Panasonic Electric Shaver and Trimmer for Men ES8103S Arc3, Wet/Dry with 3 Nanotech Blades and Flexible Pivoting Head

UPDATE 09/30/2016:I am two months shy of having used this razor for a year, and I wanted to provide an update. I have yet to change the cutting block. The razor still performs great, but I can tell it is starting to deteriorate ever so slightly. I have used nothing but hand soap to clean it every other shave, so this is still the most affordable razor I have every owned. It works so well, requires no proprietary cleaning fluid, and the cutting block is durable. In other words, I am still happy with my purchase.ORIGINAL REVIEW:I have used Braun for decades. I tried one of the new Braun Pulsonics, but went back to my trusty 7526, which is more comfortable and more capable. The pulsing is just a gimmick, in my opinion. A bad gimmick. Alas, after over a decade of service, my 7526 broke. Actually, the charging and cleaning station broke, the razor still works perfectly. That is a true testament to its craftsmanship.Nevertheless, it was time to look for a new razor. I wanted a razor with three things, comfort, closeness and a low cost-to-own. As much as I liked my Braun, I loathed buying cleaning solution AND cutting blocks for it constantly. I was nervous about trying a new brand, but I saw several reviews by previous Braun owners who said they were happy with the Panasonic. I can confirm that it does indeed provide a comfortable, close shave. Here are my comparisons between the two, with a winner for each category:- Closeness: Panasonic wins here. It is just closer than my Braun ever was, which I did not know was possible from an electric shaver.- Comfort: Panasonic wins again. I have a patch on my neck that is very sensitive due to the wildly frayed direction the stubble grows. The Braun always irritated it, but the Panasonic does not.- Durability: Braun wins, I'm sure. Although I haven't had the Panasonic long enough yet, I don't see it lasting for well over ten years like my Braun did.- Build Quality: Again, Braun wins. The Panasonic is much more plastic-y.- Economics: The Panasonic wins here. It is cheaper to buy initially, and you can use regular soap and water to clean it. Further, the manual only calls for the blades and screen to be replaced annually, which has been confirmed by other reviewers. The Braun's cutting block did not last that long for me, even using its expensive cleaning solutions. It should be taken into account that the Braun lasted for over a decade, which surely saves money, but I think the other expenses still put it behind the Panasonic in overall value.- Time: Draw - The Braun shaves much faster, but that is a function of the fact that it doesn't shave as close as the Panasonic. The Panasonic takes longer, but I imagine if I only shaved enough to get as close as my Braun, then it would be about the same.- Pop-up Trimmer - I like the Braun pop-up trimmer better. I don't know why, but it seems to work better, seems to be sturdier, and I just prefer its design better. The newer Brauns may be different, though.I should mention that I also use a safety razor, and the Panasonic cuts just as close as the safety razor for me. This is because I am unable to go against the grain with the blade (regardless of the combination of soap, cream, pre-treatment, or razor I use) without irritation. If you use a safety razor and can go ATG then, of course, the razor will be closer than the electric. I think you might be surprised by how minimal the difference is, though.Although there is somewhat of a split between all the categories above, I feel the Panasonic is still far superior because of the three things that matter most to me: Cost, comfort and closeness. Panasonic wins handily in all three of these categories.

Wow! Let me start out by saying I have used a Braun 340S for years. At first I was very satisfied, as I found it far superior to the rotary Norelco that preceded it.As time went by, however, I started to like the Braun less and less. Cleaning it was a pain- whenever I used it as a dry shaver, I found it difficult to clean the head, primarily because it is all one piece, so the hairs had a thousand nooks to get packed into that were inaccessible to the brush. I wound up taking it into the shower (just the head portion) and holding it tight against the showerhead to "power wash" the crap out. This got it MOSTLY clean.The Panasonic, by contrast, has blades and foils that come apart in a second, so that whiskers have no where to hide. I just snap the foil off, hold the power button to go into supersonic cleaning mode, and run it under tap water. I then rinse the foil while it is off, ;put two drops of hand soap on the blades, snap the foil back on, and go into supersonic clean mode again while rinsing the whole assembly. Just like that, my razor is perfectly clean, lubricated, and smells good. I lay it on a towel to dry, which I understand some guys don't like to do, but since I live in the desert, dying time is very very short.But it's all about the shave, right? Here is my experience.With the Braun, I had to use some pressure and go over spots repeatedly to get a good shave. Inevitably, this caused irritation to my face, so I had to shower and wash my face afterwards. As long as the replacement blade/foils were fairly new, I could get a n\pretty good shave with minor irritation. But for me the blades wore quickly, and performance dropped fast. I resorted to using Lectric Shave, which help produce a closer, less irritating shave.The final straw came in March 2016, when my Braun was again dulling and producing a sub par shave. I went on Amazon to order replacements for $26, but noticed that I had just bought the current set in November 2015. Was I really going to need to buy new blades every 4 months??I began doing my research. At first I looked into the Braun 5 and 7 series. Maybe they would last longer? Maybe the cleaning station would help? While reading the reviews, though, I found several comparing these models to Panasonic ARC shavers.That lead me to review the Arc3 in particular, since I didn't want to spend a lot for a shaver I might or might not like. Reviews were good, and the $65 price was less than I was spending every year on new blades for the Braun. I clicked ONE TOUCH.Two days later I received the ARC3. It had a ten percent charge, so of course I plugged it up. I timed the charge (yes, I am that kind of guy) and it hit 100% in 56 minutes. The moment of truth had arrived.One pass across my three day growth, and I was hooked. Everything came off without follow up strokes, and best of all there was no sensation of pulling or even cutting. It seemed the razor was just wiping the whiskers away. I did my whole face in approximately 3 minutes flat. Afterwards there was no irritation whatsoever, unlike the Braun, which always left me with razor burn that forced me to wash my face after every use. Amazing! Best of all my wife gave my face a good feel, and approved of the smooth results. As close as a razor shave? Not quite. But by far the best any shaver has ever given me.I have since used the Panasonic with Lectric Shave (I noticed no difference at all except tougher cleanup). I also used it was a wet shaver with Edge gel. This gave a very slightly closer shave than using it dry, but made cleanup more involved still. I'll probably only do that in the future for special occasions. But it's nice to have the option!Also, some people have mentioned the "noise" this razor makes. Whereas the Braun makes a nice substantial buzz that sounds high quality, this Panasonic makes a higher pitched whine, rather like a giant mosquito, because the motor is much faster. (I suspect that is why I get one pass smoothness that the Braun cannot offer). Personally, I like the sound of this razor better. And it sounds really cool when you go into the super high speed cleaning mode.AS for charging- after two weeks (I shave either daily of ever other day), the charge has dropped to 50%, so it seems I will charge every 3-4 weeks.If you are considering this razor, JUST BUY IT. I have no negatives to report at all!