Discussion
Question for people who shave their faces with an electric shaver: do you have one that has lasted longer than a year?
Recently every one I buy stops taking a charge within 6 months to a year. I assume that all the manufacturers (Wahl, Philips, Braun, Remington, Panasonic, Amazon-allcaps-noname) are now the same cheap Chinese junk inside. Perhaps there is one that is not?
https://jwz.org/b/ylB6
@jwz Since models change over time I assume what you are really after is testimonies from say 2-3 years ago, but: I bought a Braun 720 in 2011 which I think I only replaced this year. (It's not impossible that I bought another Braun 7-series in between but I don't _think_ so.) I have always been pretty lazy about shaving so it wasn't being used every day. Its ability to hold a charge did decrease over the years but even at the end it wasn't at the point of "stops taking a charge".
(The new one was bought too recently to be a candidate answer to your question, but FWIW its batteries show no obvious sign of degeneration after 6 months of, again, not-daily use. This one's a Philips i9000. I suspect its power button, which feels rather flimsy, will die before its batteries do.)
@gjm Yeah, all the people saying "I bought mine in 1923 and it still works great" are kinda missing the point of the query...
@jwz Unfortunately what you really need is "I bought mine in 2026 and it's been working well for the last five years" and that's going to be hard to come by. (Until 2031 when it will no longer be useful.)
@gjm Well sure but "I bought one in 2021 and it still works" would be pretty close. From my order history, it looks like I haven't had one last longer than 2 years since 2017.
@jwz @gjm I bought my Braun Series 9 9370cc in 2021 and it still works. Before that I bought the same model in 2017. Before that a series 7 in 2009. AFAIR none of them actually failed, I tend to replace things unnecessarily because I am bad at money. Seems a quality machine, they make up the battery lasting forever on new foils and cleaning cartridges for sure.
@jwz @gjm Really, for product
reviews you need to read what people 5-10 years in the future have to say about the one on sale now.
A review of the Ultrashaver 2026 posted in 2026 is pretty useless because it doesn’t tell you anything about how the thing lasts over time.
If you read a 2026 review of the Ultrashaver 2020, that gives you the durability info you need. But, that model might no longer be available anywhere.
With companies so horny to cut costs, the 2026 version might be crap compared to a slightly older model.
Braun shavers are still pretty good. The cheapst ones (series 3, for example) are shit and produced in China, but more expensive ones are still produced in Germany. Worth the money IMO.
@jwz I've got a Philips from 2007 that I'm still using. Keeps a charge for a week and I replaced the blades on it a few times. Perhaps those were better quality than the newer versions.
@jwz
I have never actually used an electric shaver. But my cheap 5-blade razors tend to last a couple years each. The trick is to keep the plastic cover on when you're not using them.
@jwz I’ve had a Norelco Aquatec for 12 years, still working great. My previous lasted at least 15 years, I think. Replace blades when they get dull enough to make me remember, every couple of years
@jwz philips oneblade is amazing, it's another tier above any other electric shaver I've used
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@jwz My current Braun Series 9 is 4 years old and going strong. I bought it to replace my previous Series 7 because the (non-replaceable) battery was starting to die after 20+ years. Otherwise it was still working fine.