Philips Norelco Beard Trimmer and Hair Clipper Series 5000, BT5502/40 - Black And Silver

This Philips Norelco 5000 series beard and hair trimmer really gets the job done. It offers quality manufacturing, adjustable cutting lengths, long battery life, and most importantly powerful cutting action. I prefer a neat, trimmed beard so I am very familiar with beard trimmers. Philips Norelco is my go to brand for electric personal grooming products due to their consistent high performance. As expected, this trimmer provides top-notch performance for trimming the beard and even head, due to the included guard attachments. Upon activation, it pulsates with obvious power, while remaining easy to handle. The razor blade cutting action cuts cleanly and leaves me with a very satisfactory neat and even look. The 3 included comb attachments (beard and stubble, short hair, long hair) make sculpting a beard or head hair at home quick and easy. The length setting is adjustable from 0.4 to 10.4 in 0.2 increments. It can be used with a guard to closely edge the beard or sideburns. It is not a wet/dry product but it is fully washable which makes clean up convenient. It has a 90 minute run time from a fully charged battery but can also be used corded.

The Philips Norelco Philips BT5502/40 is the first new hair trimmer that I’ve purchase in a long while. This 5000 series trimmer comes with three attachments, a short beard guard and both a short and long hair guard. While the device doesn’t have any flashy features of modern tech, like an LCD display or intelligent sensing features, its simple design performs great as a basic trimmer with quick-change guards and an easy-to-adjust zoom wheel for selecting the desired hair length. The only “digital-age” feature you’ll find is the charging indicator light for the internal battery which flashes green when the unit is charging and remains a steady green for 30 minutes after reaching a full charge (before turning off). It can be used wirelessly for about 90 minutes on a full, one-hour charge. The connector is proprietary though, so that means if you lose the charger, you’ll need to replace with an identical one. You can, however, use the trimmers while it is plugged-in and charging. Both short guards can be set to lengths of 0.4 mm to 10 mm and adjust in increments of 0.2 mm until to 2 mm, then 0.5mm increments up to 5mm, and thereafter 1mm increments to 10mm using the scroll wheel above the power button. Similarly, with the longer hair clipper guide, the adjustments are 0.2 mm from 10.4 mm to 12 mm, 0.5mm up to 15mm, and 1 mm up to 20 mm. Swapping the guards is as simple as pulling up on them firmly and pressing the new one in until it clicks. In total there are 40 individual length settings for hair length depending on your needs and style preference. The rubberized zoom wheel has textured grips on it and is exposed on the front and back of the unit making it easy to rotate it with two fingers. Pay close attention to the colored numbers and icons (beard vs hair) on the back of the guards as these indicate their intended use and correspond to the length indicator above the zoom dial: the upper silver number denotes the length when using either of the short guards and the lower blue number is only for the longer hair guard. While the beard guard is black and has a much shorter profile, the two gray hair guards look nearly identical, and if you mix them up like I did my first time using this tool, you may end up with a shorter and higher fade than you intended! The dual-action short hair guards simultaneously lift low lying hairs close to the skin, while the secondary guide teeth sets the length to ensure that every hair is cut to the same length and not missed by the trimmer. However, I found that this type of guard didn’t work well with trim templates/headbands, as they the secondary set of teeth on the guard tended to catch on the template’s edges. Without using any guard, you can get a pretty close shave down to 1/64th of an inch and precisely shape your neckline, target single hairs, or create clean lines. Note, though, that you’ll still have a smidge of stubble left, so if you want smooth, bare skin, you will have to follow up with a razor. I like that the unit has a slight downward bend just above the hand grip, since this allows me to hold the trimmer at a lower, more comfortable angle when using on my face, rather than with my arm straight out. This also allows me to easily execute a flicking out motion when trimming up the sides of my hair for creating a smooth fade transition. With the number of increments and lengths available, I was able to achieve a fairly decent fade on the sides and back of my head, by myself, with a little bit of effort and patience. The trimmers are fully waterproof with an IPX7 rating and can be washed under running water, but using while it in the shower is not recommended. The unit includes a small plastic brush for cleaning, and the stainless steel dual cutting blades are removable and replaceable as well. The blades are self-sharpening too and never require oiling, and the device carries a full five-year warranty (excluding the blade and guards). It doesn’t come with a travel or storage case though, and there’s no travel lock on the device to prevent the power button from being activated, so just be mindful that it would be possible to inadvertently switch it on when stowed with other items. Overall, the trimmers work well, and I was able to trim both my facial hair and the hair on my head to my satisfaction. I went from 9 months of untamed hair growth i.e. fully wolfed out, to neat and trim with only these trimmers and only a little bit of scissor work on top, and I look forward to trying out different looks and styles using the full range of lengths options.

The Phillips cordless/corded beard and hair trimmer is a awesome addition to have in your tool kit in the way of personal grooming. The set up is very basic but gets the job with ease and comfort. Out of the box your going to get everything you need to get you started including the main unit, power cord and 3 different size adapters. The unit can be used both as a plug in or cordless. Charge time took less than a hour and should yield roughly around 30 hours of run time give or take. Obliviously i have yet to test its run time as it would probably take a few months to put this to the test. This trimmer requires no oil which is a big plus for me as i hate the clean up associated with a oiled clipper. The hair always seems to stick more to the blades and hair removal always requires more work. Now this is a dry trimmer meaning it can not be used in the shower however it does allow you to use water to clean the head and blades without worrying about damage to the unit itself. The cut is very crisp and clean, and surprisingly for not taking any oil i never once got any snag or skin pull. If you are the kind of person that prefers to add lines to your beard or hair for hard parts then you'll be happy to know that the zero blade takes you down to the skin and give almost a razor like cut. All in all this is a pretty standard set up for a beard/hair trimmer. Few key notes to take from this. There is no heads up display on the trimmer so you can not see actual physical battery level. There are no speed adjustments to the motor or easy quick take down of the blades. The unit does not coming with any cleaning utensils so those will all need to be purchased separately. Also i have seen some newer clippers come out with Bluetooth connectivity believe it or not however this unit does not support that function fyi. The quick charge time and long battery life combined with a skin close cut make this a big plus for me. In the end i dont need all the fancy hardware, i just need it to do its job and do it well which this trimmer clearly does. The different adapters and precise zero cut means that for all you beard lovers out there you will have absolutely no problem shaping and trimming your beard to the style you are trying to achieve.

I have been using phillps trimmers and shavers since 1995, and before me my father used the Phillips since the mighty Eighties! this trimmer is a little special for me because I have gifted it to my son and it is his best trimmer ever. This Norelco 5000 is very well balanced in the hand, it feels natural. the build quality is what you expect from Phillips. reliable, will last forever! the battery does last about 2 weeks worth of trimming or about an hour and a half, and for a change you can actually use the trimmer while charging (a great feature to be added to Norelco series) it is fully washable and usable if you trim while in the shower. grips very well in hand and is ergonomic. this is a self sharpening blade, which means you do not need to oil it every once in a while and the blades are stainless steel. the trimmer comes with the charger and 3 guard attachments for different trimming lengths and the trimmer itself has a wheel that would raise or lower the blades while the guards are on to enable more adjustment. I am very happy with this trimmer and I know that my son loves it too because of the quality and because it represents a milestone for him.

As a guy that likes to grow out my facial hair I think this is a must have tool in my grooming and maintenance routine. This Philips Norelco beard trimmer 5500 is a nice way to keep my look looking controlled. Consisting of the trimmer itself, a beard comb, a short hair comb, and a long hair comb. You can utilize this trimmer in a multi-function capacity as it will allow for hair clipping and also beard length maintenance. This trimmer is fully washable and can be rinsed under running water. Full metal blades ensure a nice sharp cut over and over again. You should be able to get yourself appx. 90 minutes of total run time when using a fully charged trimmer. The great thing about this trimmer is that it will turn on and operate while corded so you can use this with and without the cord. This is helpful if you forgot to charge it previously and now need to operate it immediately. So far after using this for a few days the beard/stubble comb has been very helpful. The trimmer itself can maintain multiple settings with its quick adjustable length turning wheel that gives up to 40 length settings. This is a smooth operating unit and quickly clips the hairs as you glide the head of the trimmer over the surface. For myself I have been growing my beard and like to have a maintained and trimmed look. My beard looks out of control with hairs of various length in varying directions. I can easily find the right setting and glide the trimmer across my beard to make a nice even length beard across the whole face. When using this trimmer without a guard I can easily make my edging precise and accurate for beard or hair line trims. Well worth it and a must have for anyone that likes to keep stubble and beard looks occasionally or permanently. PRO: Cordless and corded use Multiple settings to get the desired beard length CON: n/a

Phillips has made a lot of shavers over the years. As fashion changes, they have adapted by making stubble razors. There are two approaches to leaving stubble on your face: separate combs and dial a length. With separate combs, each comb / hair guide is for a preset length (i.e. 2mm, 4mm, 15mm). This locks you in to only the lengths that the razor comes with. It also puts you in an awkward position if you ever loose a comb as replacements can be challenging to get. The combs though are designed to stand the hair up all the way down to the blade, allowing for more hair to be cut per pass. This razor uses the other approach of having a wider range of length options which then requires using a hollow comb. The comb still straightens the hair in front of the cutting blades. This design can work better if you’re changing the length of your hair on different parts of your face or head (i.e. a goatee with stubble on your cheeks). The razor comes with 3 combs in total: 1 for close facial hair, 1 for longer facial hair, and 1 for longer body hair and for haircuts. My choice is to wear a close cropped beard. My previous razor was making a lot of noise and the comb was loose. It appears that over time, the connection between the blade and the razor wore out. The loose vibration caused the noise. I’d had it for more than 5 years, so no complaints on how long it lasted. During that time, it shaved consistently until close to the end. I have every confidence that the new Phillips razor will last at least as long. I got fixed length razor at first. It’s compact and feels very solid. I was concerned about bringing different length combs with me when on business as I like to trim both my beard and my hair on the sides. I picked up this razor to have a single unit which could stay in my travel bag, if I didn’t like it for every day use. I found that I missed the more compact and lighter weight razor when I wasn’t at home. The extra comb was less of a concern for short trips, which are common for me. I just don’t worry about my head hair as much. Even though it’s a little larger and heavier, it still cleans easily, requiring only a rinse under water to get the hair off. The charge lasts over 90 minute in my testing. Phillips says it should last 110 minutes on a 1 hour charge. It will also run with the charger plugged in, just in case it runs down unexpectedly on you. While not as small as the fixed comb razer, it’s still fairly compact and fits in my toiletry bag nicely. Overall, I really liked this razor. It just turned out to be not quite what I was looking for. Hopefully, I can shed some light and what the differences are and that it helps you determine which of the many Phillips models that Best Buy stocks will be the right one for you.

The Phillips-Norelco Beard Trimmer 5500 is one of those products that does not require a lengthy review. This is a pretty basic, minimally adequate, grooming tool. Here are the positives I noted: 1. It has an unusually long 5-year full warranty. 2. The packaging is basic and environmentally sensitive with virtually everything recyclable. 3. The battery is NIMH, not lithium which saves the rare earth minerals for more appropriate devices and the battery functioned well. 4. It charged quickly. 5. Claimed run time is 90 minutes (not tested). 6. Claimed to be waterproof (“fully washable”), tested only partially. The 550 has some notable deficiencies: 1. It’s a bit bulky and may not be comfortable for those with smaller hands. 2. Due to its size, it is not as maneuverable as more ergonomic trimmers. 3. It’s noisy. Not sure I would want it by my ears for a long time. Perhaps this is a function of the claimed “self-sharpening” metal blades. 4. The “cutting unit” (blades) are wide which seems fine for most hair trimming, but it was difficult to get into tight places around the ears and under the nose when trimming facial hair. 5. The relationship of the blades to any one of the 3 guards (see below) can be adjusted in “1/128” increments.” This feature seemed more of a gimmick that a useful tool. Who needs adjustment as fine as 0.2mm? Finally, a major gripe: The trimmer comes with 3 blade guards, 2 gray and 1 black. The instructions (see photos) say 2 of these are for the beard and 1 for hair. The box, however, says exactly the opposite. Not sure how big an issue this is, but I was very careful making my initial selections lest I accidentally gouged my beard of hair. And I still haven’t not figured out whether the box or instructions are correct. In sum: Mediocre.

I'm in love with this Philips Norelco Beard and Hair Trimmer Series 5000, BT5502/40. This trimmer is well-made, has a good grip, and is fully washable. In addition, the one pass and even cut are what this trimmer stands out for. Usually, with my older models and other brands that I have been using for years, the trim seems uneven even after several passes, but this trimmer is truly ONE PASS with its trim level adjustment, and the result is very satisfying. Also, the self-sharpening feature and no maintenance required are fabulous. Cleaning is easy; I run it under tap water, wipe it, and leave it for a couple of hours, and it looks new again. I'm not used to leaving my beard long, so I rarely use combo guards. Nevertheless, they are of high quality. Charging is fast, the motor is strong, and the cutting is smooth. No oil and replacement blades make it a perfect companion and great addition to my other trimmers. Tangible and satisfactory results!! I wish Philips had included a travel pouch with it. I have no issues so far.