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Braun 720 Series 7
by blissman70
I like to have a wet shave most of the time, although when I'm out and about, usually for work purposes, I tend to like the have an electric shaver with me so that I can have a shave when ever I want I need one, due to the fact that I feel a little more, well, confident, when my face is clean shaven, or is that just me?
Anyway, I ... have tried and tested many electric shavers, although when I say electric I mean rechargeable or battery operated shavers, coming across some that shave close to the skin and some that should not legally be called a shaver as they either cut your face to ribbons or leave more hair on your face that you first started with.
Fortunately, over my manly years of shaving my face I've come across some rather fine shavers, such as Remington, Philips and a rather fine little machine from the company we all know as Braun, with the shaver itself from the Braun 7 series, being called the Braun series 7-720.
Firstly can I tell you a few little bits about this Braun 7-720...
* It has what they call Optifoil covering the three cutting heads.
* It has Sonic technology which means it produces more pulses with every stroke.
* Offers three shaving options, sensitive, normal and intense
* Senso Flex head which claims to give 6 times more comfort than a standard shaver head.
So that's the technical mumbo jumbo over with, I would say technical bits but there's no real technical bits to it.
What does it look like..?
It looks like any other shaver really with it's black plastic casing and silver foil head, although it comes in a silver body as well as black.
There is a rather fine little LCD display on the bottom of it which shows you the battery status, showing a red battery image for low battery and a green battery image for, yes you guessed it, a full battery. With a display of approximately how long you've got left on the battery before it need recharging.
On the front, so to speak, there are what look like three buttons, which are the actual controls for the three shaving options, with a '+' and a '-' button on the sides of what looks like a small cursor button. This cursor button gives you the indication as to what setting you have chosen, turning from blue to white depending on the sensitivity of the shave you have chosen.
The actually 'sensitively' controls simple speed up, or slow down the rate of the heads under the foils.
Using the shaver...
Before the first shave it is recommended to fully charge the shaver, which takes about an hour, but on a full charge you will get about 45 minutes of shaving power. But after this initial charging ceremony you can simple charge it up if and when required.
Plus, it can also be used direct from the mains for when you need a shave but have forgotten to charge it up.
But once charged, or plugged in, you simply use it as a you would any other shaver, flick it on and press the foil heads against your face, feeling the vibration as the shaver does it's business.
That's it, it's so simply so there's no need to get yourself a degree in rocket technology and informational necessities...
Cleaning the shaver...
To clean this you can do one of two things. You can either simple hold this under a running tap and flick it on so that the hairs become loose and the running water will push them out.
Or you can give it a full clean by taking off the head and brushing the entire thing out with the little brush you get with it.
This head comes off with the press of the 'locking' buttons which are situated on the side of the head itself.
My opinion...
This is without doubt one of the finest electric shavers I have ever used, but what do you expect considering the price it cost, which I will frighten you with later.
When I first starting using this I was pretty impressed with the way it managed to give my face a clean shave and, most importantly, my face felt clean and smooth.
As for the 'personalise' shaving options, well the 'sensitive setting is about as useful as a pair of glasses for a man with no ears. It just doesn't seem to shave the hair that much so I have to shave the same place over and over again, which causes skin irritation in itself. In fact, the best mode on it is probably the 'intense' have as it gets at the hair the bests, dragging it out of the face and trimming it away with the least irritation.
The cutting heads work remarkable well indeed, with the outer heads being covered in the foil whilst the central section moving in a fast 'cutting' motion, a little like an electric hedge trimmer, although a lot less forceful.
The shaving heads mange to get those facial hairs trimmed down to give a very smooth finish. The heads all act individually, seeming to bend, float and roll to glide over where ever you want to shave, and the fact that it has what they call 'sonic technology' which vibrates so that the hairs seem to come out of the pores a little more than normal, getting the chance to get a better cut.
Then there's the trimmer which slides up from the rear of the shaver and helps get a fine trim on such things as sideburns and those dodgy moustaches that seem to grow around peoples mouths.
It's got what they call 'Sonic Technology' which basically means that it vibrates as is shaves which is supposed to bring the hairs to life so that the trimmer can get then easier, leaving your face less irritated by the constant, what they call, 'tug and pull' cutting.
The display is simple to understand, showing a green light when the shaver is either in use or is begin charged up. Then there's the red light which shows you that the shaver is running low on power and will need charging up soon.
So what about the frightening price that I mentioned earlier, well it is a bit frightening for a shaver, selling for about £70.00 to a whopping £120, although it can be found on offer in some places.
As I said, quite pricey for what is just intended to shave your face but for me it is pretty good value for money as it has done me quite proud and managed to come through a lot of travelling.
Sadly though, after several shaves later, that feeling just isn't the same, even though I've kept the heads clean and lubricated, but it still gives a close enough shave on the 'intense' setting.
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Philips PT720 PowerTouch
by Nar2
For my Christmas this year I didn't ask for very much - not after I had shelled out money on repairs following the destruction of my living room thanks to my neighbour who is putting in a precious marble floor and extending his living room outwards. So, whilst it was lovely to receive little gifts like scented candles to shopping ... vouchers instead of chocolates or wine to consume from colleagues, I didn't think I needed anything until I went to try out my trusty 6 year old shaver and found that even after it's usual charge, it was no more! Back to wet shaves and more importantly a very little used Gillette M3 manual shaver and despite the auto-vibration set into the design, it takes me longer to get shaved with this type of shaver and a lack of side trimming. I'm very impatient in the mornings when it comes to shaving. I don't like wasting time but then I don't want to live in fear that if I rush too much I'll cut myself, accidentally and I always seem to do it whenever I have a manual wash shaver in my hand!
I've also had a range of electric shavers in the last couple of years though, from another Philips battery operated travel shaver that eats batteries, a Braun shaver that can only use mains power as its own source and doesn't cut as well as any of my Philips products to a couple of cheap Superdrug shavers that were nothing but a hark back to the 1960's in terms of quality, safety and control and for the first time experiencing cuts with an electric shaver! It only seemed natural to go for Philips again thanks to the sterling service my HQ483 has given and a Tracer shaver in the 1980's when I was starting out as a teenager for the same, drama free, safe and precision results of an electric shaver's performance. Oh how times have moved on and so have the prices! To get the same kind of spec as my previous shaver, I'd have to spend between £80 to £120 on the high street just to have a side trimmer added and a shorter charging time. I was completely floored - especially in light of the fact that my previous Philips twin head shaver had initially cost £24-99 back in 2006/7 before dropping down to £19-99! That price won't even get you anything close to Philips' current range now without making some compromise and the model that I wanted - the AT890 - was as usual, out of stock in the whole of Edinburgh. The next best bet then is the PT720 model, priced at £39-99 on average and I found one model left at Edinburgh's large Comet store just out of the city by the airport.
By design you're getting a slightly bulky model here that has the default Philips round head design and harking back to my silver HQ483 that only has two fixed Micro blade cutting blades, it was a lovely delight to see three springy heads on this shaver, with thick white surround recesses and a blue tab at the bottom to highlight manly sportiness! The blades carry the name "Super Lift and Cut," which to my mind and my experience is basically the next stage of their basic "double lift and cut" blades that Philips used to fit before their more expensive "Micro Action," blades. Still, I was of positive mind in giving this product a chance, since I prefer Philips design general and the cutting performance of their blades are better than most that I've experienced. What's more the shaver looks really professional and good value for money!
The main design for this shaver is that it's a cut down version of Philips' basic range for the model years after the 1990's. When at a time in my younger years you could easily buy a 2 headed rechargeable, compact electric shaver, Philips no longer produce the same one I had with a different colour or body unless you buy the power hungry twin AA battery only model. Here, you get three of the round shave heads that sit on independent cushioned seats that move in wards with you, as you gain a closer shave and have a fantastic 360° rotational axis. It retains the familiar "rotary" or "circular" action that Philishave/Philips men's shaving products have stipulated for years by their very design (and certainly it would be wrong of Philips to entre the conventional straight foil strip blades) and it is surrounded by a thick gear stick like feel of the top rubberised body with a thickness that makes it very comfortable to hold. It often reminds me of a professional microphone from the way the whole gadget looks and feels, right down to the totally rubberised feel with a few grips of lines set into it so that it doesn't fall from your hand in use. But it isn't a compact shaver by any means and feels too bulky despite the inclusion of 3 heads - Remington make several models that look like a dead cert for Philips men's shavers these days - but these are elongated and are naturally thinner compared to the stubby and wide shape of the PT720. Good for the price though is the fact that this shaver is washable and has washable blades and internals.
Performance wise it is not as good as my old HQ483 twin head shaver but it is quieter in use and I did realise early on with the change "down" from Micro Cut to the latest basic version that Philips included here, that I may be asking too much from this shaver - it does have one extra head after all, so one would expect a much better performance. But, I find the Philips PT720 isn't particularly quick at shaving or as close on contact, unless you take the user manual's constant suggestions of pulling facial skin tight with one hand whilst using the shaver in the other hand. Not my idea of a modern shaver! Unless I use this shaver for a long usage of time in one shaving session, and just try and get a baby soft skin condition by shaving quickly, the PT720 struggles to keep up - and then you'll find after 30 minutes use per 5 days, the shaver will need to be charged! So much for long life batteries and so much for Philips claim that it can run for 40 minutes before requiring to be charged - and it isn't as if I have thick, monkey like facial hair to shave off!
Despite the shaver coming with the obligatory 2 pin plug and ribbed wire, the batteries on board here are not suitable for long term life, requiring an 8 to 10 hour charge if you want to get the best out of the Philips. The Super Lift and Cut blades seem like they are not close enough to get deep into my face to remove stubble whilst neck hair and beard lines takes ages for a soft, comfortable hair-free feeling. No wonder Philips suggest that you pull the skin tight - it's for a closer contact to lift the stubble off. As a result if I don't pull the skin tight, the claimed "super cut" blades fail to give me baby soft skin, often appearing and feeling too rough and then requires to go over the skin again for a closer shave. When the skin is pulled tight, there's a marked improvement but the whole experience leaves my face feeling sore and red looking and for all the use of those contour suspension-added seats from the triple blades on offer, the outcome should be softer and more caring.
At least washing this product is simpler and there are two options here from the press button release at the bottom of the shaver ring that holds all three blades in. The whole assembly springs up on a delightful hinge that reveals the three pin motors inside and the whole head can be put under a tap to wash the blades and seats. However, you can also take the whole head off if you wish as well as taking out each blade. Frankly I don't have time for that, as I tend to just take off the head and blow the dust out - but for neat and clean freaks, at least the blades and whole top assembly can be put under a tap. After the New Year, I was dismayed to find Philips brought out another new model with a side trimmer added - the price? £42, which, isn't too bad just for the addition of that practical cutter - and I do miss having no side trimmer on this model - but the newer model equipped still suffers from the same kind of blades and charging experience.
In my opinion, Philips are a trusted brand who know how to make good shavers, but in this case the PT720 isn't as reliable or as well executed when it comes to actual performance. For the price here where it doesn't offer a side trimmer as standard and has a difficult running time with a long charge battery, I don't think Philips have done well here in offering what should be a much better shaver with a shorter time chargeable battery at the very least. Their far more expensive PT890 model offers a one-hour charge, which for fast paced lives and those who like convenience will be pushed to pay out more for the privilege. Additionally, those who have been used to straight foil shavers over the years but feel it is time to change to a round shaver blade type may well buy this shaver in the hope that it gives a better performance - but the PT720 is left wanting at the end of the day compared to thinner, more compact and better shavers from other brands - and I feel a little disappointed. Thanks for reading! Another exclusive review for Dooyoo! İNar2 2012.
www.philips.com
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