It’s that time again kids, the season of salivating celebration and expectation,
culminating in a frenzy of highly marketed and newly purchased, moderately needed…stuff.
And what “stuff” should be on the list? Yeah, yeah, an electric shaver, blah, blah,
we know, we know, that’s why we came to the site in the first place, right?
Sparing you the “how good a shaver would be as a gift” spiel, let’s talk instead
about what’s really hot this year. As many loyal readers of my silly little blog
will remember, I have much spewed about the virtues and failures of the Braun and
Norelco companies of late, specifically about the two new top-dog shavers that have
been thrust into the commercial breaks of our favorite prime time shows. So what’s
the latest? What are people saying? How is it all boiling down? What’s this bump
on my neck?
Well, here y’are…
The Braun Pulsonic series of shavers (3 units that are virtually indiscernible from
one another) has been stomping across the shaver battlefields for the past few months,
giving atomic wedgies to the majority of the competition. As Braun continues to flex
its muscles before the masses, the feedback continues to be consistently positive.
Men’s Health Magazine published that it was voted the 2007 best shaver for men. High
accolades indeed for a really pricy machine-and speaking of which, you’re going to
see very little price war going on for this unit, as Proctor and Gamble has put their
foot down on who is allowed to sell what, and for what price. Expect to pay a lot of
money for a lot of shaver. Is it worth it? According to those clean shaven faces that
reported back to us, yeah, it is.
The Norelco Arcitec has found some cooler reviews by comparison, but the jury is
still out due to the fact that Norelco blundered in its decision to only allow a
few mass-retailers to carry the product. Little product saturation + cheapo
advertising = less sales. I think they have learned their lesson though, and now
the product is more widely available, as I was accosted by an ad for it during
prime time recently. Is it good? We have found that most people really do like the
machine, especially if they are current/former Norelco shaver users. Personally I
think it does a fine job. I’m still a little iffy on the stupid trimmer they’ve got
there, but to be fair, Braun’s Pulsonic trimmer is kinda stinko too.
So there you have it. The two front runners are high quality, high price, highly
reviewed, and highly advertised. The recommendation stands as it always has-not every
shaver is for every face. If rotary works for you-stick with Norelco (or Remington
rotary if you want a cheaper option), if foil shavers are your preference, go for
the Braun Pusonic. If you aint got the money, then there are other options too, but
don’t expect to see many commercials for Remington, Panasonic, and Shavetronics
shavers this holiday season.
Me? I’m going to consume my five-thousand calories for Thanksgiving and then steel
myself to the frenzied, panic-driven online shoppers until the holidays are all over.
Once I can breathe again and the facial ticks stop, we can truly access the winner
of the shaver war.
And maybe I’ll get some good stuff to boot. Happy Holidays from all of us at Shavers.com.