Philips QC 5170

...and i also have a Philips shaver so i know they make reliable products that are made to last( a bit of brand loyalty creeping in there).So off i went to the till and paid the lovely assistant my £24(absolute bargain for a scrooge like me)

Product features

1-180 degree swivel head making it easy to cut your own hair and reach those awkward areas at the back

2-Comes with 2 combs. The small comb cuts hairs ...
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3-Equipped with extra strong motor to give a better cut and longer life of the product

4-Self-sharpening stainless steel blades, meaning you will never need to oil them as they are self lubricating (isn't technology so great)

5-Each of the two combs have five adjustable length settings giving you a hair length setting of 0-21mm.This gives full control over what length you want and the selected length setting ... more

Introduction

Home haircutting what a good idea (and a hell of a way to shave some money sorry that should be save some money).With the price of getting a haircut climbing i mean getting charged £12 a go and having to get it done every month, it's an expense that i could do without.

I don't have the most complicated of styles as you can see from my profile picture, it's a sort of modern day short back and sides with some spiky bits on top. I also am not that concerned about getting it cut and styled at a designer outlet like Toni and guy and then paying four times the amount for the pleasure like I'm some kind of rich drooling moron(sorry if you like Toni and guy no offense intended)

So i decided because I'm so tight it would be a good idea to invest in a set of hair clippers and get the job done on the cheap (typical me).So off i went to my local boots store to see what they had on offer and boy i was quite surprised at the choice that was on offer and i was quite impressed at how low the price was on some of the models available.

Choosing the right product.

It would seem that the main difference between the different models was how they were powered; you had the choice of mains or mains and rechargeable and also whether you wanted a unit that was water washable. I opted for the mains rechargeable model and because i have scrooge tendencies decided not to get a water washable one as this feature didn't seem too important for a product i would only use once every four to six weeks.

Again as with all electric product the variety and choice was very good with makes like Philips, Remington and Wahl (i see these in the hairdressers all the time) available in several different models. After having a nosey inside the boxes i decided to go with the Phillips model as it was lighter than the Wahl and looked better made than the remington.it also has a unique 180 degree pivoting head that means it is designed to make self haircutting so easy and i also have a Philips shaver so i know they make reliable products that are made to last( a bit of brand loyalty creeping in there).So off i went to the till and paid the lovely assistant my £24(absolute bargain for a scrooge like me)

Product features

1-180 degree swivel head making it easy to cut your own hair and reach those awkward areas at the back

2-Comes with 2 combs. The small comb cuts hairs from 3-11 mm and the big comb from 13-21 mm.

3-Equipped with extra strong motor to give a better cut and longer life of the product

4-Self-sharpening stainless steel blades, meaning you will never need to oil them as they are self lubricating (isn't technology so great)

5-Each of the two combs have five adjustable length settings giving you a hair length setting of 0-21mm.This gives full control over what length you want and the selected length setting is displayed on the clipper

6-The rechargeable battery takes about 1-2 hours to fully charge and will hold a full charge for about 60 mins.Making this product ideal for use away from the plug socket (i cut mine in the bathroom so much easier to clean up afterwards)

7-A modern look and comfortable grip design make this product a must have if you are considering the home haircutting solution.

Setting up and use

As with all rechargeable products you will have to charge the unit before first use but because this is mains and rechargeable you can use it straight out of the box with it connected to the plug socket with the included mains adapter. On first operating i was quite surprised at how quiet this was and a bit worried that it didn't sound powerful enough to cut my thick hair(thats thick hair and not thick head).But after trying the front part of my head it had no problem in removing the excess hair length. After going over my head several times and slowly reducing the length settings i looked in the mirror to see the end results.
I was impressed with what i saw as it had cut my hair to an even length all over (apart from a few bits i missed but soon corrected) and it looked pretty good for something i had done myself. The shaping and trimming at the back was more difficult to do but with the use of two mirrors i got there in the end and with a pretty good end result. So job done in less than 40 mins and 10 minutes cleaning up time, i cleaned the blades with the supplied cleaning brush and packed my clippers back into the box ready for my next cut.

Summary

Overall an impressive product that performs well and is very simple to use. I would like to point out that cutting your own hair is quite difficult and even though this product makes it easier it is still a tricky task and i would recommend getting someone to do if for you (if they are brave enough).The rechargeable feature is excellent at giving you the flexibility to use the product anywhere and the attaching and adjusting of the combs is so easy with a simple clip and your off. I may choose the water washable feature on my next model as it would make cleaning the unit much quicker and easier but i can live without that for the moment.Thankyou for taking the time to read my review please leave feedback and any comments if you wish. Paul 

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