Philips Norelco 8140XL SpeedXL Men's Shaver
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List Price: Our Price: $128.00 You Save: $11.99 (9%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Health Care See more product details |
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Customer Reviews of Philips Norelco 8140XL SpeedXL Men's Shaver
Customer Review: Love this razer, just like I loved the previous model (same razer)
Summary: 5 Stars
Summary: Nothing not to like!
Background: Previously, I owned the earlier model of this razer. It was the same exact razer except it used to be blue. I loved this razer, but it was eaten by a dog! I didnt want to cough up the full cost of this direct replacement, so I used a lower-end Norelco. As you may know, the lower models do not feature the "Speed-XL" shaving heads (which have 3 concentric rings of blades (per head)). Instead it had the single outer row of blades, which is pretty typical of any non-high-end razer.
Why this razer is good:
The point of my background story is that there is a SIGNIFICANT difference between the Speed-XL models, and older style heads. In fact THERE IS NO COMPARISON! With the cheaper razer I had to go over my face at least twice as much, and usually more like 3x as much as with this razer. As with all electric's, you're not going to be able to make a single pass and get everything, but as electric's go, this razer (and all the Norelco's with Speed-XL) works great. Both myself and my dad (who is used to foil razers) agree that Speed-XL is the best electric we've used!
Some niceties of this razer are that its VERY easy to clean. Usually you can just pop the top and tap most of the hair out, maybe use the brush real quick. I dont feel like I have to do a deep cleaning (taking the heads out and apart) very often because it doesnt seem to trap a lot of hair in the heads. But if you want to, its very easy to access everything.
The body is waterproof, so you can clean it out with water as a middle ground between just tapping hair out and dissassembly.
The charger is now VERY small, and takes up only a single plug (even on a strip), and the base is also small.
Battery life: lets me shave for multiple days (at least 4) before it needs charging.
That said there are some minor quibbles. Like most Norelco razers, the charger doesnt shut off automatically, so you need to be careful with leaving it plugged in all the time. My solution: leave the charger in a draw, keep the stand on my countertop to hold the razer all the time, and then just get the charger out (and plug it into the stand) when the razer actually needs charged, which for me is only ever handful of days. this also has the added benefit of saving some small amount of energy by not having the wall wart plugged in while you're not charging.
This razer now comes with a form fitting travel case, and you cant put the razer in it with the hair gaurd on it :( so make sure you clean it before you travel with it. You also cant fit the charger in the case...its really a case JUST for the razer, to protect it in your regular toiletries bag.
All in all any of the speed-xl razers will cut the same, so just buy the model that has the accessories you want. I think this model represents the best value because its the cheapest :) personally i dont care about a multi-step battery readout, or a cleaning station...but if you do buy those versions.
Customer Review: Easily the best electric shaver I've ever used
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a man who hates to shave; it's a daily chore I happily forego any time I'm not working and have no place to go. I've been through a number of electric shavers in my time, of both the three-headed and foil varieties, and I have not really been happy with any one of them. As far as my face goes, foil shavers just don't do the job, especially on the neck - and those blasted foils tend to break quite easily, so the first thing you know you're rubbing a sharp metal edge over your face. The three-headed Norelco shavers I've used in the past have worked fairly well but never seemed to deliver as close a shave as I wanted or expected.
These Norelco XL shavers may cost a little more than your average electric shaver, but they really do the job. Finally, I have a razor I can be happy with. This little beauty delivers what is easily the closest shave of any razor I've ever used, even on those neck hairs that eluded all my retired and discarded models. I'm talking about a huge, very noticeable difference. This shaver seems to mold itself to my face as I move from one area to another - the feeling was downright uncanny the first time I used it. I've probably cut my shaving time down by two-thirds, and I get a much closer shave, to boot. That alone makes this product worth the price, as far as I'm concerned.
The battery has been a wonder all by itself, as well. It takes almost no time at all to fully charge this shaver - I don't think it's taken less than a half hour for me as of yet. And that battery charge lasts forever. I can go two weeks or more without needing to recharge, whereas I used to have to charge my old shavers at least once a week. These XL shavers are also wonderfully easy to clean. No longer do you have to worry about popping the cover off and fumbling it into the toilet bowl (hey, with my luck, it could happen) because the top doesn't detach itself completely - it attaches via a hinge that makes for really easy access and cleaning. Best of all, you can actually rinse the shaver clean.
All the technical mumbo-jumbo about shavers mean little to me. All I care about is getting as close a shave in as short a time as possible - and I haven't found any electric shaver that can even compete with this Norelco model in that regard. This is by far the best electric shaver I've ever used.
Customer Review: Extremely Happy with the Norelco 8140xl
Summary: 5 Stars
Summary: After using the 8140xl for almost 3 weeks, I can say it is giving me a very close shave with no irritation, the battery lasts over a week between charges, the trimmer works well, it feels well constructed, and the hot water rinse clean is great.
Background: I've used electric shavers ever since I started shaving over 20 years ago. For the past ~12 years I've been using a Norelco 5825xl rotary shaver. The battery has long since died (I only used the power cord on the 5825xl for the past several years) and I haven't replaced the cutter/heads for at least 2 years. So, going from this situation with my 5825xl to the 8140xl has been a huge leap forward. The shave I am now getting with the 8140xl is so much closer than any I recall ever getting with any razor in the past, with no skin irritation. I've read other reviews that state the trimmer doesn't work well, I use it to trim my sideburns every 3-4 days and it works well for me. I was a little concerned with some of the reviews I read stating the razor starts to smell from cleaning it with hot running tap water, but I run the water only on both sides of the shaving heads and prevent water from flowing through the entire razor and out the bottom (which the directions state it is designed to do). This seems to allow the heads to air dry rather quickly, and keeps water from remaining in the main body for a long period of time which is what I assume would lead to the razor smelling badly.
In the past I always felt as though I was sacrificing the closer shave of a blade for the convenience of an electric shaver. I'm not sacrificing anything anymore - the 8140xl is giving me a shave that's virtually as good as a blade.
Update: Have been using this razor regularly for 2 months now, and I remain extremely happy. I'm getting 2 weeks of shaving daily between battery charges, and I remain very impressed with the closeness of the shave. I do agree with other reviews that it would be nice to have a little warning before the battery runs out, but when that only happens once every two weeks it simply isn't an issue for me.
Great razor, great shave, great value! Wish I bought this sooner.
Customer Review: The best I've had yet
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been using electric shavers of one form or another for over fifty years, and this one I rate as the best yet.
First it's one of the most comfortable. I can comfortably shave the back of my neck with this shaver where others irritated. Second, it's by far the fastest shaver yet, plus it gets any long hairs in its path. I attribute at least part of its speed to the third row of cutters which sets this one apart from many others. Third, it works fine wet, lotion or water, or dry. I'm using up some of the lotion cartridges from a previous Norelco dispensing shaver and it works very smoothly with them. Fourth, it went well over a month on the initial charge. Fifth, the built in trimmer is effective and convenient as opposed to some trimmers I've had that had to be attached in place of the shaving head. And finally it's easy to clean and packs light and compact for traveling.
The battery level meter is nice for checking when the charge is full. When the battery does finally give up and you're in the middle of a shave the charging cord can be used directly into the shaver to finish, then when ready for charging it can be connected to the charging stand for a regular charge. Charging is done relatively fast also, in roughly about an hour or so it's full and ready to go another month or longer.
There's often the argument between basic types of shavers, foil or rotary being two of the subjects. I recently tried one of the newer and recommended foil shavers and it's now on the shelf. Foil shavers for me miss too much, long hairs for sure, but they are not as effective on the regular stubble for me as a rotary shaver. That would be bad enough but my experience with foil shavers was if you missed a place in the previous shave, you won't get it next time either even though you go over it. I often had to use the trimmers on foil shavers, even the best of them, for just regular shaving chores.
I've bought and used a lot of electric shavers, but I've never had one this good before of any brand.
Customer Review: Great value, great for tough spots/long hairs, harder to get really close shave
Summary: 5 Stars
I switched from the Braun electric razors (last two generations) back to a rotary electric razor with this purchase and FOR ME, I prefer these rotary razors. I say, "FOR ME" because I realize that my own experience may be different from others.
BRAUN - CLOSE SHAVE FAST
Both razors are pretty good at quickly shaving the easy spots where the hairs stick straight out (upper lip, cheeks, chin). However, in those easy spots, the Brauns give a closer shave in the first pass or two. It might take as much as twice as long using the 8140XL to get it as smooth as possible. So, the Braun wins the race for getting a very close shave as fast as possible.
ROTARY - BETTER AT DIFFICULT SPOTS WHERE HAIR LAYS FLAT
However, the rotaries get a reasonably close shave for everyday use in a pass or two AND they do much better in tough spots where the hair tend to lay flat, like my neck. With the Braun, I would always have a few hairs that would never get cut. They would get so long that I would eventually have to pull them out with tweezers. The 8140XL get's those hairs every time I shave so that they never get long enough to be pulled (or seen) individually.
8140XL - BETTER VALUE THAN LATEST BRUANS AND EVEN LATEST NORELCOS
To me, I found those neck hairs a bigger frustration so I much prefer this rotary design and I'm very glad I switched back. It's almost a secondary issue for me, but the latest Braun's (and the latest Norelco's) are much more expensive than this model. As far as I can tell, the only difference between this model and the latest Norelco's is that the latest Norelco's have a more modern looking design and they don't have floating heads. Another nice thing about this model is that the top flips open so that you can rinse it under the sink. There is no need to purchase costly cleaning solutions. All-in-all a much better value even if you had a more neutral preference for flat laying hairs/difficult spots versus quick close shave in easy spots.