Short Version: For the last seven or so years I’ve been using a ghetto old shaver kit from Walgreens to trim my beard and cut my hair. (I don’t cut my hair anymore; that was just in college when I was a little less poor than now.) I don’t recall the last time I actually shaved with a razor and the ghetto one that I have now not only rips the hairs off my baby face, it never gives me an even trim. Norelco’s stubble trimmer alleviates both annoyances and never gets clogged or requires the blades to be sharpened. So, if you’re like me and you never shave then $40 isn’t too much to fork over for the Philips Norelco Stubble Trimmer.
Extended Version
There are a total of nine settings with the shortest being 0.4 inches. Norelco’s proprietary Steel-Wave technology makes for a smooth and even trim as well as sharpening the blades on the go. Clean up is a cinch, too. Twist off the contour-following comb and pop the blade section open to clear the excess hair and you’re good to go.
The contour-following comb flexes as you shave and follows the contours of your face ensuring you only need to take one pass for a clean, even trim. I can say that it’s not a clever marketing ploy and that it actually works. My skin has never once been irritated in the couple months that I’ve been using the trimmer.
Unlike the Wahl trimmer that Doug reviewed in July, the Norelco trimmer only lasts about 30 minutes off a single charge, which takes roughly 10 hours. That’s not a deal breaker for me since the charger isn’t very big and it’s easy to stow when I’m packing up for a trip out of town. For the same price and in some cases slightly less, the Wahl might be a purchase since it lasts up to 2.5 hours. However, I guarantee that the Norelco trimmer requires less time to get the job done thanks to that fancy contour-following comb. So it probably evens out in the long run.
Grab one now for $40 at Amazon.
[PSGallery=agw0k910xbo]
Philips Norelco Stubble Trimmer (QT4021) [Philips Norelco]