Panasonic Arc5 Electric Razor for Men, 5 Blades Shaver and Trimmer - Sensor Technology, Automatic Clean and Charge Station, Wet Dry, Silver

Update 12/15/2017: I am still using this shaver on a daily basis and it still performs great. Battery has held up well as it will hold a charge for about 3-4 weeks shaving with shaving approx. 2 minutes every morning. I replaced the inner blades/outer foil once around the 2 year mark as I started to get razor burn. Replacing the blades/foil made it as good as new. Going to keep using this thing until it dies. Hope you all have as good of luck with it as I did.Original Review: I bought this shaver to replace an older Remington r7130. I am active duty military and have to shave daily, so I wanted to get a shaver that would give me a fast, close shave. My old Remington wasn't working the best even after replacing the blades and cleaning it regularly so I wanted to try something new.I read reviews that the Panasonic ES-LV95-S and Braun 799cc were two of the best foil shavers and decided to compare them. I have thick facial hair with tough skin on my face, but sensitive skin on my neck and was hoping that these two would cause less irritation on my neck than my old Remington. I only tested these two shavers dry, but here's how it went for me.Sound and Feel: The Panasonic was slightly louder than the Braun, but it was most likely due to the fact that it had a higher pitch since it runs at 14,000 cycles per minute vs. Braun's 10,000 vibrations per minute. I wouldn't describe either as being too loud since they didn't bother my wife or dog that were sleeping in the next room at 530 AM. The Panasonic felt like the foil got warm when it was shaving, but wasn't hot or annoying. You could definitely tell that it was giving you a close shave. The Braun had more of a vibration to it that almost felt like a massage and you couldn't really tell it was cutting the hairs, but it was. Overall I would say the Braun sounded and felt slightly better than the Panasonic when using it.Shave Quality: I tested the two shavers daily for a week then with two days growth when on leave by shaving half my face with the Panasonic and half with the Braun. Neither my wife, mother, or mother-in-law were able to tell the difference between the sides when looking at me. However, when the touching my face they always said the side I used the Panasonic on felt smoother without knowing which shave I used. Also, the side the Panasonic was used on took longer for my five o'clock shadow to show up than the side with the Braun, but just slightly. I would say that the Panasonic definitely provides a closer shave than the Braun.Shave Time and Cleaning Ease: I was able to get as close a shave as possible on the Panasonic side approximately one minute faster than the Braun's side every time with about 2 minutes for the Panasonic vs. 3 minutes for the Braun. It is easier to manually rinse the Panasonic as well since it's foil and blades are separate whereas the Braun's foil and blades are one unit. I did not compare the cleaning stations as I planned on returning one of the shavers and was more concerned with a fast, quality shave over how well the cleaning unit works.Accessories: The Braun's cleaning station looks nicer than the Panasonic's and other reviews say that it works better, but like I said earlier, I did not compare the cleaning stations. The charging cords can plug into the back of their respective shavers or cleaning stations, so there's really no difference in charging options. The carrying case for the Braun was a hard clam shell design while the Panasonic was a soft leather. I did like the case for the Braun better, but since Panasonic provides a protective cap for the foil it wasn't a deal breaker for me.Overall: For a dry shave the Panasonic consistently provided a higher quality shave in a shorter time. I did not test the wet shave of either. It did seem that the Panasonic would provide a better wet shave as well since it would be easier to rinse hair and shaving cream from its foil and blades than the Braun. I am definitely happy with the Panasonic and will be sticking with it even though it cost me ~ $150 more than the Braun. The shave quality and speed was worth it to me.On a side note, the dry shave of the Panasonic was nearly as close of a shave as using a Schick Hydro 5 razor with shaving cream. The razor (with new blades) got slightly closer, but the Panasonic had less irritation and no chance of dealing with any cuts when in a hurry. I am pleasantly surprised with how well this shaver works.

Over the years I've gone back & forth between blade-shaving & electric razors. The electric razors I bought were usually something I'd seen or heard touted somewhere or purchased off the shelf at Walmart, purposely chosen from "the middle of the pack" (as in not the cheapest, nor the most expensive). None of them really lived up to their hype and I'd return to blades, cream & water after a year or so, often sooner.For a long time I vacillated between the top rated models for Norelco & Braun - one a triple-header, the other a foil shaver. Both shavers went for almost $300, so I wanted desperately for my ultimate choice to shave as close as a blade. Still, I postponed making a choice, revisiting the the reviews & testimonials, but couldn't pull the trigger because of the cost. Finally, I got an idea to look for the next best reviewed & recommended shaver I was very surprised by what I found out...In looking over the Panasonic ARC5 ($167) I found it was reviewed twice as much as the Braun 9290cc ($259) and 4 times more than the Norelco 9700 ($299) - and was rated higher overall at 4.5 by over 2300 reviewers! In reading through a lot of reviews for the Panasonic - both favorable & unfavorable - I found some by men who actually had previously purchased 1 or both of the other razors. Based on these comparisons & reviews I made my order in July 2019 & have not looked back!I went all in and made sure I got the cleaning station, an extra foil/blades & pouches of cleaning lotion; enough to last me for 3 years without having to reorder anything else. When I received the package there was the advice to give the "system" a full 30 days of use - no matter what - in order to have an informed opinion of the product ...and to get used to it. Although I was already in for the long haul I still felt this was good advice for anyone else using the new shaver for the first time.At this point, almost 4 months later, I don't want to sound like a gushing commercial - but this is one time where my homework paid off and I am perfectly happy with my purchase. The shave is almost as smooth & close as with a blade, but much quicker, neater & easier - which are all major considerations for making the change to electric. Right? Yes, it even gets those irksome neck & chin whiskers better than any other shaver I've ever owned before. It can also be used wet or dry, with lotion or foam. Clean-up is a snap: just cradle it in the cleaning unit, press the button & go about your day.The only peculiarity I've noted is how long & initially loud the cleaning cycle is - but not a concern especially once finished you're gone, anyway. At first the shaver itself seemed louder than I expected, but now I don't even think about it or notice. The cleaning/lubricating lotion needs to be changed every month or so - or you can look for the red light on the cleaning station that indicates a need for a change. Simply pop it open, slide out the reservoir and rinse it clean. No filters to change or brush out; add a fresh packet of lotion then dilute it with water up to the line; and you're good until the next time!Again, I'm very happy with my purchase and look forward to using this system for a long, long time. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or for an update as part of making your own decision to buy one.EDIT: Today is August 18, 2020, almost a complete year since I started using this electric razor. My opinion & initial review still stand. One thing I didn't mention before is that I'm disabled in a wheelchair with a condition called Primary Lateral Sclerosis (PLS). It has progressed to where it is often difficult to hold things or use use them with one hand.I find I can easily use this shaver with a "2-handed" grip on difficult days - something others may find useful. It also has a feature where you can freeze or stabilize the head if needed. It also has two settings for closeness - a default sensitive setting, or press the button switch to go to a regular "shave". Either way, I have not been bitten by this shaver, even when shaving a thick 4 or 5 day growth. I haven't had to change the clipper or foil head yet. It is recommended to do so once a year. I've got the extra parts, so let's see how long I can go with the originals.As I said before: Buy with confidence!