Panasonic - Arc5 Wet/Dry Electric Shaver - Silver

This is a great electric shaver. I used to have an old Braun 8985 which was the best shaver ive ever owned. After years of use, I replaced it with the Braun 340s when it died out. The 340s only lasted half a year before breaking (and it wasn't a really great shaver to begin with, never did a good close shave but the trimmer was decent). So I decided to look for another top of the line shaver. The two top shavers as noted on multiple top 10 lists, and is highly reviewed on all retail sites were the Panasonic Arc 5 and the Braun 7 series. I ended up buying the Braun 7 series (the 797 to be exact, but the 790 is exactly the same without wet/dry function included). This was supposed to be the #1 shaver from what I researched. It had the highest reviews on most sites. I would say there was a lot good about it- Sturdy, sleek structure, felt very powerful. The problems I had was that it took many passes to get a clean shave, the motor felt erratic at times, and the trimmer did not sit right after a few weeks of use, meaning would have to constantly clean after use. So I returned it and went for my second choice. The Arc 5 had equally high reviews though just seemed to fall to second place on most lists, and I had never tried Panasonic before so I was hesitant. But comparing the two, I prefer the Arc 5. The shaver is very good. It feels a lot less powerful than the Braun, but for some reason gives a much faster cleaner cut for a thick beard. It also is soft to the skin (and it is softer in volume), a much less intense shave and for the better. The trimmer is about as flimsy as the Braun shaver, but at least it sits right without having to clean it after every use. The trim function is similar to Braun's but Im a little more pleased with its precision. I'm sticking with this one for the next few years. Hopefully it lasts. As for right now I'm very happy and would recommend for those with thick beards looking for a top of the line shaver. Hopefully Braun steps up it's game for future releases! Panasonic is my new fave.

I previously had always stuck with Braun electric shavers, as I found them to provide a good shave and hold up well over time. However, the most recent Braun razor I had wasn't performing quite as well anymore, and I had to keep replacing the head/blades to get it to do a clean shave with little irritation. When that shaver broke (only had it for a little over a year), I decided to start looking at other brands of electric shavers. After reading lots of reviews, I decided to try the Panasonic Arc5 shaver. The sound it makes was quite different, and it sounded like it wasn't as powerful as the Braun. BUT, when I used it the first time, I was amazed at how well it performed. It may not sound powerful, but it is definitely BETTER than the Braun shaver. It shaved much better on the first pass, whereas the Braun took multiple passes to get most of the hairs. The Braun shaver would pull hairs sometimes, instead of cutting them, which hurt every time. I don't have that issue with the Panasonic Arc5... it cuts short or longer hairs with ease, no pulling or pain. The Arc5 is also really easy to clean. I just pop the head off, run it under the faucet for a bit and clean out the stubble. And I run the shaver itself under the faucet to clean it off. The Braun shavers were not as easy to clean, often getting stubble stuck in places that were a pain to clean out. I don't have that problem with the Arc5. Charging the Arc5 is fast and easy... It does a full charge in less than an hour. The Braun shavers took over an hour to charge. The Arc5 battery lasts longer too... I can get 2-3 full shaves on one full battery charge, whereas I could only get one full shave using the Braun. Overall, I am VERY satisfied with the Panasonic Arc5. I wish I had tried a Panasonic sooner.

Just purchased the Panasonic Arc5 electric shaver to replace my Braun 3 electric shaver. My Braun was my first foil shaver and it did a decent job, but not as good as the Arc5. I don't know if my Braun just needs new foil or the Arc5's foil are still new and sharp, but the Arc5 gave me a really close first shave. Still not as close a razor as I had to take a couple of passes to get my skin smooth, but pretty darn close. It glided much better than my Braun. You can tell how strong the shaver is based on how easy it cut my hair. It is a little loud, but you can't expect a V8 to sound like a Hybrid. The Arc5 feels really light too. The head is big, but it glides over my jaw, chin and cheek area with ease. There's a lock on the power button so whether you're traveling and don't want it to accidentally turn on you have that option. There's also a lock on the back to keep the head from pivoting, which again is probably used when traveling to protect the head from moving freely.. The Arc5 also comes with a plastic cover to protect the head as well as a soft faux leather case to protect the shaver when you throw it in a toiletry bag or suitcase. Charging seems to be really fast. Out of the box it was completely dead, but only after a few minutes charging it was already at 30%. It's advertised to give you 45 minutes of shaving, so we'll see. The Arc5 has a digital display to show you the battery % as well as the number of minutes it's been used, which I'm guessing go hand in hand. Overall, after only one use this has been the best electric shaver I've owned and the closest shave next to a razor. Hoping that this isn't just the honeymoon phase and continues to provide me with a close shave for years to come.

BUY THIS RAZOR!!!! I don't normally leave reviews, but in this case, I felt I had to. My story; I've been a Braun user for the last 15 years. I thought there were no other razors out there as good as Braun, Man, was I wrong. I was a Braun Series 3 user for a long time. But the razor head screens keep breaking apart and disintegrating (a known problem with those razors). So after paying for new razor heads that failed prematurely, I decided to upgrade to a Series 5 with the ultrasonic cleaner which I had been currently using. But after less than 3 years of use the paint started peeling off the razor body near the razor head. Short story; Braun replaced the part only for the paint to peel again in less that 10 months. Time for a switch! I bought this razor with some skepticism since the price was a lot more reasonable than my Braun. Following that old adage, "you get what you pay for", floating around in the back of my mind had me semi-convinced this might be a mistake. It wasn't!!! This razor is quiet!!! And plows through my beard stubble as if it could be shaving 10 faces at the same time! My old Braun would hit thick beard (like my chin) and sound like it was bogging down like a lawn mower caught in thick grass about to die out. This Panasonic didn't skip a beat or even sound different. It also closely shaved areas of my face I would have go over and over again with my Braun. It doesn't leave my face irritated or skin hot from the shave. This is by far the closest shave I've ever had with an electric razor!!! Look out Braun!!! Bottom line: I like the shape of the razor, it's very quiet to use and the closest shave I've ever had. And the price point is perfect for me! I don't miss spending money on countless razor cleaner refills either. Thanks Panasonic!

I had used a Braun Series 5 (8000) Activator for what seemed like forever. It had seen better days (even with replaced foil and cutter block). I saw the Panasonic Arc5 on Deal of the Day. I had no idea how good this shaver was, but the reviews were outstanding around the Internet so I went for it. I first was taken aback by the large shaver head (I guess due to the 5 blades) but quickly learned that this made shaving quicker. Pros: It cuts closer, and is quieter than my Braun. It is comfortable to hold, and there is no burning or scratching afterwards. It has a pop-up trimmer, and can be used wet or dry (haven't tried the wet shave yet), and also rinses or washes clean. It also has great battery life, shows battery left percentage, time used, and time to clean indicator. In addition, it has a lock-out feature that when activated, it won’t accidentally turn on when you don’t want it to, like when in your luggage. Cons: You can’t use it while it is charging. Also, maybe it’s just my beard, because the Braun did the same thing, but there are a number of hard to cut hairs left behind on my lower neck, and where the jaw meets the neck (especially next to my ears). The pop-up trimmer can help with that.

Have been using a older model of Panasonic Arc shaver with 4 blades for the last 10 years or so. It was definitely getting old and beat up from travel. Bought this ARC5 model when it went on sale $100 off. It's definitely much quieter than my old ARC4. The shave is close and battery lasts over a week. One thing I had to get used to is the blade position design. There are 5 cutting blades: Two sets on either side plus one in the center for cutting any long ones that are laying down. The 2 sets of blades on either side of center do most of the work. The most outer blades cut the hair down to a level where the next blade over cuts it to skin level. This is different from my older version where these blades were swapped in these positions. I'm finding that the newer ARC5 is hard to get a smooth shave just under the nose and up to the side burns because the outer most blades on either side IS NOT the blade that shaves the closest. This means you have to work it in quite a bit around those areas to get a good close shave. I liked the older opposite design better. However all in all its a good shaver that cuts well to a smooth finish without causing any burn.

I had a Panasonic that I bought almost 20 years ago and the battery finally stopped holding a full shave's worth of power. I had such a good experience with it that I wanted to stick with the same brand. This newer model works great. The blade housing is plastic instead of metal that my old version had, but this is not a deal breaker for me. I was worried that the head would be too large and bulky but it was fine and now I actually prefer the size. I have thick whiskers and the shaver cuts close and smooth. The typical problem areas require many passes, but so did a manual blade. If I wait a couple of days between shaves, the shaver cuts even closer, and it doesn't pull and yank he whiskers (except for once). The motor is strong and doesn't bog down when hitting the thick growth. The charge lasts for a week but you can't run the shaver with the plug (they say it is for safety since it is also made for wet use). The wet shave works great too. I've been using this for several months and suggest allowing at least one month (like the instructions recommend) for your face to adjust to this shaver before forming an opinion. However, my whiskers adjusted quickly, within a few shaves since I was already using an electric shaver previously. This shaver has only nicked me once during wet shave and it was probably from pushing too hard. The nick was not bad at all; I didn't even feel it.

I am trying to return this product. To begin with, this shaver is not shaving any better than two foiled Panasonic shavers, which I have been using those about 6 years. I have thick and dense facial hair, but I was shaving satisfactorily with previous Panasonic products. With that price tag, and double the number of foils I have every right to expect better shaving performance. Contrary to the support's classical answers, I am actually cleaning the shaver head everyday, with water and soap and with a soft scrubber to clean the cutter blades. I should note here that there is no way for the user to remove the outermost two cutter blades and clean them thoroughly. Due to this fact, shaver performance reduces over time very quickly and as of now (40 days after purchase) it became nearly unusable for me. Throughout my experience with this product, I had to go through the same region on my face multiple times in order for it to shave. As suggested on the user manual, zigzagging over the region of interest did not improve the shaving performance. I also want to note that the timer display was always wrong, showing wrong duration of usage. Also I never got more than 35 minutes of charge, although the manual states that it should run 45 minutes with full charge, and because of the situation I described above I needed full charge time to have a satisfactory shave with this poor shaving performance.