Philips Norelco - 5300 Wet/Dry Electric Shaver - Black/Navy Blue

My go to shaving technology for years has been razor blades such as Gillette. I have always liked the baby smooth feeling I get from a blade. However, using blades is getting expensive. Lifestyle changes have prompted me to revisit electric razors. And yes, this is an actual thing. Overall, I like the Philips Norelco 5300 electric razor. My first electric was from a competitor that costs $20 less than the 5300. I was not satisfied with the less expensive model. The extra $20 for the 5300 is well worth the investment. However, the quality of shave is still not as good as a blade. Feel and Operation: The 5300 feels good in the hand. There is a rubberized band that runs along the perimeter of the razor ensure the razor does not slip in your hand. The grip works equally well wet or dry. The three razor heads feel smooth to the face. I did not notice any pulling on my stubble as the razor heads passed along my skin. I normally feel this most under my nose, chin, and under my lower lip. I did notice a real difference in feel between wet and dry operations. I will cover this below. Cleaning: Cleaning is super simple. Put the 5300 under the faucet, press the button release the cutting heads, and rinse. Done! 1-Day Growth shaving experience: I decided to shave the moment the razor reached 100% charge. In this case, I only had 24-hour stubble. The shave was rough and irritated my skin. This is mostly due to my skin being used to a blade and not an electric shaver. Please keep this fact in mind if you are making the switch. It does take a few shaves for your skin to adjust to how you are shaving. It is not indicative of the quality of the 5300. After the shave, my skin did not feel as smooth as a blade shave. But, that is not the end of the story. 3-Day Growth Shaving Experience – Dry Shave: This is where I really focused in on the shaving experience. I did wet and dry shaving using half my face for both. Pictures of before and after are included for your inspection. I also applied an accurate, scientific measurement that is generally accepted in many industries known as WAF or Wife Acceptance Factor. Yes, this is a real thing. On a scale of 1 through 10, where 1 is baby smooth and 10 is porcupine, my three-day stubble was rated as a four by my wife. So, WAF factor equals 4. I dry shaved the right side of my face. The 5300 was smooth against my skin. No pulling of my stubble regardless of where it was on my face. I also noticed there was no pulling of my skin. My skin was also less irritated compared to the 24-hour stubble shave I did previous. This is due to my skin getting used to the electric razor. It did take additional passes to get shave everything to my satisfaction. This included little hairs and rough spots that the were missed on the first or second pass. Overall, it took me three passes to shave the entire right side of my face. WAF of 2. Remember, WAF 1 is blade shave. 3-Day Growth Shaving Experience – Wet Shave: The left side of my face was shaved using water and Barbasol shaving cream from a can. The water is applied to the skin first and then the shaving cream applied over the wet skin. The shave was baby smooth on all areas where the shaving cream was present. However, each pass of the 5300 removed the shaving cream. The 5300 pulled at the wet, shaving cream free skin making all but the first pass impossible. This resulted in a WAF of 3. Please see included photos. There was some shaving. The stiffer hair was shaven. The software hair was left behind. Conclusion. I will not be using the 5300 for wet shaving. Final thoughts: I like the 5300 as far as electric razors go. It is not as smooth as a blade shave. Then again, I don’t have to worry about nicks and cuts from an electric razor. The shave may not be as close, but it is more predictable and consistent. I used to use a blade for multiple shaves. However, each successive shave after the first increased the incident of cut skin and bleeding. Eventually, the blade was useless thus costing me money every time I had to replace. Additionally, I do some travel. It is far easier to transport an electric razor these days than a bladed instrument. Overall, I am glad I spent the extra $20 for the 5300. The shave is close enough to a blade that my wife is happy. The shave is clean enough to pass as clean shaven at work. It is portable. Waterproof. Easy to clean. And the heads hug every contour of my face with ease. I will not be using this razor for wet shaving since I think the shave is inferior to dry shaving. Then again, my test includes a single brand of shaving cream and a single product line within that brand. Experiment and see what works for you. I cannot give the 5300 a 5-star rating simply because my wet shaving experience was not ideal. It does give a good, consistent dry shave. I hope you found this review helpful.

Let me start by saying I used to be an electric razor guy but in the past 10 years I have just opted for a disposable. I really liked the idea of using this in the shower either with a gel or foam or not. To start, shaver overall feels great in your hand, it’s not too heavy, it grips well and is very maneuverable across your face, chin and neck with its 3 floating heads. Charging is easy and quick, took about 50 or so minutes to get a full charge. It also has a quick charge feature that if you need a shave and your low on juice, plug it in for 5 min and you have enough for 1 shave before your out the door. I used it for 6 days straight and didn’t need to recharge. It says it will give 40 min of shave on a charge, I didn’t use it that many total minutes but that should be accurate based on my usage. As for quality of shave, I have to rate this 4 out of 5 stars. I did find myself struggling with multiple swipes on the upper neck area as it meets my chin. Quality of shave was about the same wet or dry with a slight edge to dry. Whereas using a regular razer in the shower when you have the hot water and shaving cream on your face produces a better shave, I found that the floating heads didn’t seem to grab quite as well with foam and water. Maybe that’s my beard growth. My experience showed optimal results when used daily or no more than 2 days of growth. More than two days of growth seemed to be more difficult for it to get a smooth and complete shave. To use the trimmer attachment, the triple head pops off easily and the trimmer head pops on. Again, quick, easy and convenient to trim up side burns or around the ears or neck. Clean-up is a breeze; the head unit pops up rinses clean under water easily. Overall, I like it and will keep it. It is convenient and quick, especially if your touching up or grabbing a 2nd shave before going out in the evening. I would recommend this, especially if you are already someone that uses electrical. It’s nice to grab it and take it in the shower or use it outside the shower, rinse it and done.

I have been a big fan of Philips Norelco series - in fact it is the only brand of shaver that I have been using for almost the last 10-15 years. See attached for the last 4 Norelco shavers that I have used side by side (oldest to newest) - with the 5300 on the right side. Do not ask why I still have the old ones - they still work (although the two oldest ones do not charge any more - but they work fine corded). Pros of the 5300 - it definitely has the largest reach and surface ara, although the blade size is the same. This also leads to somewhat of a "dead zone" in the center so the circular motion does not work for shaving any more, which was the recommended way to shave with the rotary shavers. The wet-dry system is nice, but this is the first Norelco that I cannot use corded when the battery is low. The battery does charge quickly enough so that hopefully is not a problem. And the Lithium battery should last quite a while I hope - at least until the blades are too dull to use.

The Norelco 5300 looks more expensive than it is. The aesthetics are on point with a sleek screen under a shiny dark window. The head does well adjusting to contours but the blades could be better. These are single blades so it will take a few more passes than let's say a triple blade array. It cuts well leaving a CLOSE shave, but it will take time. If you run out of battery you will look stupid with a bad shave… you have been warned (road warriors). The ergonomics are great but if you shave your head with this you will have some weird angles to adjust to. It lacks the ability to shave while plugged in, so this is a MAJOR negative to me but this seems to be the norm now. Maybe I just need to adjust. I would have liked to see a small pouch or something to keep it all together. I have seen them do it before. I wish there was a more exciting way to say this… but it is an electric shaver that gets the job done! Pros +Wet/Dry shaves and is fully washable. + Long Battery Life up to 40 minutes per full charge and fully charges in 1 hour. +Ergonomic Design +Trimmer for Edging Cons -Basic Blades - Single blade x 3 heads -No Battery meter -Blade cost -Lack of Corded Mode - When charging this, it will not work. -=||The Verdict||=- If you are looking for a great all around value with a reputable company, this is a solid option. It is a nice close shave!

I have had a few Philips Norelco shavers over the years and decided to come back from a competing brand. I have been satisfied with the switch so far. I have very thick facial hair and this shaver powers through it fairly well and doesn’t require a lot of second and third passes that would result in irritation for my sensitive skin. My previous shaver was a straight foil variant and I was quickly reminded how superior rotary shavers are for my particular facial hair and face structure. The trimmer is good quality but certainly wouldn’t stand up to a purpose built trimmer. The trimmer and shaver heads lock up securely to the handle using a tension system but they both require quite a bit of force to remove and install; so much so that I was concerned I might break the attachments or the handle when switching them out. I anticipate this would improve over time however. Curiously, it doesn’t come with a cleaning brush. I have collected several of these over the years with shaver purchases so I didn’t need one but for something that’s typically included, it just seems a bit odd for one not the come with it. On the plus side, this trimmer charges very quickly and is very quiet and surprisingly light. The blades are high quality and I anticipate they’ll hold up well. It also uses the same charger as the body trimmer I got last year which makes for easy charging for both products. The battery holds up well and I have no doubt it will run the 40 minutes that they claim. Overall, I’m very pleased with it. Other than the few very minor gripes I mentioned previously, it’s a great product.

I always shave using a razor this is the first time I used a power shaver and I was somehow impressed but not fully. First off this shaver was very well packed, easy to open cut the two tapes on the side pop the lid open and you have access to shaver and its accessories. The ergonomic design makes it easy to hold in the hand and maneuver around your face when shaving and it’s also very light. The blades easily glides throughout the face even when using it dry. When powered on, this shaver is very silent you can still hear it but the noise is so low it you won't even notice. What impressed me about this shaver was how closed and clean shave you will get, so clean my face felt smooth very similar to razor shaving. The rotary blades are very easy to clean you can popped open the blades compartment and just wash it off. Switching from blades to the trimmer is a breeze too they easily pop on and off. Charging was pretty quick within an hour this shaver was fully charged. You can shave with this dry, wet and even with shaving cream which I prefeffer. During my use I have only encountered a few things that can be negative impact for me not for everyone. Shaver claims to cut long hair, in the instruction says to pre-trim first if you have more than 3 days without shaving that being said, I had about two weeks without shaving so I used the trimmer first which it did a pretty good job cutting my facial hair down to the minimum. However, in some occasions the blade still pulled some of my hairs especially on my neck which it cause me some irritation and few bumps. I tried again after 3 days and did not pull any hair this time around but then again I got irritated on my neck, maybe I am sensible to electric shaver and I just found out. I stated before it gives a clean and smooth shave similar to razor which it does but, if you rub your face upward you will still feel tiny hairs, your face feels smooth when rub downwards. That may not bother many but I think it was a good thing to mention as with the razors you can easily shave upwards to eliminate that. The trimmer does a good job grooming you facial hair but doesn't do great when detailing as creating lines and stuff like that. On the handle you have few notification indicators such as the battery & low battery indicator, cleaning, blades replacement and travel lock. No need to worry about replacing the blades too often, according to the specification the shaving heads will last about a year. In the box you will find the shaver, precision trimmer, protective cap, power cord and the manuals Overall this is more than a capable shaver specially when you are on the run since you can shave it with dry and can get a clean fresh look within minutes.

My first electric shaver in over 15 years and the improved technology is amazing! Quick charge battery and it can be used wet or dry. Instructions said to use exclusively for 21-Day adaptation process which seemed ridiculous but it actually works. I tried shaving dry and wasn't too impressed with the feel but when I tried shaving wet with gel foam it made a huge difference. Using the shaver exclusively for a wet shave for the 21 Day Trial and Conversion process really surprised me at the closeness as I used it more and more. I even shaved on weekends which I never do unless I have to go out in public. Sensor reminds you to rinse the shaver inside and out and let it air dry between uses. Despite rinsing it outside and inside as instructed there is a little soap film build up inside (see photo) that doesn't seem to be a problem since the battery is sealed in a water tight compartment and the blades are on the outside. You can remove and clean the cutters one at a time for monthly cleaning and they need to be replaced about once a year or when the sensor alerts you. Kit includes a precision trimmer that you can click on to trim sideburns and a plastic cover to protect the blades if you are packing it for travel. It even has a lock function so that it does not turn on accidentally in your luggage. I'm really impressed with the wet shaving and have no reason to go back to disposable razors. You can try it for 45 days with their money back guarantee!

The Philips Norelco 5300 is a mid-range shaver from Philips. Its form factor is no different from other Norelco shavers. It is easy to grip with rubber grips on the sides. It took me a while to use this shaver as I don’t grow facial hair fairly quick. Because of this I have stuck with bladed razors and this is my first electric razor. My first impressions are that it gives a smooth shave and you can barley feel any vibrations coming from the razor. Also, it is fairly quiet too. I like the fact that the multi flex heads contribute to the smooth shave. This shaver boasts of the capabilities of dry and wet shaving. Unfortunately though, there is no IPX rating given. And truthfully, I prefer blades as facial hair weren’t cut. Though overall it still gives a good shave. As a battery-operated device, it is rated at 40 minutes. And it takes roughly an hour to make a full charge. This I believe is good enough for someone who doesn’t shave often. Honestly, I don’t really see anything truly unique in this shaver. But in my honest opinion it works fairly well as a shaver. Perhaps I am still used to blades. Hopefully I would grow into this shaver. And still, I would recommend it for someone who is in the market for a decent if not rock-solid shaver.