Braun Pulsonic Series 7 790 cc electric shaver with charge and renew
So what’s the story?
****************
I once heard a drill instructor once say to a recruit “Have you shaved this morning, laddie?”
The nervous recruit, with a gulp, squeaked “Yes, Sergeant”
“Well tomorrow morning” ... Read review
New model. released July 2007. Braun's most advanced shaver yet!. Sonic pulsing action. ... more
Linear Drive motor 10.000 oscillations per minute with no slow down. Cross cutting blade action. cuts hair with higher speed and precision. Sensoflex system offers ...
Braun Series 7 70cc electric shaver - use a braun, use your brain
Advantages: The best electric shaver I have ever found Disadvantages: It's quite expensive
Braun Pulsonic Series 7 790 cc electric shaver with charge and renew
So what’s the story?
****************
I once heard a drill instructor once say to a recruit “Have you shaved this morning, laddie?”
The nervous recruit, with a gulp, squeaked “Yes, Sergeant”
“Well tomorrow morning” came the riposte “Stand a little closer to the razor!”
And there, in a nutshell, is my problem with electric razors ... ...still haven’t – but the Braun Series 7 790cc comes closer than I ever expected to find.
Given that it retails in Boots for £250, you might think that it was a triumph of hope over experience that I even bought one to find out (especially as I was sceptical) but I did buy one and I don’t regret it at all.
(I did wait until Boots was doing one of its occasional discounts, so it was £200 and not £250, and I did buy it with Boots Advantage ... more
Braun Pulsonic Series 7 790 cc electric shaver with charge and renew
So what’s the story? **************** I once heard a drill instructor once say to a recruit “Have you shaved this morning, laddie?” The nervous recruit, with a gulp, squeaked “Yes, Sergeant” “Well tomorrow morning” came the riposte “Stand a little closer to the razor!” And there, in a nutshell, is my problem with electric razors or shavers: Immediately after I use one I look like I have maybe had a bad shave and within 4 hours – well before the end of the working day – I look like I have not shaved at all.
What does it matter? ***************** I never expected to find an electric shaver which gave me as good a shave as a wet shave with a blade – and to be completely honest, I still haven’t – but the Braun Series 7 790cc comes closer than I ever expected to find. Given that it retails in Boots for £250, you might think that it was a triumph of hope over experience that I even bought one to find out (especially as I was sceptical) but I did buy one and I don’t regret it at all. (I did wait until Boots was doing one of its occasional discounts, so it was £200 and not £250, and I did buy it with Boots Advantage Points, their loyalty point’s currency, rather than parting with any actual cash... ) You can get these shavers for less right now – maybe £130 - £150 on Amazon and elsewhere. Still not cheap, but it may be worth it anyway.
So what? ******* A fair question. Since I started shaving as a teenager I have had four or five electric shavers, battery, mains and rechargeable. I have found Braun to be the best for me (I personally found the Philishave floating head system to be totally useless – that was a waste of £70) but none of them, even the Braun, was very good. The most I have been able to expect was that I could get away with electric shaving two or three days a week, with a wet shave no less than every second day. Any less than that and I started to look like I had not shaved or had shaved with my eyes shut – random hairs left behind, longer hairs not trimmed etc.
(Another aside, but by the way – Victor Kiam might have found the shaver so good he bought the company but I found it to be useless).
OK, but what is it? ************** This is the Braun Series 7 790cc Clean & Renew System Electric Rechargeable Foil Shaver.
Let’s take those in more detail:
Well, it is another electric shaver, so far so ordinary. It has a nice heft to it, a comfortable weight, well designed hand grip (equally comfortable in left or right hand, too – no disadvantaging the sinister, here).
It is mains/rechargeable - you can run it direct from the mains, but it charges quickly and a full charge means you can take it away and use it every day for a couple of weeks before it will need another charge – enough for more holidays or business trips.
It is a foil shaver system, which basically means the facial hairs slip through small holes in the foil and are cut off, but it is MUCH smarter than most foil shavers. It features a Sensoflex dynamic shaving head (which tracks the shape of your face and neck like terrain following radar) and the Smart Foil means that far more hairs are cut whichever direction they come from and far fewer – for me, anyway – are left behind.
It has a three-stage cutting system too, so the hairs it cuts are cuts closer/shorter – usually the preserve of a blade and the main problem with electrics – but importantly without trapping or cutting the skin.
So, easy to use, nice to handle, charges quickly and runs for a good period with a charge, cuts well, getting most hairs and cutting them short, terrain following, are you starting to see why I like this shaver?
It also had a neat little pop-out sideburn or moustache trimmer which is actually at an angle designed to allow you to see what you are doing when using it – seems obvious, I know, but believe me this is radical. I think all the ergonomics people in person care have spent the last 10 years designing mascara brushes, so it is great that someone has been spared to spend a bit of time on men’s shavers!! This shaver uses what they describe as ‘pulsonic’ technology to lift hairs up from the recumbent to allow them to be tackled. No, I don’t know what that means, either, but it works – they are doing something right.
Anything else? *********** Thank you for asking, oh yes, much more.
This smart silver shaver has a LCD panel at the bottom which shows its percentage charge (in power blocks, a bit like a mobile phone display) and also another display which shows its hygiene status. With most electric shavers, you are supposed to open them or pop the top off and scoop out the accumulated hair trimmings with a little brush and dispose of them. Truth is most people don’t do it as often as they should; the device works less well etc. With this beauty, you place it shaving-head down into a Clean & Renew charging stand and press the button and away it goes. Whilst being recharged for you, the shaver head is also cleaned, the shavings removed and the blade cleaned, dried and lemon scented. There are two settings – ‘fast clean’ gives one cleaning/washing cycle (recharging at the same time) and ‘start cleaning’ which runs through several wash and dry cycles (and resets the hygiene status to 100% when it has finished and also fully recharges). It is easy and pleasant to you, and let’s be honest it also appeals to the gadget-obsessed little boy lurking inside to many adult men!
I also like that Braun have me one power lead that I can use to plug direct into the shaver, if I wish, or which will plug into the Clean & Renew charging stand, and also given me a tough plastic moulded case I can put the shaver in so it survives travel. When you are travelling (you won’t want to take the whole clean/charge base with you) you can wash the shaver head directly under the running tap.
Expensive to run, then? *******************
Well really not bad. There are three components here, basically. The foils and cutter blocks will need replacing and that package seems to be £20 - £32 depending on where you get it – but the clean and renew system will actually extend the life of these and the charging/cleaning bay also means the shave head is protected. You will also need pack of the cleaning fluid (it comes as a cartridge that slips into the bottom Clean & Renew station, very easy to use) and a pack of two of these is currently about £5. One lasts me about 6 weeks or so.
So – yes or no, is it worth it? ********************** Wet shaving is not free. Gillette (who dominates the market for men’s blade shaving systems) make a good return and whatever you use by way of blades needs regular replacement. So, there is a cost however you go about this. Some men never tolerate wet shaving very well (although most men can do better with a really good shave gel product like King of Shaves). For me, using the electric shaver is faster than wet shaving and I resent the time I have to spend – waste? – shaving every day, so anything that saves me even a little time is to be welcomed. So, in my opinion, yes - it’s worth the money: And without going all L’Oreal on you – I’m worth it.
Advantages: It shaves close. Its comfortable. It cleans itself. It looks the business. Disadvantages: None i can think of, apart from the extra cost of more cleaning cartridges.
...head vibrates; as according to Braun this is to loosen and raise problem hairs. But there are benefits to this as the shaver glides over your skin, and the flexing heads easily follow the curves of your face. The central cutter is known as the 'Power-Comb' as it aims to raise problem hairs that lie flat against the skin.
The shave quality certainly doesn't disappoint. After feeling my face it feels a lot smoother than with my old Philips rotary ... ...the Hygiene-o-meter went down, so the cleaning station chose the 'Eco' mode. There are also 'normal' and 'intense' modes (which are chosen automatically if required) and a 'fast mode' which takes only 25 seconds but does not dry the shaver. The cleaning station also looks great in its white body with its blue and green LEDs. Also the shaver can be washed under the tap, but this does not reset the 'Hygiene-o-meter'. A standard flip-up trimmer is built ...
Diamondblade2006 09.12.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Braun 9595 Pulsonic System
Advantages: Build quality, shaving performance, cleaning performance, low running costs Disadvantages: The only one - the plug is a shaver plug, and not a 3-pin mains plug
...the actual review of the Braun 790cc, the obvious thing you'll notice is the price. Yes, it can be crazy expensive depending on where you buy it (I got it for £150), but that is not as big a deal as it sounds, which will become clear through the review.
On first impressions the actual razor feels chunky, weighty but not heavy, and sits nicely in your hand. It also has a rubberised back to it where you hold it, which gives fantastic grip and confidence ... ...cleaning unit is white, but what you can't see are subtle silver flecks in the plastic, and all together give it a clean and sophisticated look - and it's not as large in real life as it looks in photos.
After reading other reviews, people criticised the noise while in use, so I was wary of that, but in all honestly it's not as loud as I was expecting - in fact, I would say it's a touch quieter than my previous Philishave.
Moving on to the shaving ...
TimmyRaa 31.01.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Braun 9595 Pulsonic System
Advantages: LCD Panel - Sonic Pulsing - fast clean option - lifts problem hairs Disadvantages: cartridge is good for approx. 30 cleaning cycles - cutter and foil in one complete head
...is without doubt the best Braun shaver to date. The combination of the new head, foil and cutter assembly has made this shaver the one to beat.
I have used the Panasonic ES 8163 and in many ways this gives a very similar shave, but with the very real advantage of the Braun cleaning system - I'm lazy when it comes to cleaning shavers - it's a chore, but for around £3.50 per month in cartridges you get a consistently cleaned and dried shaver without ... ...use it in the morning.I've also used previous Braun's shavers and this is a major step forward on everything that's gone before.
It has a new revolutionary motor that sends pulses for easy shaving the feature called Pulsonic. I especially notice how easily it cuts through stubble without feeling at all harsh - I have very sensitive skin.
The extra speed is a definite help, but I have always suffered with a Shaving rash around my lower neck/Adams ...
pelak18 23.08.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Braun 9595 Pulsonic System