Remington MB 320 C Performance

'''INTRODUCTION'''


I went through a phase of sporting a goatee, but was finding it increasingly difficult to keep it tidy and well maintained. The problem with normal, bog standard, manual razors is that it’s very easy to accidentally cut into your beard, forcing you to adjust the other side to keep it symmetrical. If you make enough mistakes, your goatee starts shrinking and frankly, looking ridiculous. Much to my wife and daughter’s ...
...facial hair by investing in a proper beard trimmer. With Nectar points to burn, Argos was the obvious destination, and I ended up in investing in Remington’s MB 320C – for no other reason than it sounded fancy and it looked good.


'''IN THE BOX'''


The trimmer comes in a zip up travel pouch with plenty of room to store the unit and its various accoutrements. It’s a classy little number, nicely finished in matt ... more

INTRODUCTION

I went through a phase of sporting a goatee, but was finding it increasingly difficult to keep it tidy and well maintained. The problem with normal, bog standard, manual razors is that it’s very easy to accidentally cut into your beard, forcing you to adjust the other side to keep it symmetrical. If you make enough mistakes, your goatee starts shrinking and frankly, looking ridiculous. Much to my wife and daughter’s despair, I decided to make a long term commitment to facial hair by investing in a proper beard trimmer. With Nectar points to burn, Argos was the obvious destination, and I ended up in investing in Remington’s MB 320C – for no other reason than it sounded fancy and it looked good.

IN THE BOX

The trimmer comes in a zip up travel pouch with plenty of room to store the unit and its various accoutrements. It’s a classy little number, nicely finished in matt silver and black plastic. The trimmer can be operated corded or cordless, and in the latter case you get around 40 minutes of constant use out of it before it needs recharging. However, a note of caution - the instructions also advise that extended, long term mains-only use will affect the endurance of the battery. Also included is the mains charger, a small black plastic beard comb, and a small brush for helping to clean out the beard hairs from the trimmer blade. The cutting blades are self-lubricating, so no oiling is needed. The instruction book provides around six pages of information on use and troubleshooting in around fifteen Eurozone languages. A two year warranty is given, provided the card included is filled in and returned with your proof of purchase.

UNIT FEATURES

The detachable comb attachment at the top of the unit is adjusted by a thumb wheel, allowing you to choose nine different settings ranging from 1.5 mm to 18mm cutting depth. There is also a separate pop-up trimmer which is accessed by taking off the detachable comb, and used to define the edges of the beard. The rubberised on/off button is located on the side of the unit. There are two small LED indicators which indicate when the unit is juiced (green) and when it needs a charge (red). The product is described as a “Diamond” trimmer, a reference to its “Diamond-Like Carbon Coated blades” which are apparently 400% harder than normal steel blades.

USE

You are advised to charge the trimmer before first use for around 14-16 hours. The forty minutes cordless use time doesn’t sound like long, but in practice, you will only use the unit for two or three minutes at a time. Given I only used it twice a week to supplement my daily shaves, it was a couple of months before it needed recharging. However, one small niggle – the green LED used to indicate that it is charged does not “count down” – i.e. one minute it’s green, and the next it goes red – so it doesn’t actually indicate a “full” charge. The mains charger is for a standard plug socket – there is no shaving socket adaptor, and, as most bathrooms don’t have a standard socket near the sink, this can be a little irritating if it starts fading when you’re in mid-trim.

The unit is easy to hold in the palm of the hand and feels very well-balanced. The ergonomic design allows all of the controls to be accessed by the fingers of one hand. The cutting blades and precision of the comb attachment are excellent, and provided me with a well defined and well trimmed goatee each time with minimal effort. It feels comfortable against the skin and the sharpness of the blades is evident as there is no “pulling” of facial hair – you get a nice clean cut.

The unit is not particularly noisy either – a godsend at 6:30am when I’m trying my best to get out of the house without waking my four year old daughter in the room next door. It is also very easy to clean. You just pop off the comb attachment and give it a good “sweep” with the small brush accessory provided. The waterproof black (and discreetly branded) case provided is very handy for storing the bits and pieces. There is a zipped compartment under its “lid” which is a good place to keep the instructions (if needed), and the inside has a number of black elastic straps for keeping the trimmer and accessories in place. My only complaint is that there is no exterior strap or carry handle.

PRICE & AVAILABILITY

This product retails at £24.99, but is currently available on Amazon for £22.29 – which includes free delivery. I have also seen it offered for as little £20, so it pays to have a look around. I picked mine up from Argos for the full RRP, but paid with Nectar points, so it was “free”.

VERDICT

Sadly, after a campaign of organised protest at my house (my daughter refused to kiss me goodnight and my wife threatened to go on strike), the facial hair had to go, and this neat little trimmer was consigned to a drawer where it currently languishes with my electric razor (I never get on with those things). However, I managed six months or so of use from it, and I was very happy with its performance, reliability and durability during that time. At around £25, I think its excellent value for money, and would readily recommend it to anyone whose significant others are, perhaps, a little bit more tolerant toward facial hair. 8^)

© Hishyeness 2009

 

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