Only half great (Latest Review)

1.0 Out of 5

By Gary, 14th April, 2013

• Panasonic ES-LF71 4 Blade with Clean & Charge Shaver
• Shaver
• 

It's a step up from the Remington Micro-screen, sure, but it's still an electric razor. From what I've learned it all depends on your beard type and the direction of growth. For the face, cheek and jawline, it's really excellent. Smooth, close shave, I'm impressed.

For anything below the jawline, the neck, chin, Adams apple area, it's truly awful. It didn't touch the hairs, not in wet mode nor dry. With and without shaving gel. 20 minutes later and an aching arm from the weight of the shaver, after three attempts I had to finish off every time with a traditional wet shave. Which kind of defeats the point.

The shaver has a self cleaning mode when it's in the charger. This self cleaning mode is loud and long. Way more than an hour, seemed like 2 hours, noise, bubbling, more noise, louder than the TV, very distracting if it's on and you're in the same room.

I'm disappointed this shaver didn't work for me, I had high hopes for it based on the raving reviews.

One last point, the mustache area was also very difficult. Not close to the nose which is where you would expect it, but at the very edge of the lip is where it struggles. Then it leaves the odd single hairs that wont come off no matter what direction you try.

It was interesting to compare the two methods, electric and tradition wet shave. Having to finish off with a wet shave anyway, I shaved the whole face again, not just the failed areas, a "before and after" test. Even where the electric did a good job, I could still feel and hear the remaining stubble coming off with a wet shave.

I've had to return my Panasonic for a refund.

Nice Shaver

5.0 Out of 5

By Lez D., 18th December, 2012

• Panasonic ES-LF71 4 Blade with Clean & Charge Shaver
• Shaver
• 

I suffer from heavy beard growth. Having to shave 2 to 3 times a day. I've tried numerous electric shavers over the years, and non have given me a decent shave. So I have to suffer the nicks and blood of a wet shave. I've got soo tired of this and started looking again for an electric/battery shaver.

Found this company on the web. Very impressed. Loads of info on shavers from all the manufacturers, and pretty decent prices. Also lots of help and advice on shaving issues. They also sell other electricals. Anyway, my mate told me about the Panasonics. So looked through the range. And was drawn to the ES-LF71. Middle of the range. It's got a high speed.(14,000revs). 4 blades. Wet/Dry shave. And a lot of other impressive features. And it's a good price.

I didn't want to pay loads of money on one of these, in case it ended up being no good and chucked in the cupboard like the others. It still took me a few weeks to finally go for it. But I did. And the next day it arrived. First impressions. Out of the box. Very nice bit of kit. Well made, not too big or heavy. Feels comfortable in the hand. You get some extras with it. BUT you don't get a 2to3 pin adapter for plugging into mains for charging or using. So, if you don't have a shaving point or an adapter. You have to get one. A bit stingy of Panasonic I think. But a quick call and a moan to their customer service. There is now one in the post. So I'm using an old one for now.

After a quick charge up. The moment of truth. Will it give me a decent shave. I've not shaved for a few days. So have quite heavy stubble. Well! It ploughed its way through it without breaking into a sweat. The 14000revs the shaver has worked wonders. It is a bit noisy. Like having a wasp in you ear. But I'll except that for the most impressive shave I've had for years, with a battery/electric. It took just over 10 minutes to shift my growth down to a baby's bum. And the charge only dropped to 80% on the LED display.

No irritation, no heat, no pulling. Nothing. Just a very smooth close shave. Yippee!!!. I think I've finally found a shaver that works for me. Not tried the cleaner yet. Or a Wet shave with it. At the moment I'm just happy to use it as is. And to see how long the blades last before they need replacing. Its early days. But, If you suffer like me. And fancy a try of an electric/battery shaver over a wet shave. You won't go far wrong in buying this one. It works so far for me. It may for you.

Also with great service from Shavers.co.uk. It's a win win situation.

Saved by its price at Shavers.co.uk

4.0 Out of 5

By Daniel, 19th September, 2012

• Panasonic ES-LF71 4 Blade with Clean & Charge Shaver
• Shaver
• 

The ES-LF71 is in a price range (£270!) that I don't even look at for a shaver (unless it can load my emails and make coffee). I had to replace my excellent ES8026 whose charging base died and wanted to keep the same level of performance (i.e. strong/fast Linear motor, wet'n dry,...) and the choice nowadays seems limited to the pricey "Lamdash" range. However, at £139,the ES-LF71 became much more appealing.

It feels lighter that my old ES8026, probably due to having only 1 battery inside, but too early to tell if it's any more fragile.

I currently use the bulky charging/cleaning dock, but it'll return in its box once the provided cartridge is empty: I really don't intend to spend ~£60 a year for recharges! Hopefully, the shaver can be cleaned and charged without that gadget.

On the pros side:
- the lock for the power button.
- the articulated head
- the 'sonic' cleaning mode (press power for 5 sec)
- the very fast and strong motor, keeping a shaving session under 4 minutes even with a 3-days beard.
- good battery life

On the cons side:
- a very narrow trimmer blade compared to my old shaver.
- expensive parts, but should be hopefully possible to make the foil and cutter last the whole shaver's life as I did before with proper care.

Overall, for £139, a very good product allowing for fast and close shaving.