I've been using nothing but electric shavers for three decades and have found Panasonic to make the best on the market. Other name brands of shavers would barely work for a year; each new model of Panasonic I have purchased has kept running longer than the previous one, the last one having survived for around three years. (And this despite having been dropped repeatedly on concrete.) I must note though, the last two linear Panasonics I have owned charged through induction: this made it super easy to plop the shaver into its charger and to snatch it out with just one hand. The new linear model no longer charges by induction: you have to carefully set the shaver into the stand to insure proper electrical contact, and it takes two hands to disconnect it from the power supply. Interestingly, the new model has the power adapter on the AC plug. Guess this keeps heat from regenerating to the shaver when charging, to prolong the life of the lithium-ion battery. Time will tell.
To further protect your investment, Panasonic has included a new, tougher leatherette travel pouch. It is contoured to fit perfectly around the shaver but unfortunately does not provide any room for the adapter cord and charging stand. Fortunately though this new model is giving me a lot more shaves per charge, so on short hops I really need not bring the charger along.
As for the shave, this thing is unexcelled. If you look closely at the shaving head in the photo, you will notice that the foil has a gentle curve to the top. This allows the correspondingly curved cutter blades to oscillate in an arc, maintaining an even pressure against the foil. Surprisingly then, although the new linear runs smoother and is slimmer and lighter and than any of its predecessors, it is noticeably louder-- humming with with power. I sport quite the course whisker but this thing cuts through my stubble like a hot knife through butter, giving me the fastest, best shave I ever had. And the new trimmer pops both up and out with an easy flick of a grippy rubber switch-- you gotta just try it yourself to see how nifty this new feature is.
The instruction booklet has a brief section entitled "For wet shaving" but they provide no guidance for shaving dry, so let me stick in some advice of my own here. Dry shaving is probably a better choice for those who still find themselves getting nicks with an electric, but you'll need to apply shaving talc or something like that. This will help raise up your stubble, much as shaving lotion would, without you losing your grip in places where you have to tug at your skin for your whiskers to stand up. Of course, you'll still have to use soap and water to get off the talc residue, so this method is not completely dry.
Wow, this thing shaves so close, I can actually see my face now!
Damn, I'm ugly.
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Panasonic ES8163 Shaver (factory refurbished)
I recently received this item and it has worked flawlessly for touching up my line-ups. This trimmer cuts as close as I could possibly ask for and it doesn't require that you press hard at all. It's simple, makes quick work of the job and is very precise.
