ES8103S

I've tried electric razors periodically over the years hoping to find one that gives a shave relatively comparable to safety or disposable razors. Inevitably, I've found the electrics notably inferior to blades and have switched back. Fed up once again with the rising cost of disposable blades, along with the accompanying nicks, cuts, and irritated skin, I decided recently to try the Panasonic ES 8103s based on the strong positive reviews on Amazon.com. I'm truly glad I did, and encourage those looking to switch from blades to an electric razor to give the ES8103s serious consideration. I should note that I have a relatively light beard, so those with heavy beards might want to look for a review of this product by users with similar features. I also have a mild case of psoriasis, with patches of affected skin near my sideburns and on both sides of my neck near my larynx. This chronic, genetically inherited skin condition means I have a sensitive face that is prone to razor burn and other shaving-related irritations. Thus, a clean, close, comfortable shave is particularly important, since nicks and other problems associated with shaving tend to get magnified. I've used the Panasonic ES 8103s for about two weeks so far, and can honestly report that it has delivered by far the best shave I have ever had, blade or electric. It's easy to use right out of the box. Just unpack it, plug in the detachable charging cord and when the digital display reads "100%" it is ready for use. Right away you will notice a very positive feature: the ES8103s charges very quickly, going from 0% to fully charged in about an hour. The razor holds a charge (based on my shaving needs) for about a week. Cleaning is simple. When the razor needs to be cleaned, a "spigot" symbol shows in the display. Press and briefly hold the on/off button until the razor enters the "turbo" mode (a digital indicator will show, plus the blade sound is clearly different), wet the foil (blade cover) under running water, apply liquid hand soap to the foil and allow the razor to clean itself. The foil is then easily removed by depressing two black buttons on either side of the razor head. Rinse the now-exposed blades and the foil, and let dry. Quick, easy, and efficient. What about the shave? Five stars. The razor looks big, but is actually light and well balanced in your hand. Never mind the few reviews that call attention to what the reviewers perceive as a "freakishly large" head. It just looks that way. I find the ES8103s makes fast, nearly effortless work of my beard. Virtually no pressure is needed to ensure a very close clean shave. Even problem areas (just under your nose, for example) are a snap. The result has been an astonishingly close shave that leaves my face smooth and clean. The shave it delivers lasts longer than a blade shave. No bumps. No nicks. Absolutely no razor burn. Best of all, the ES8103s absolutely does not irritate my sensitive skin. In fact, I swear it does the reverse: it leaves my face so clean and smooth it actually reduces the underlying day-to-day irritation that accompanies mild cases of psoriasis like mine. The ES8103s simply delivers the best shave I have ever head. Every time. If you have sensitive or prone to chronically irritated skin like mine, this product is worth every penny. PS -- you may note that Amazon shows other users purchasing the WES 9013PC replacement kit (outer foil/inner blade) plus a second inner blade only replacement kit. Don't make the mistake of doing this. Just get the WES 9013PC replacement kit on its own. Panasonic recommends replacing the outer foil once a year and the inner blades every OTHER year. Assuming that's right, you won't need 2 sets of replacement inner blades. PROs: GREAT shave. Zero irritation. Lightweight razor. Fast charge. Easy to use. Very decent price for the quality of the shave. Works wet or dry (I have only used it dry). CONs: None. USER UPDATE (12-30-2010): I have now been using this product daily for a month. I can report no changes necessary to my earlier review, except to say that it takes less time to fully charge than originally reported (30 minutes or less as opposed to 1 hour). Bottom Line: Great shave, great price. Highly recommended.

It's been years since I have used an electric razor exclusively and the last one I owned, a Norelco from the late 90's, was a real workhorse. It was a rotary razor that I picked out for a Christmas present when I was barely 18 years old. I used that razor till the batteries no longer charged and it was left in the bathroom closet as I began to alternate between a regular razor and my dad's cheap rotary electric razor. Frankly, both of them would tear my face up when I used them. After awhile, I finally found a triple bladed razor that did an excellent job and I stuck with it. Fast forward nearly 2 decades, I have been through several variations of razors, including a 65 year old safety razor that did an amazing job, but was hard on my skin if I got in a hurry. After some more experimentation I settled on a relatively cheap razor system that worked well. You see, I find that anything more than 3 blades in a regular razor irritates my skin and causes unwanted ingrown hairs on my face. Since 3 blade cartridge razors seem to be fading away in favor of 4, 5, and even 6 blades, I needed an alternative. That was when I started looking into electric razors again. I knew I wanted a foil razor since past experience showed me that a foil style razor did a good job on my face/skin without irritating it. But when you start to read reviews most say to go for the Braun foil razors, but for the money I just didn't see the point. Im sure a 100-300 dollar foil razor is nice and very advanced, but Im just cutting hair, all I need is something that can handle that. So I sat down and made a list ... 1. It needed to be a foil razor 2. It need to be Lithium Ion powered 3. It needed to have >30 minutes use on a single charge 4. Some sort of battery meter 5. Good reviews from people who use it. 6. Less than $100 7. Wet/Dry usage After much research I found this Arc series from Panasonic. All of them have good overall reviews and meta-analysis on the reviews shows very few paid reviews for these razors, meaning people actually liked the razor enough to log on and write about. This fulfilled requirement #5. For the price, I paid roughly 60.00 for mine, it satisfied my #6 requirement, and the other details of the razor covered #7, #4, #3, #2, and of course #1. So I bought it. Day #1 The first day it took about 20 minutes to charge to 60% before I used it. I have about 2 days growth, so it wasn't a beard, but no where near mere stubble either. Total shave time about 4.5 minutes and I had to go over 2 small spots again due to the fact I wasn't shaving with a mirror. After some aftershave lotion and some time to calm down my face was just as smooth as it is when I shave with my safety razor and more smooth than the time I got a straight razor shave. As for day #1, I give this razor a 9/10. The 2 point deduction is from having to do my jaw line twice since I couldn't seem to get it to cut around the radius of the jaw bone without missing some hairs. I assume this is due to my lack of experience with this razor. Overall, the shave was excellent. Day #5 I have shaved 3 times this week, which is a definite an increase from my normal routine of 1-2x per week. The razor is doing an excellent job. The one thing I have noticed is the foil gets warm the longer the razor is used, which I clearly a side effect from what little amount of friction there is. Because of this, I have found that it is far better to shave the more sensitive areas of your face first, then proceed to the other places. Also, this thing is really loud! Not "wake the baby" loud, but very noticeable by those nearby. Day #10 Today I utilized the wet/dry functionality of the Arc 3. After wetting my face with hot water, I applied a run-of-the-mill $1-$2 shave foam and allowed it to soak for approximately 10 minutes. I then applied a second coat of shave foam and proceeded to shave. I extra lubrication was nice and allowed the razor to glide much better than when I shaved dry. However, the vibrations of the cutting head basically threw water all over the place while I was shaving. Another downside is that with the shave foam, it is difficult to actually see where you are shaving, or what you have missed. Overall, the outcome, at least for my face, wasn't any better or worse than a dry shave. Perhaps a longer soak to soften the stubble or perhaps shaving after a shower would yield better results, but I doubt it would make that much of a difference. Another test I plan to try later on is using a product designed specifically for putting on prior to shaving with an electric razor. Overall, I have to say the Arc 3 is the best razor I have every used thus far. It cuts clean and close, which is saying a lot with the barbed wire I call facial hair. For the price I feel it is a clear winner and a good compromise between cheap razors that mangle your face and ones that cost several hundred dollars.

Tired of electric shavers with large heads that seem to be more for show than usefulness? Try this simple but effective model. The two heads make for a much lighter product (great for travel) and yet one that shaves just as well as more recent models that have four-way foils but still only two heads. There is no display of elapsed shaving time, but the charge level is always visible and that is likely to be more important to most people. There is also the welcome absence of any beeping when you switch off the shaver and the charge is low.

Wonderful shaver. It takes 12 to 15 minutes. I use Philips & Braun but it is amazing. It is overall Good. Thanks to Amazon for reach me on time.

Ya había tenido previamente una rasuradora de la misma marca que me duró años hasta que se murió la pila recargable. Pasé por una Remington de 3 cabezas muy mala, a la que le duró poco la rejilla, por lo que decidí comprar de nuevo una Panasonic y fue una muy buena inversión. El corte es indoloro no importando lo largo de la barba y bigote, el motor es algo potente por lo que se calienta en ciertos instantes la rasuradora pero es tolerable. Muy recomendable.

Good shaver but had to buy a American adapter to go with it which didn’t find out till it arrived

Lo que me encanto es que se puede usar en seco y con agua, te recomiendo usarla en seco. Las hojas duran bastante llevo ya 5 años y no he tenido problemas ni con las navajas ni con la batería. Es recargable dura toda la semana sin problemas. (En promedio 10 usos) como todas las del tipo no corta al ras, para eso usa un rastrillo, pero ayuda a dejar la zona uniforme. Ah y lo mejor para limpiarla solo la enjuagas y listo