I am a snowboard instructor, mountain bike guide and chartered accountant and like to spend as much ...
I am a snowboard instructor, mountain bike guide and chartered accountant and like to spend as much time as possible travelling around the world!
Some of my reviews may also be published on dooyoo under the name 'Trev11'.
Member since:23.06.2009
Reviews:16
Members who trust:1
The Philips HQ8160 is one of the mid-range electric shavers in the Speed XL series and I have been using it for the last 2 years. Before this I had a much older Philips shaver that had lasted 10 years and the battery finally stopped holding its charge so I decided to upgrade to a newer model.
Product design
The shaver has 3 cutting heads which move independently to match the contours of your face as you shave. My previous shaver was similar but the heads had less movement so I noticed the improvement in comfort whilst shaving. This is a definite advantage of the Speed-XL shaving heads compared with the older ones as they allow up to 50% more shaving surface.
There is also a trimmer on the back which is useful for shaping and trimming sideburns but its performance is quite limited so I do not use it very often.
The Lithium Ion battery lasts for about an hour (roughly 30 shaves for me) and is very quick to charge too as it takes just an hour to go from empty to fully charged. This has been very useful for me whilst travelling because I do not have to worry about charging it for a whole month.
The battery indicator lights on the front of the shaver tell you how much charge is left by lighting up green from 1 to 5 lights. There is also a quick charge function built in which allows you to charge the battery for just 3 minutes to get one shave if the battery is completely empty. This too has proved to be very useful to me when I have forgotten to charge the shaver and needed to shave quickly before going to work.
Quality of shave
This shaver consistently provides a close and comfortable shave. Electric shavers never provide as close a shave as wet shaving but this one comes very close. In order to get the best shave, your face and the shaver need to be completely dry.
The shaving heads need to be replaced once a year if you shave regularly and that is what I have done. A pack of 3 new cutting heads costs about Ģ35 though which is fairly expensive so if you shave less regularly then replacing them once every two years should be fine.
Cleaning
Daily cleaning is very easy as the shaving heads flip up and you can rinse out the unit with hot water. This works very well but the shaver needs to be completely dry when you use it so when I am travelling I just tap the shaver to get the hairs out and this works fine too although you eventually need to wash it out to remove all hairs.
The shaver comes with a cleaning brush which is useful when you want to clean out the shaving cutters. The manual states that this only needs to be done about once every 6 months but I tend to do it every month or so.
Durability
The shaver comes with a well designed case that protects the shaver if you need to travel around with it. I took the shaver with me whilst travelling around the world for a year and it survived this without any problems and still functions perfectly. It worked in both hot and cold climates, although the battery does not last as long when it is cold but this is true for all electronic items.
Conclusion
I definitely highly recommend this shaver as it will last you a long time and gives a very good shave. I bought it for Ģ110 but recently recommended it to a friend who bought the next model up (the HQ8170) for Ģ90 from shavers.co.uk.
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Jul 1st, 2009
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