logic there. I’ll just hold the shaver looser and let it vibrate by itself. I picked this unit over the Series 5 570 because as far as I could tell, the only difference were the LED lights. The cost between both units was minimal so I opted for extra LED lights. I’m sure I would be just as happy with the other unit.

SEPT 2009 UPDATE:
I’ve had this unit now for about 6 months and I am still very satisfied with it. I love the flexible shaver head and the ability to adjust the sensitivity. It makes for a comfortable shave in all the right places.

One of the early concerns I had before purchasing the unit was the added cost of cleaning the unit using the Clean&Renew Station and cleaning solution as often as Braun recommends. This is what I’ve discovered.

The User Guide recommends cleaning the unit after each shave or when the yellow LED light comes on. I physically clean the shaver foil and cutter block once a week, sometimes every other week when lazy. Very easy. The yellow “time to clean” light never came on so after a month, I cleaned the shaver anyway. So far, I’ve only cleaned the unit 3 times and only because I thought it was time to clean. Now to prevent the cleaning solution from evaporating or spilling, I remove the cleaning cartridge after each use and replace the plastic cover and store the cartridge under the counter. So far for me, purchasing more cleaning kits has not been costly since I’m still using the original cleaning cartridge.

Great shave, but a few flaws
I’ve been a Braun guy since I started shaving, so this is my 4th or 5th one. After my last one, which was a low-end disappointment, this one is great — as smooth of a shave as I believe you can get from an electric. Another plus is that this shaver is made in Germany, not China like their low-end ones, and although a little pricey, after a $50 promo certificate, it essentially put the price within reason.

My only negative comments, after owning the razor for about two weeks, is that the clean-and-renew system is a little gimmicky. Not the system itself so much, which works great, but two things about the system:

* The cleaning base is essentially a really cheap looking injection-molded piece of plastic. It gets the job done, but I think the designers could have done a better job of fabricating a base that was a little more in fitting with the price/look of the razor itself.

* As others have said, the clean and renew fluid is kind of a ripoff — if you use it as much as the manufacturer suggests (every day, all the time), that’s about an extra $75 a year; one more expense I really don’t need. Although I haven’t owned the razor very long, I think it’s probably fine to manually clean it most of the time and use the cleaning system once a week or so. To keep the cleaning fluid from evaporating, simply remove it from the base in between cleanings and put the lid it came with back on. As others have also mentioned, you could probably go one step further and replenish the cleaning fluid with its stated ingredient, denatured alcohol (i.e., Sea Breeze), but don’t blame me if that messes up your razor for some reason. I figure if I cut my usage by using the cleaning fluid only about once a week, that’s fine with me.

So with those two things mentioned, I really like my new razor!

UPDATE 112409:
My curiosity got the better of me about a month ago – I tried replenishing the cleaning cartridge with Sea Breeze, but it doesn’t work nearly as well as the Braun fluid; the Sea Breeze contains water whereas I don’t believe the Braun fluid does. Although it didn’t hurt my razor, it did leave it kind of grungy. At least now I know.

The Braun 8985, provides Braun’s closest most complete shave ever. Features Gillette Blade Technology that cuts hairs close in a single stroke without pulling or tugging. Braun’s patented Power-Comb lifts problem hairs that lie flat to the skin to avoid missed hairs in hard to shave areas. The unique SmartFoil pattern captures hairs growing in different directions while the 3-Stage Cutting System progressively shaves long hairs and stubble for a closer shave in fewer strokes. The Braun’s Clean & Renew System automatically cleans, lubricates, dries and charges to keep the shaver feeling like new every day. This rechargeable shaver features an ergonomic shape and non-slip handle for easy maneuvering. Includes charging and replacement parts indicator, 50-minutes of cordless shave time from a 1-hour full charge and a 5-minute quick charge for 1 shave.

Customer Reviews

I’ve used a lot of electric shavers and this is the best one so far
I shave everyday and thus have used many electric shavers in my time. I have found that the Braun self-cleaning shaver is the best. It gives me the closest shave and also has that great self-cleaning unit which completely cleans and lubricates the shaver. The reason why I gave it 4 stars rather than 5 is because the cleaning cartridges are quite expensive and basically need to be replaced every month. One way to make them last longer is to clean your shaver by every other use rather than everytime.

Excellent shaver
I upgraded (finally) from Amazon.com a few months ago from a Braun puchased over 10 years ago (that I had reconditioned, new batteries put in, etc), which in turn replaced a Braun. I’m clearly in the Braun camp.

The 8985 shaves heads and tails better than anything I’ve used. Quiet, close, non irritating. Well balanced and easy to hold/maneuver as well. I was originally concerned about having to be on the hook to ongoingly purchase cleaning solution. To extend the solution, I quickly (5 seconds) brush out the hair prior to running the shaver through its cleaning cycle. The solution has lasted far longer than I’d have thought.

Admittedly, it’s been a while since I’ve shaved with Norelcos or Remingtons or other shavers, but I am extremely pleased with the 8985. Certainly if you’ve liked Brauns and it’s been a while since you’ve upgraded, it might be worth a look to try this model on.