Happy, Happy, Jingle, Jingle and all that good stuff to all of you. Nothing like a new product surfacing at the 11th hour before the holiday
shopping season comes screeching to a halt. What the hell am I talking about? Why, it's the new Athena "Wind N' Go" Freedom Shaver! That's what.
The masses of blank expressions staring into the screen is truly overwhelming, however, what we have here shaver men and maidens is the only (to my knowledge) wind-up electric shaver on the market today. (yes, "winde-up" as opposed to the wind. This has nothing to do with rapidly moving air.)
Now this is a rotary shaver (similar to Norelco) that will allow you to shave on the go because instead of having to plug it in (which you have the option to do) you can simply extend the handle mounted on the back of the shaver, wind it up for about two minutes, and off you go with enough power for a full, clean shave. While I guess that technically this is not really wind-up (it uses an internal dynamo to create a stored electric charge within the internal batteries) it works on the same principal that rotating the handle results in a timed usage of the machine. A true wind-up item would use an internal spring and the tention created from winding would result in the motor operating. But hey, as long as we get a shave, right?
THE GOOD: Our preliminary tests have indicated that it gives a pretty good shave (surprisingly-considering the novelty aspect that it presents) and held up pretty well in abuse tests (dropping, dunking, tossing, tapping and dog-chewing). We found that it worked at least as well, if not better, than the older Norelco 900 series shavers-for those of you who can remember back almost 20 years. Yes, we feel old too. The low battery indicator light came on when there was enough power for a little more than one shave (on average). The Charging indicator light comes on when plugged in for a charge, and flickered when the winding action is employed to have the dynamo charge the unit. A surprisingly stable unit overall. The travel/storage pouch is decent enough and has a little mirror inside and a little slot for the cleaning brush (dry cleaning only-no water). The fact that the shaver comes with a charging cord and a 12-volt car cord adaptor at no extra charge is VERY nice.
THE NOT-SO-GOOD: The only major drawback on this shaver that we found is the complete lack of a sideburn or long-hair trimmer. While this is something that is found standard on just about every other electric shaver on earth, there is none on this machine. As a caveat to this point, we understand why there is no trimmer. Even the smallest clipper will use a huge amount of power and render the mini-charge that the winding action gives to this machine virtually ineffectual as the trimmer drains the power down after less than a moment of use. Picking up a cheap beard trimmer will solve this problem if you only occasionally use your long-hair trimmer.
And something that does require mentioning, before the shaver is used for the first time you will need to charge the unit for 8-hours using the cord. No biggie really, but better off knowing in advance.
So… the price is certainly right. If you are looking for a throwback to the old days of Norelco shaving and you have no need for a trimmer, this could very well be the shaver for you. The fact that it is wind-up is a nice feature if you are on the go, or, if you are forgetful about charging your machine on a regular basis. Not a bad little machine at all. You can take a peek at it here.
I'll spare you the closing joke here. Too tired. Are the Holidays over yet?
The masses of blank expressions staring into the screen is truly overwhelming, however, what we have here shaver men and maidens is the only (to my knowledge) wind-up electric shaver on the market today. (yes, "winde-up" as opposed to the wind. This has nothing to do with rapidly moving air.)
Now this is a rotary shaver (similar to Norelco) that will allow you to shave on the go because instead of having to plug it in (which you have the option to do) you can simply extend the handle mounted on the back of the shaver, wind it up for about two minutes, and off you go with enough power for a full, clean shave. While I guess that technically this is not really wind-up (it uses an internal dynamo to create a stored electric charge within the internal batteries) it works on the same principal that rotating the handle results in a timed usage of the machine. A true wind-up item would use an internal spring and the tention created from winding would result in the motor operating. But hey, as long as we get a shave, right?
THE GOOD: Our preliminary tests have indicated that it gives a pretty good shave (surprisingly-considering the novelty aspect that it presents) and held up pretty well in abuse tests (dropping, dunking, tossing, tapping and dog-chewing). We found that it worked at least as well, if not better, than the older Norelco 900 series shavers-for those of you who can remember back almost 20 years. Yes, we feel old too. The low battery indicator light came on when there was enough power for a little more than one shave (on average). The Charging indicator light comes on when plugged in for a charge, and flickered when the winding action is employed to have the dynamo charge the unit. A surprisingly stable unit overall. The travel/storage pouch is decent enough and has a little mirror inside and a little slot for the cleaning brush (dry cleaning only-no water). The fact that the shaver comes with a charging cord and a 12-volt car cord adaptor at no extra charge is VERY nice.
THE NOT-SO-GOOD: The only major drawback on this shaver that we found is the complete lack of a sideburn or long-hair trimmer. While this is something that is found standard on just about every other electric shaver on earth, there is none on this machine. As a caveat to this point, we understand why there is no trimmer. Even the smallest clipper will use a huge amount of power and render the mini-charge that the winding action gives to this machine virtually ineffectual as the trimmer drains the power down after less than a moment of use. Picking up a cheap beard trimmer will solve this problem if you only occasionally use your long-hair trimmer.
And something that does require mentioning, before the shaver is used for the first time you will need to charge the unit for 8-hours using the cord. No biggie really, but better off knowing in advance.
So… the price is certainly right. If you are looking for a throwback to the old days of Norelco shaving and you have no need for a trimmer, this could very well be the shaver for you. The fact that it is wind-up is a nice feature if you are on the go, or, if you are forgetful about charging your machine on a regular basis. Not a bad little machine at all. You can take a peek at it here.
I'll spare you the closing joke here. Too tired. Are the Holidays over yet?
