Braun 8585 Activator Self-Cleaning Shaving System
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Customer Reviews of Braun 8585 Activator Self-Cleaning Shaving System
Customer Review: Expensive for a reason
Summary: 5 Stars
Firstly I'd like to make a comment about razors in general. They are two main types on the market today, 1. multiple blades (Gillette is well known for that, I think they are up to 5 blades now); and 2. Electric razors, which can be rotary (e.g. Norelco) or foil (e.g. Braun). Make no mistake about it, a blade razor will ALWAYS shave closer than any electric razor, for the simple reason that the blade(s) can get right on your skin to cut the hair, while electric razor's blades are always hidden and can never cut as close. So if you are looking for a magic electric razor that shaves as close as the blades, STOP, because they don't exist, at least not yet.
I got a Norelco a few months back, and this was a welcome change for me as shaving got quicker and less messy, but for some reason, my face never got used to it. No to mention how it doesn't shave nearly as close, I was getting worse razor burns from the Norelco than my usual blades. And this was while I used the Nivea lotion that came with the Norelco. The advertised pull and cut action with the Norelco is a buch of baloney, as I could feel the little stubs on my face no matter how long I shave. I gradually got irritated by the Norelco but was somewhat reluctant to go back to blades full time as I had gotten too lazy to use them everyday.
The next natural step was to try the foil shavers. Like a previous reviewer, I opted to pass on the LCD display screen of 8595 and went for the cheaper but otherwise identical 8585 model instead. It was expensive but well worth the money. These Germans sure know how to make the gadgets. I always use the back of my hand to feel my chin after shaving and check how close the shave was, and this was almost as good as my Mach-3 blades and in about half the time, with no messy shaving creams and annoying cuts and burns. The foil is incredibly slick and glides across your face like Teflon and it usually takes me about 3 to 4 passes on the same area to get a satisfactory shave. It holds comfortable in your hands, and by virtual of its design, shaves much better than the rotary razors at curvy places around the chin. It also self-cleans and from the smell of the cleaning solution, I presume it self-disinfects. The cleaning station is probably too bulky to take on the road but unless you travel for more than 2 weeks, the razor really doesn't get "dirty" enough to require any cleaning. The cleaning can get really loud (much louder than the shaving), but it's a minor annoyance to me.
I still enjoy a hot shave with my razor every once a while, but this Braun is definitely my default choice now. If you can spare the money to buy one, you won't regret it.
Customer Review: If you pay over $100 for an electric razor, you overpaid...
Summary: 1 Stars
I use three razors. Last year's model of this Braun, a triple blade rotary from the leading manufacturer of rotary razors and standard double edged disposables from the major manufacturer of razors.
OK, now, let's do some math. I get 10 great shaves from a disposable razor. I pay, on average, 40c or so for a disposable razor. That is about a nickel a shave including the shave cream. At a nickel a shave, it would take 3000 shaves before I would spend $150. Would take me over 8 years.
Now, anyone that says any electric razor shaves better than a double edged high quality blade razor (not even the expensive triple edged ones, just cheap disposables) is dreaming. The blace does a much better job and much faster. But, sometimes, they can irritate the skin, but electrics can too. I can get irritated by both, sooooo, I rotate between them, and find that reduces my skin irritation problem quite well.
I bought this Braun (last year's model) after reading the positive reviews here, and later bought a rotary razor. The basic difference is that the cheap model rotary from that major manufacturer is much quieter, shaves just as well, and cost me about 1/3 the price.
The only thing that is better in the Braun is the battery lasts longer. It is possible also, that in some cases, it gives a slightly closer shave than the rotary, but it also tends to miss spots no matter how many times I go over them. The Braun also has a problem with my beard when it is longer, like when I have two to three days growth. The rotary and disposable razor breeze through that three day bush.
The cleaning machine/charger that comes with the Braun is a joke. Yes, it cleans the razor great, but it is way oversized and you need a large space for it in your bathroom. Even then, say you have that larger space, you can pay between $5.00 and $8.00 each for the cleaning cartridges. I have found they last about a month before drying out. Add $60 to your annual cost to just clean your razor. The rotary cleans fine with a brush and the disposable razors with water.
Finally, the switch that turns on the razor is right where you hold the razor and it also locks the blade. So I am constantly locking the blade position by accident. Inexcusable design flaw in a razor this price.
Don't get me wrong. This razor shaves fine. It works best on short beards and works better than cheap razors. But for $50 you can get a better rotary razor and for $150 you can shave for over 8 years with a disposable twin blade. Does the price difference sound rational to you? If it does, click "Proceed to Order".
Customer Review: Not to shabby
Summary: 4 Stars
I've been using this shaver for a couple weeks now and I am ready to give my thoughts. First the shaver it self is very sleek. It fits in the hand nicely and it has a good solid feeling to it. As far as shaving, it does pretty well. I don't have too much problem on my face, but the neck can be a problem. I really have to work to get everything off the neck. It leaves little hairs here and there. I feel like i have to jab at it sometimes to get everything. It still takes me about the same time to shave with this as compared to my old razor. Don't get me wrong, i really do like this shaver. I just wish it was easier to manuver around the neck area. The shaver did leave me with some irratation at first but most of that has subsided by now.
Pros:
-No shaving cream
-No razor cuts or burns
-Pretty clean shave overall
-Nice sideburn attachment
-Easy cleanup
Cons:
-Hard to manuver around the neck
-Expensive
I wanted to address something. Some of the other reviewers claimed that this shaver automatically begins the cleaning process when you put the shaver back on the base. They complain this annoying because sometimes they would like to avoid the self-clean function. This is totally not true whatsoever. The shaver base does not automatically begin the cycle. There is a button on the front of the shaver. Think of this as an on and off button for the automatic cleaning function. When this button is pressed down, the base detects the cleaning cycle and then executes it. However, when this button isn't pressed down, the base determines the cleaing cycle but does not beging the cleaning process. You manually have to press the button down to get it to start cleaning itself.
P.S. Just as a tip, always pop the foil guard off the shaver and use the brush supplied with the shaver to manually clean out loose hairs. Then turn the shaver on for a few seconds upside down to get rid of some of the hairs. I always do this and the cleaning cycle is always on the eco setting (the setting that uses the least amount of fluid). the cleaning cycle is a little loud for the first few minutes because the shaver turns itself on in the fluid to clean it out. If you're worried about waking up your significant other, just clean it later.
Overall I really like this shaver. It's worth the extra little bit of work to get everything off the neck. And of course the automatic cleaning function is lovely. Enjoy
Customer Review: Good razor but not the best
Summary: 4 Stars
I've been using electric razors for over 20 years now. I started out with the old Remington XLR (the blocky one they made for years), then used a Remington triple foil for 8 years (model TR400). The foils became difficult to find and the razor's battery was going bad, so I figured it was time for a new one. After much reading, I decided on the Activator 8585.
The razor overall is good, but it doesn't shave as close as the old Remington TR400. The shave is more than adequate, but I find it can't shave as close around and under the jaw line like my old Remington. I can still feel a bit of minor stubble there that I couldn't feel with the Remington. The Braun does dramatically better than that Remington when I get a few days of growth though. I could never shave with that razor since it couldn't handle the longer growth; the Braun just plows right through several days growth with no problem. The mini cutters in the middle of the foils do the job wonderfully on longer hairs, and that alone makes the Braun a better overall design to my old Remington.
The Braun doesn't irritate my skin the way the Remington did either. I never could shave 2 days in a row with the Remington without my face hurting a bit, but it's not an issue with the Braun. Does the trick foil design help? Personally, I don't see it being better than the traditional circular hole design in my Remington; I can't comment when compared to the Braun Syncro line since I've never used it.
The battery life is impressive with this razor. Braun claims 50 minutes run time, and I'm getting that on my 3rd charge, if not a bit longer. The cleaning station is also nifty but personally not really necessary. I would have gladly gotten the razor with out it and saved some money if it were possible. The 'low battery' warning light is a nice feature, but I didn't get the "two or three shaves" that Braun claims after it came on. I only got one more shave. My guess is Braun assumes 4-5 minutes per shave; I typically take 7-8 minutes to get the closeness I want. I don't use any pre-shave lotions nor powders. Perhaps if I did it would help get a closer shave in less time.
Will this razor shave as close as a blade, especially the Mach3? I don't think so. But, the shave you'll get is about as close as most electrics will get with virtually zero skin irritation. To me that's a good enough trade-off to stick with the razor and recommend it.
Customer Review: Excellent shaving quality, questionable usability
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought this model to replace my old Panasonic triple blade shaver. Well, given the price I paid (compared to $20 I paid for the panasonic model), I am a bit disappointed by Braun. I will start with all the good aspects of this shaver, then the reasons why I am disappointed.
The shaver seems to have excellent build quality and everything from packaging to touching is very good (as you would expect from high-end shaver). More importantly, the shaving quality is superb. It shaves closer than the panasonic model, and probably is the closest an electronic shaver can get (shaving result is almost equivalent to razor). And the shaver is very powerful so don't worry if you have long and hard hair. It runs over them and eliminates them without problem. Using my old Panasonic, it may take several round to clean such thing.
But there are many things Braun should do better to improve its usability. Here are some of what I discovered:
1. It uses special cleaning fluid which has to be replace every several weeks depending on how often you clean it. This is a constant money drain and maintainence nightmare. Let alone roughly $60 you need to spend on cleaning fluid, what if Braun stops producing the fluid? You are out of option and may have to rely on stupid manual cleaning. This is no good at all and I am surprised to find this happens. The Panasonic model can use water to rinse it (actually you can use it during bath) and I consider it a superb design over Braun.
2. It is relative hard to take the whole package with you during travel. I mean if you have to take the cleaning stuff. You probably have to seal the fluid catridge (worrying about leakage), and the whole station is big enough to take some luggage space.
3. A minor annoying detail: when the shaver is put in the cleaning station, you have to take off the protection cap and put it somewhere. If you are not careful enough, you may end up losing it somewhere. This is careless design.
4. Noise from the shave is very loud, much louder than Panasonic model. Now I have to close bathroom's door to avoid waking up others in the home. Great power does not need come with bigger noise!
Braun, please pay more attention on the usability and maintainence. A high quality shaver is not only about shaving quality, lots of other minor details count. I'd refrain from recommending such shaver to others because of these drawbacks.