Total Disappointment:

My first Panasonic shaver, a two-head economy model, cost $40 and was pretty good. So when Panasonic came out with a three-head model for $80 I assumed it would be better -- and it was. I was very satisfied with that $80 shaver but I dropped it and it broke.

I would have bought another one but that model was discontinued and the one Panasonic was pushing at the time was the ES8077 "Vortex." The list price was $140 but I bought one from The Drugstore for $125, assuming again that it would be even better than the $80 model, which was a mistake!

The ES8077 turned out to be a complete disappointment. It pulled, it left long hairs behind and it left the areas around the chin and nose raw. The "self-cleaning" charging stand is an ineffectual gimmick that didn't clean the shaver half as well as a manual rinsing.

After about six months the "Vortex" started up by itself at around 3AM and wouldn't turn off. Apparently water got into the case and shorted the switch. I sent it in for warranty repair, which took three weeks. A few months later (last week) it did the same thing, so rather than prolong the aggravation I tossed it in the garbage and took a ride to the Target store.

Having learned the lesson that a shaver's price is not assurance of quality, I chose a $60 Braun which turned out to be a surprisingly good little machine.