Great razor, but needs refinement

The Philips Norelco 7180XL is the best electric razor I've owned. The only flaw with this razor -- and it's a pretty big one -- is the rechargeable battery system that has some odd restrictions on it that would have been acceptable about 1983 but not in 2008 (more on that later).

I got this as a gift as my old Norelco died after about a decade. I was glad to have a Philips Norelco as a replacement because my old razor served me well and this new one is essentially a well evolved version of the same thing. You get the standard Norelco stuff -- three, floating heads with the "lift & cut" technology stuff that Norelco has been selling for years. On this particular razor, however, the shave is closer than anything I've gotten from an electric razor and it's easy to get problem areas under my nose, around the edges of my lips and on my neck. The floating heads work very well and ably adjust to contours.

Of course, the claim that this will shave "as close as a blade" is pretty much nonsense. You get close to a good, standard razor with this device, but not close enough. I've got a couple of observations on that point. For one thing, the manual says to use this razor for six weeks so your face can adjust to the razor and you can "experience the joy" of using the thing. I've never experienced much joy while shaving, honestly. It's a blasted chore that I've had to put up with for 20 years. However, the electric razor is convenient as can be, so I don't mind that it provides a shave that is a bit inferior to what can be had with a standard razor and some shaving cream.

Second, the manual says the blades in the Philips Norelco should be replaced every year. I really need to keep that in mind -- I kept my old Norelco for 10 years without replacing the blades, so it should come as no surprise that this new one shaves much closer than my old, burned out razor.

And, of course, there's the standard pop-up trimmer that is very convenient. I can's say how well it works on beards as I don't have one -- it seems to me that a gray, red, brown and blond beard would by anything but attractive. However, I can keep my sideburns reigned in with the thing without much difficulty.

So, the cutting system that comes on this is very familiar, but it does appear that improvements have been made over the years in that it shaves closer than any razor I've owned. Another major improvement is the way the razor is cleaned. Some extensive waterproofing can be done, meaning one simply has to flip the cutting blades assembly open (it's spring loaded and separates from the main body of the razor easily) and run it under warm tap water after using it. That's a major improvement, indeed, as cleaning my old Norelco involved taking the cutting assembly apart, grabbing the small brush that came with the razor and whisking hair out of the blasted thing. Keeping this Philips Norelco clean is a breeze and I'm a bit surprised -- dumping water all over an electronic advice seems like a bad idea, but the waterproofing was done very well on this razor.

By the way, Philips is running a great promotion on these things (well, on mine at least). It comes with a full two-year warranty and you even get 60 days to try it out or Philips will return the money you paid for it. Since one of these costs around $75, that's not a bad deal at all.

So, everything is great, right? Well, the charging system is a bit of a pain. The razor charges in only one hour and that will give you a little over a week of use. The charger is fast, too, in that a six-minute "quick charge" will give you enough juice for a shave. The cord that comes with this unit automatically selects from 100-240 volts so you can travel all over the place with it and not worry about adapters.

But, the charging system suffers from a notable lack of refinement. If you leave it plugged into the charger for too long, that can shorten the battery life. If you use it as a corded shaver, that can also shorten the battery life. I've gotten into the habit of leaving rechargeable items plugged in overnight, but that's not recommended with this razor. If I can leave my cell phone plugged in with no damage, why isn't the same true of my razor?

And, yes, I know there are some razors out there that do have a more sophisticated charging system. They have recharging bases, in fact, due to their logical assumption that people will place their razors in them when the devices aren't in use. You don't get a recharging base with this system, either, so I just have a cord tossed in my medicine cabinet in the master bathroom that I pull out and plug in when the shaver needs to be charged.

Enough about that. One positive that I ought to mention is that this razor is comfortable to grip and is easy to use. You get a power button, a couple of LEDs to tell you when the battery is low and when the unit is charging, the pop-up trimmer and the pop-up unit that holds the blades and heads. That's pretty much it. It's a basic design, meaning that one can expect it too last for some time because there's not a lot that can go wrong. The motor in the razor is powerful enough to mow down a beard even after a weekend of not shaving and the blades are great for cutting hairs rather than pulling on them.

In spite of the primitive charging system, this is a very good razor that comes with a solid warranty. It's a fine choice for those that want the convenience of an electric razor but want a close shave from one.