I had long back tried a Braun foil shaver, dry type. I was not happy with it's performance and gave it off. Since then, I tried various cartridge razors, but none of them satisfied me as the Gillette Fusion 5. Believing that changing over to electric shaver would give me the advantage of avoiding in-grown hair, I was researching various products in the market. Since I had already tested a foil type shaver, this time I preferred to try the rotary type offered by Philips Norelco. But then I was confused about the various models of Norelco and was spoiled by choice. Nobody, not even the manufacturer, offers a clear cut distinction of the advantage or the disadvantage of one model over the other. It was a little strange to see some higher series like the 5000 series (I bought the 5582 model) costed almost half the price of lower series models like the 3500 series models. I toyed between the cost of the models and a few features like battery life and the number of cutting edges like 45 for the 5000 series against the 27 for the 3000 series and the presence of SenseIQ. It was almost like a lottery and I settled upon the S5582/20 model for a cost of about Rs. 7850. This is a dry and wet model like most new models are, with a trimmer that appears to be not all that efficient. But, the main reason for the purchase was for the shave, which it does most efficiently. I have now been using it for ten days and I can now confidently vouch for a very clean and close shave. On every term of consideration, the shave I have been experiencing with this shaver is superior to and faster than the cartridge (fusion 5) shaver I have been using hitherto. I don't sport a moustache. Shaving time for my entire face is about 3 to 4 minutes only. Shaving of the neck also is absolutely smooth and clean. I indulge only in wet shaving everyday, with Gillette gel. The experience is very pleasant and smooth. But then, will there be somebody to talk about the merits and demerits of various series of Philips Norelco (since there are models from about Rs. 3,000 to about Rs. 90,000) for the benefit of the buyer. The dichotomy is that the shaver pamphlet advises the shaving head to be replaced every year. But the spare shaverhead SH 71 recommended for this shaver suggest a replacement every alternate year. Which one is right? Another surprise is that the shaverhead costs almost as much as the shaver itself.
