The Bottom Line: Want a shave that's easy on the skin and easy to use? Not blade smooth on the first pass, but 100x better on the skin. No more shaving cream!

I did a lot of shopping around before I bought the Braun and checked the epinions reviews. The other reviews are spot-on. It's not quite as close as a blade and requires several passes to get really smooth. Using ElectricShave pre-treatement helps some, as does not pressing hard and pulling your skin taut while shaving over it.

My skin is SO much happier with this shave than it is with my usual blade (Mach 3 or a Fusion). I keep the blade shavers around too though, just in case I need a really fast touch-up. I shave my chest hair (rugby and jiu-jitsu taught me that having clumps of hair ripped out hurts like h311!) and this is so much better on my skin. It DOES take several passes though - even with Braun's little hair-adjusting gadget between the foils, it just doesn't get all the hair on one pass.

The cleaning base is GREAT. I like the scent of the cleaner, and the price isn't bad on a per-day basis, especially to keep the shaver clean and charged. The cleaning cycle IS a bit noisy, however - You just time it so that no one is sleeping when you select the clean cycle.

The charge lasts a VERY long time, and the mustache trimmer is great - I've even used it to shave clumps of hair off my cat! It keeps my mustache very neatly trimmed.

I've used a Ronson electric before (three rotary heads) and was a little unsatisfied with it. The Braun is a lot better.