Panasonic ES8168S Men's Vortex Hydra Clean System with Convex Cutting System
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Customer Reviews of Panasonic ES8168S Men's Vortex Hydra Clean System with Convex Cutting System
Customer Review: The Decline of Panasonic's Linear Series
Summary: 2 Stars
Let me preface this by stating that I'm a long-time fan of Panasonic Wet/Dry Linear razors and that the ES8168S was my 3rd in this series. I bought it to replace my now-tired ES8152NC which had replaced my ES 8065 even earlier. Unfortunately, each model I upgraded to was not up to par with the one they were replacing. You see, I'm cursed with very thick facial hair and sensitive skin. Shaving with a blade simply reduces my face to a rashy mess so I have to stick with electrics that can best help me achieve a close shave without breaking me out. Enter the hall-of-famer: The ES 8065. To this day I have never encountered a better razor. It was fast, powerful and cut through my stubble like butter. I had to be careful with the pressure I used or I'd break out but I could manage it just fine. Sadly, this unit finally couldn't seal out water any more so I relegated it to backup status and bought myself an ES8152NC. I don't know if it was because of the more tightly spaced blades, the fact that the foils were housed in a plastic instead of metal block, or whatever, but it just took more work to get the same close shave as before. Even then I still did dry touch-ups with my 8065. After finally running the '52 into the ground, I decided to pick up an ES8168S and hoped for the best. Not only did it not match my 8065 (not even close) it actually had a harder time cutting my facial hair than the 8152! I gave it a fair shot, using it every morning for 29 days, before returning it. What happened, Panasonic? Please go back to the metal block, high torque, probably more expensive to produce, just plain superior design traits the 8065 exhibited! In the meantime, I'm off the bandwagon and searching for a good wet/dry electric razor. I currently have Sanyo's new SV-RX10 on the way from Amazon as I write this. Their specs look promising and I'll be sure to write a review after living with it for a month.Customer Review: Love the options and features
Summary: 4 Stars
I've been shaving with the 8168S for about 5 months now. It is the best shaver I've ever used, though not perfect. In general the shaver is very well thought out affording the user many choices that most shavers don't. The wet/dry feature is perhaps the most significant of these. This also allows you to rinse the razor clean after each use under ordinary tap water dispensing with the need for brushes, and working much better. The charging/washing unit works well. I've seen complaints about its long cycle time, but so long as the razor is ready for use the next time I need it (in 24 hours) I really don't see how this makes any difference. The grip and design are nice. The linear motor is great -- keeping the razor runing as if fully charged until it has no charge left instead of slowing down as most do. I have also found that this razor is the kindest to my face -- I've yet to come away with a cut, raspberry, or abrasion, whereas this was quite commong with the Brauns I had used for years before.
The only downside is that it still requires many many passes over the face to produce a smooth shave -- certainly no less and probably more, than the Braun. So all this technology is not in the end producing much of a difference in actual shaving performance. I wonder if this razor had the nano blades whether it would shave better. I don't understand why this razor -- seemingly the flagship of the Panasonic line -- does not have their best blade technology (contrary to some other reviews, there is no mention of the nano blade technology in connection with this razor in marketing literature or on the box). I can only hope that the replacement blades will incorporate this technology, and that if they do it will make a difference.
Still, as I said, its the best shaver I've ever used in a field that I believe generally underperforms expectations.
Customer Review: Pretty powerful with some shortcomings
Summary: 4 Stars
I've had a half-dozen electric razors over the years, both of the foil and rotary style, and this is my most recent. It is not the best I've had, but quite good. Here are my pros and cons:
Pros:
- Powerful motor cuts my beard easily.
- Smooth shave - probably the best I've had from an electric.
- Nice accessories - the cleaning station, etc. are pretty easy to use.
- Light weight and easy to carry.
Cons:
- Makes a mess. Leaks little hair dust all over, far worse than any other electric I've owned.
- Charges slowly compared to other razors I've had.
- Charge does not last as long as some (such as the Norelco I had previously). I'd gladly have it weigh an ounce more for an extra couple days of use between charges.
- Beard trimmer feels cheap and its locking mechanism seems less reliable than others I've used. (I've never had to consciously think about "did I click the trimmer into place?" before and on this razor I have to think about it or it doesn't lock.)
Neither here nor there:
- Percentage charged readout only shows multiples of 10%. Personally, I preferred the "minutes left" readout on my previous razor.
- Cleaning system takes a long time and is quite noisy. This is the first razor I've bought with a cleaning station, so I'm not sure if this is any better or worse than the norm.
- Getting a close shave is not particularly fast with this razor, though as mentioned above, the end result is very good.
All in all, I'm giving this 4 stars based on the ease of shaving and the smoothness of the end result, despite the shortcomings.
Customer Review: This one will convert you
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been using a Gillette Mach 3 for a long time. I have been very apprehensive about picking up electric razors because I believed they would make the beard hair tough, or that it would hurt the skin in the long term. I have looked around quite a lot, and hit upon this item in Amazon. After looking at the reviews, I decided it was time I give the electric razor a try.
And have I been right on target! I got this razor online (I got a much better deal elsewhere). The first shave was not that exciting. But I knew I needed to give my beard some time to get used to the new shaving method. The razor initially didn't catch and cut all the hair. It used to miss hair under the chin quite a lot.
I took some time to get used to it. After about 5-6 shaves, I felt a lot more comfortable, and grew more confident in the way I attack my beard. I slowly worked out a circular motion that worked perfectly.
Maintenance is really easy. Its easy to clean, dry and charge the unit. This chore is a lot less painful than using shaving foam etc.
Some of the reviews here say that the shave is quick. Yes, the shave can be quick, but if you want the smoothness you'd get using manual shavers, it is going to take almost the same time. But since you do not have to conventrate on what you're doing, you can easily multi-task and finish the job. So, you actually end up saving time in the morning.
The shave is as close as a Mach III. But its a lot lot easier. I will never go back to Mach III. (Even if I have to, my beard will not like it).
Customer Review: Best shaver I have ever owned
Summary: 5 Stars
Before buying this shaver, I read most of the reviews listed here. They were helpful in allowing me to make the best decision I could. Where the reviews were positive (and there were many) they were helpful, to say the least. Where they were negative (there were a couple) they were trite in their complaints. This is a great shaver. Works excellent on my mug.
And that's just the thing, every one of us is different and will not likely experience the same exact results. I can not recommend this shaver enough. For me, it shaves extremely close. I can not use a blade daily as they rip my face to shreds, regardless of the shave cream used. This is the first shaver that did not give me red bumps on my neck...a blessing in itself.
The self-cleaning feature is neat, I use it about once every charging period. It's not overly noisy, it takes care of itself and is no hassle to use.
When using these reviews, do take the positives as your lead. The negatives, as I mentioned were all trite complaints. This is a shaver, not a deep-space probe. It works perfect for me, and if you have sensitive skin you will be able to shave daily without any irritation. Would I like for this shaver to have been less expensive? Sure. But I'd also like the new Ferrari 599 to be less expensive, but I'm not holding my breath. Sometimes, you must pay for quality...
Great job, Panasonic!
Great job, Amazon!
EXCELLENT JOB, all who took the time to review this product. THANK YOU!
Cheers!