Braun 8585 Activator Self-Cleaning Shaving System
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Customer Reviews of Braun 8585 Activator Self-Cleaning Shaving System
Customer Review: Heavy, Bulky and Requires Constant Babysitting
Summary: 2 Stars
Here's my 2 cents (take it or leave it): I am looking for a good, quick shave in the morning provided by a reliable and low maintenance razor (call me crazy). I bought the Braun 8585 about 6 months ago and have little good to say. I understand the majority of reviews are positive and this is my personal experience. This shaver is extremely heavy - it is difficult to manipulate and use during shaving. This shaver is bulky and does not fit well on my sink counter (I have a double sink counter) and I especially have to manipulate the base unit and power cord constantly. This shaver also requires regular replacement of the cleaning cartridges and cutter and foil unit (mine lasted only 6 or 7 months and I do not have a heavy beard). I understand that companies make their money by selling consumers "solutions" (i.e. I'll give you the disposable razor or printer for free - you just have to buy replacement blades and ink cartridges forever) but the cost involved in replacement items for the 8585 is not negligible. In addition, to get even a mediocre shave with this razor, I have to pull and stretch skin on my face throughout the shave. For me, this razor is not what I am looking for in regards to this activity in my life. If the shave was amazing or even very good, I would probably indulge these inconveniences, but the shave is nothing to write home about. My old stand-by Norelco will make a return appearance this week.Customer Review: Up from freeglider
Summary: 5 Stars
I went from a rotary norelco that tore my neck apart to a braun freeglider with the lotion to this activator. It's much lighter and more powerful than the freeglider. I use it to not only shave my face but head as well. I've never put a blade to my head and with this shaver I have no desire to.
I've had the unit since may06. Put it in the cleaner base about once a week. Otherwise I'd brush it off throughly. One cleaning cartridge lasted 5 months. I just picked up some cutter blocks. They say 18 months but I shave twice as much area.
I'd say I have sideways growing neck hair. The activator does much better at picking those up than the freeglider did. The shave is fairly quick. I suppose 5-8 minutes for the face and head. It is necessary to go over most areas more than once. This doesn't bother me since I have experienced very little irritation.
I'm impressed with the lasting power. It runs strongly up until about 30 seconds before it completely dies. The freeglider noticeably degraded and ran at a lull for quite some time before it completely died. Since I run a week before I charge/clean the base always selects the intensive setting. The cleaning setting is directly related to the battery level. Low battery life equals intensive clean. No complaints about the cleaning process. It does a great job of conditioning the cutter.
Customer Review: Poor Customer Service
Summary: 1 Stars
The razor gives a close shave, but I have had problems with Braun's customer service. I have owned the razor for almost a year. After approximately six months, the lights on the charging/cleaning base would not come on and the base would not clean the razor. I called Braun and they told me which service center to send it to and gave me the number so that I could call first. I called the service center, described the symptoms and was instructed to send in the base at my expense. Well...weeks became months with no word from Braun or the service center. I called Braun and they told me to contact the service center. I did as instructed and they told me that the base was fine and that maybe there was a problem with the razor or the charging adaptor and that I would have to send them in at my expense even though I was originally asked to send in only the base. Interestingly enough, I have been using the razor and charger without incident. I am frustrated that they have had my base for months and have not contacted me to tell me their conclusion. I will send in my razor and go back to a blade until I receive my repaired setup; hopefully it will be back in a reasonable amount of time. Though I like the ergonomics and shave of the 8585, I will probably not buy any more Braun products due to the poor attention Braun gives to the buyer after the sale.Customer Review: I love this thing!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've used electric shavers all my life. I've never been comfortable using a blade because I always ended up with more knicks & cuts then it was worth. Part of the problem is that I have a very fine beard, especially in the neck area. This results in a lot of 'scragglers' that were almost impossible to get with an electric razor. But after using this razer since Christmas, I have to admit that I LOVE THIS THING! It's given me a closer shave then I've ever gotten from any other electric razer (and I've tried cheaper Brauns, Norelco's, Panasonic, etc). It picks up the scragglers and leaves everything smooth as silk. The automatic cleaning system also kick @ss. Just put it into the dock and let it do it's thing. 30 minutes later, it comes out fresh and ready to go again. No more hassling with brushes and periodic cleaning. (Hint: To save on the cleaning cartridge, I tend to dock and clean it after every-other shave - it still comes up with "normal" cleaning. There's a higher and lower level of cleaning that it will use depending on how often you dock it.) I have to admit I am spending a little more time shaving then I used to, but I attribute that to me making sure I'm picking up all the 'loose ends' that my previous razers always left behind and taking the time to make the shave as smooth as possible.Customer Review: Decent Shaver, terrible charger / cleaner
Summary: 2 Stars
I've had the Braun 8585 for four months now. The device does not age well.
Despite the use of the included cleaning / charging base, two screws under the foil screen are rusting. I'm considering this a cosmetic problem until something actually falls apart.
The main problem I have is with the cleaning / charging base. When I put the razor in the base, I have to jiggle it for several minutes to get the "Charge" light to come on or to get the base to determine a cleaning cycle to use.
When I do get the base to start cleaning the razor, the razor always shakes lose during the same stage of the cleaning. At one point the razor turns on and begins running, and it's at this stage that the razor shakes itself lose and disconnects. The end result is a razor that refuses to charge in the base and isn't being cleaned.
My wife managed to get it to hold still for a cleaning cycle with the careful use of a Q-tip to jam the razor against the wall of the case. This is an art I've been unable to master.
While I can still charge the razor using the electrical cable, the major feature, the self cleaning functionality, is completely useless.
In the end, I'm disappointed in the razor, and have no intention of purchasing a Braun razor in the future.