Braun 8595 Activator Self-Cleaning Shaving System with LCD Display
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Customer Reviews of Braun 8595 Activator Self-Cleaning Shaving System with LCD Display
Customer Review: Don't believe the hype
Summary: 1 Stars
I got this shaver for Christmas expecting it to live up to all the hype about the foil head and self-cleaning, etc. I was sorely disappointed.
First, I was a bit perturbed that you need to purchase new cleaning solutions (at $10 each!!) every MONTH! If I'm buying a $180 shaver, the last thing I want to do is spend more money on it. The $180 should pay for years of shaving, and having to constantly buy new cleaning solutions was an investment I wasn't willing to make...
But I WAS willing to put up with it if the shave was great. Unfortunately, this was not the case. The first shave was disappointing overall--long hairs were completely missed, both on my neck and my chin. But I put this, too, aside, blaming it on my face. Surely after a couple shaves my face would adjust and I would be getting better results.
Four shaves later, the Activator was not performing as it said it would. Hairs were continually missed, even after going over them several times and using both the pivoting and stable head options. Braun's claims that just a simple, fast shave would get the job done were not true. A couple times, after finishing with the Activator, I was even forced to SHAVE AGAIN with my OLD SHAVER to rid of the stray hairs!!! This was not looking good...
Then came the base. First of all, the thing is huge. How am I supposed to take this on vacations, or to my other home? How do I even MOVE IT from one end of the room to the other without fear of spilling some of the precious cleaning solution!?!?!
Secondly, the charging/cleaning base makes this high-pitched ringing noise, even when not cleaning or charging. My sink is in my bedroom so I keep my shaver there, and the noise was keeping me up at night. I figured I could get used to it but I was forced to unplug the base unit every time before I went to sleep--a very, very unnecessary annoyance, and one that could've easily been prevented with some modified design or internal readjustments.
The cleaning process itself is LOUD. It sounds like a drill. On top of that, it takes a half hour to clean (nearly an hour on "intensive" mode). And you have no choice in how you would like your shaver to be cleaned--it is selected automatically. After two quick shaves, my shaver registered that it needed an "intensive" cleaning--something that takes nearly 50 minutes and uses a ton of solution. I can't imagine that there was that much hair in my shaver after only two quick shaves!
Finally, I was keeping an eye on the cleaning solution level to see how often I would REALLY have to replace these things. The book says every four weeks, but after two cleans my solution reservoir was only 2/3 full. Do the math.
At last, I gave up. I'm taking the shaver back, and I will never ever buy a Braun product ever again.
DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE!!! THIS SHAVER IS TERRIBLE!!! DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY!!! BUY A CHEAPER SHAVER THAT WILL PROBABLY GIVE YOU A BETTER SHAVE ANYWAY!!!
Customer Review: The Next Stage in Braun Shaving Technology
Summary: 5 Stars
When the new BrAun 8000 series quietly debuted, I was curious as to what advancements could be made to a fine shaver like the BrAun Synchro 7000 series.
The answers are a whole new design, although predicated on the earlier 7000 series self-cleaning BrAuns, and most importantly, a new screen design that really does help capture all kinds of hair types as opposed to the standard Braun screen as well as the screen on most other shavers, this one features a screen of various openeing sizes that are a geometric pattern.
BrAun seems to have concentrated on keeping their expertise in the dry shaver market, as opposed to Panasonic who leads the pack in the wet/dry shavers, and it really shows with this shaver.
The unit is just as well thought out in design as the 7000 series although I personally find the 7000 series a better looking overall shell, with the 8595 featuring a shiney silver appearnace as opposed to the Titanium/Champagne and black of the 7000 series.
The Shaver runs just as smoothly as the 7000 series but the real leap in performance seems to be due to the screen design. After having used this new model for over a week I can attest to the fact that BrAun's claim of cutting and capturing more hair per pass on your face is valid. The shave seems a bit closer than the synchro 7000 series and certainly takes less time to get a better quality shave than the earlier 7000 series models and rivals that of the Panasonic wet dry models I have earlier reviewed. The clean and charge base is smaller than the 7000 series but does use the same refill cartridges as the earlier models and seems to be more efficient at the cleaning/charging duties as it automatically reads from the shaver what type of charge and clean is required, either economy, normal or intensive, as well as reading the cartridge fill level. Battery maintennace and health is a premium and is included on the 8000 series and will deep discharge the batteries once it "sees" the regular use requires it for battery health.
All in all BrAun is introducing a decided improvement over its venerable 7000 series and keeps it's claim as the premeier dry shaver in the world. On a personal note I never obtained world class results until I went from the Electric Shave type products, to a quality shaving oil such as The Total Shaving Solution, not sold by Amazon (but should be!). I use 1 drop and rub it in on my face, wait 30 seconds and shave and I have never had such a smooth, comfortable shave, even with my Panasonic wet/dry shaveer I have always been crazy about. If anything, clean up with the BrAun is even better than the Panasonic as I just splap it in the holder and push down the lock for a clean, charged and dry razor the next time my beard is ready!
If you are ready for an investmnent or upgrade from either the earlier BrAun models, or even the Panasonic wet/dry shavers, you will not be disappointed with the Braun 8595, a world class shaver giving world class results!
Customer Review: Works as advertised, best shave I've ever had
Summary: 5 Stars
Ok I've never typed up a review here on Amazon, but since I based my decision to buy this shaver from all the other reviews on here, I thought I should at least contribute back to the community.
I won't repeat what has already been said. Bottomline, this shaver does what it claims. And it does give the best shave I've ever had. And yes, my whiskers lie flat around my throat like a lot of other guys and my 3-rotor Norelco would never get all of them which forced me to use a twin-edge Gillette after 10 mins on the Norelco to get the stubborn wiskers.
I'm in my 40's and have used electric shavers all my life. My experience has been either I don't get a good shave, or if I press hard enough against my skin, all the electric shavers I've had in the past would leave my skin with a burning sensation.
Not this Braun. I thought the screeen looked gimicky, but it really does the job. Note that I have NOT been able to save any time shaving with the Braun. It still takes me 5-10 minutes to shave (depending how many days over the weekend I opted to skip shaving). But when I do spend 5-10 minutes with the Braun, I always wind up with the best cleanest shave. I can't say that with the other electric shavers I've used even after 10 minutes.
Regarding the cleaner - I'm following the clean once a week and then reseal it trick. I didn't want to buy cleaner every month. So far I've had this 8595 about 3 weeks and I only clean it once a week AND only charge it once a week. The battery still shows 50% charge remaining by the end of the week so I suppose I could push it to every 2 weeks if I wanted.
Basically if you want to, just use the auto clean and when it's done, pull out the cleaning solution "tub" and reseal it with the originally provided shipping plugs that came with it. It won't evaporate during the week while sealed up. At the end of week, get out the charging station (I leave mine under the sink cabinet), slap in the solution "tub", drop in the shaver and enable the auto clean.
I doesn't bug me to not have it cleaned every day. I'm just glad I now have a product that can auto clean for me on a weekly basis. A real time saver in my opinion and no mess in the sink or trash with old wiskers.
I will confirm other things you'll read from other reviews:
- yes the auto clean is noisy. I don't do auto clean in the mornings with the wife sleeping. I do my once a week auto clean in the evening after I get home from work
- yes the blue light is bright... doesn't matter to me, I only have the charging station out on the sink once a week for the cleaning
- yes the plug-in charger is big and sticks out of the socket pretty far... again no biggie to me because I only plug it in once a week
That's about it. Hope this review helps you decide if the 8595 meets your needs and expectations.
Customer Review: BEST RAZOR I EVER HAD
Summary: 5 Stars
I received the 8595 Braun Activator Model for my birthday and secretly thought that all its printed features were pure hype.
How surprized I was when I actually started shaving with this model.
Informatively, since I am retired it is not necessary for me to shave every day, and since I do not really find it pleasureable to shave, especially with the maintenance, etc., that comes in different forms, I skip many days and shave when only when necessary.
My last shaver was the Panasonic wet/dry rechargeable Shaver, for which I paid close to 250 dollars and found lacking all the hype that went on in advertisisng this shaver. It took forever to complete a shave, but since I had some old Norelco models, I would at times use 2 razors to complete the job.
Now for the 8595 Braun Activator: Following closely the instructions which recommeded that the face be dry and to shave prior to washing, it did away with the Pre-Electric lotions that have increased in price. So, with Shaver in hand I commence shaving and notice that it is the closest shave I have ever had with an electric razor. Now comes the best part: No use running hot water over the shaver head, as in the case of the Panasonic Shaver, I had to use liquid soap in the cleaning when Shaver indicated cleaning, and there was an indicator for recharging. With my 8595 model Braun, when I finish shaving I place the shaver in the station and it automatically does all the rest. When setting up the shaver for first use, there is a cleaning cartridge that is inserted into the station. One just follows the instructions. The cleaning cartridge should last about a month and sells for about 5 dollars each. No other stuff is needed. It is recommeded to shave daily. So when the cartridge is inserted and the station is connected to an ac outlet, you just shave and return the razor into the station and as advertised it automatically does the rest.
The shaver automatically adusts when one uses the sideburn trimmer, etc.
Regarding the cleaning cartridge as mentioned above, if it is used daily it lasts 30 days, if not used daily it should last
approximately 8 weeks.
So here it is: Cleaning and lubrication plus re-charging the battery is all done automatically as advertised.
I am very satisfied with this Razor and now shaving is just as simple as I have always wished it would be.
I highly recommend this shaver. This from an individual that has gone through many a shaver, hoping for the best, but disappointed in actual performance.
Lastly, I would have added a few more stars in addition to the five stars in the rating.
Robert Lyons
Reno, Nevada
Customer Review: Good razor, but not without flaws
Summary: 3 Stars
I read all the amazon reviews before purchasing this razor, but there are a few things I didn't really consider that I wish had known before I bought it.
I think many people have already discussed the positives, so I will focus on other topics. I agree that the razor provides a closer shave than my old norelco, but it also takes me longer to shave and I do miss more hairs. In particular I have trouble with hairs on my neck and hairs next to my ears (where my sideburns would be). The shape of the razor makes it difficult to get to the hairs closest to my ears.
The razor is a lot louder than my old razor, so I am frequently worried about waking people up. Even louder than shaving though is the cleaning function. The problem with this is that it takes between 30 and 50 minutes for the razor to clean itself using the base unit. It only actually makes noise intermittently during that time, but when it does it is very loud (and frequently startling for other people if they walk into the bathroom and all the sudden it starts going off). Again, having something making noise that loud off and on for 50 minutes makes it difficult to find a time where I can clean it without worrying about waking someone up (I of course wake up earlier than anyone else in my house, so this may not be a problem for some people). As an aside, you can't effectively stop the cleaning once you've started it, so it is not pleasant when you start the cleaning and then realize you missed hairs...probably on your neck or next to your ears.
In spite of its noise, I do like the cleaning function, and I think it cleans well. I also think it may help keep acne at bay. The other drawback of the cleaning though is that the extent of the cleaning is out of your control. That is to say, you can't shave three times and do a quick clean (or atleast I haven't figured out how to). The razor keeps track of how long you've shaved since your last cleaning and chooses a length of cleaning time based on that. So, it forces you to use more cleaning solution than is probably necessary. As someone who works for a company that employs similar strategies, I can assure you this is not an accident. Braun makes its highest margins on the solution sales. They consist of about 10 cents of alcohol/water and 25 cents of plastic, but cost $5, so it is a way to drive after market revenue. They've also been designed so that you can't refill/reuse them. It's a smart strategy for Braun because otherwise electric razors are not a particularly profitable business compared to disposable blades--but it's not so great if you're the consumer.