Cordless
     Rechargeable Shaver
Philips Norelco 7310 and 7340 Men's Shavers
Philips Norelco 8240XL Men's Shaving System
Philips Norelco 9160XL Men's Shaver
Philips Norelco Arcitec Men's Shavers
Philips Norelco BG2020 Men's Bodygroom
Philips Norelco Facial Trimming Systems
Philips Norelco Hair Grooming Systems
Philips Norelco Moisturizing Shaving Systems
Philips Norelco NT9110 Nose and Ear Trimmer
Philips Norelco Speed-XL 8140XL Men's
     Shaver
Remington Men's Shavers
Wahl Beard and Mustache Trimmers
Wahl Hair Kits and Trimmers

Reviews

Braun CruZer Z-50 Men's Shaver
Braun has restructured its shaver products. The CruZer Z-50 is one of its cheaper models, aimed at a fashion market. It is sold as a three-in-one product, capable of shaving, trimming and styling. You can read more at the Braun corporate website.

Here is a product description:

Styles precise lines and sharp contours. The Braun 3-in-1 CruZer Z-50 electric cordless shaver gives you everything you need to keep in step with the latest styles. The shaving head is equipped with a floating foil to comfortably shave those areas you want to keep smooth. Designed with an ergonomic shape, the CruZer Z-50 fits perfectly in your hand and the non-slip grip provides easy handling. Use the Braun CruZer Z-50 as a cordless shaver, or plug it in for corded operation.

The rotating styler with two sides makes working the contours easy, enabling you to style precise lines and sharp contours with the broad side and manage those hard to reach areas and tight curves with the narrow side. The adjustable trimmer allows you to keep your beard at the right length.

I have not been able to find online any independent, objective reviews of the shaver. However, sales sites like Amazon.com have numerous reviews from actual users, and these are often quite perceptive and can be very helpful to potential buyers.

The 70-odd Amazon.com reviews for this product are a mixed bag, with titles ranging from "Does what it is supposed to do" and "The only all-in-one solution" to "Not worth it" and "Utterly rubbish." Here is an excerpt from one review:

I got this because it has the styling attachment that you usually only get with a separate trimmer. So it's one gadget for shaving instead of two. For me it replaces a similar, but less futuristic looking model, that I had for a few years and did the job pretty well.

This one is made in China instead of Germany, and looks like a ray gun. I'm not impressed by the appearance: the combination of shiny silver plastic and black rubber looks a bit tacky, and the lettering on the body is very tacky.

But, this doesn't really matter, does it?

The good news is that it feels well built, even if it doesn't look it, though I think the buttons that release the sliding trimmer and styler adjusters are horrible to touch and a poor design.

I like the enthusiastic whirr of the motor when you press the go button, and as a regular shaver it does an adequate job. Not sure the floating head makes a scrap of difference. Does it shave as close as a blade? Nowhere near. But it's fine.

The trimmer spins around so you can use the wide head, or the narrow one. The narrow one has a rounded end, so you may be able to stick it in your ears if so inclined. But maybe a square profile would've been more useful. But... on the whole, the double ended trimmer works well.

The unique feature of course is the styling attachment. Apart from the horrible adjustment mechanism mentioned earlier, this works reasonably well, though probably not as good as a dedicated machine. But for what it is, it's fine.

And another:

This shaver gives a nice clean cut, however it seems to take over twice as long as my last Braun shaver. My previous Braun has two heads while this one only has one. At the time, I didn't give it much thought, but in retrospect, I would have sought after one which had two. All in all, paying an extra $30 for one of the nicer Brauns would have been a better idea.

* Get the latest price on the Braun CruZer Z-50 Men's Shaver.

September 19th, 2008