Micro by Name Only (Philips Micro HQ40)

Member Name: Nar2

Product:	Philips Micro HQ40
Date:	19/10/07 (1321 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Does what it says, compact and easy to use.

Disadvantages: Battery power only, no side trimmer, old fashioned lift and cut blades, misleading model name.

When most of my mates are travelling there’s never a question of which shaver to take, even though I have never personally asked them, they usually have an electric rechargeable or battery powered electric shaver on show or casually assume that this is what they are going to take for the long haul. Whilst I usually wet shave, for a few years now as a student and being rushed in the mornings I was more accustomed to using an electric rechargeable type shaver.

My history with Philips spawns a few good years too, starting off with a red Tracer shaver in the mid 1980’s to a Micro head twin silver rotary Philips shaver I use now; put simply despite trying out several shavers from other companies such as Hitachi, Panasonic and Braun, I still prefer Philips for quality of thought and quality of cut.

Until recently though, my Tracer shaver breathed its last sigh and it was time to move onto another stop gap shaver until I can afford to buy another one to leave at my parents whenever I visit.

In the meantime I was using a low powered low price electric cordless shaver from Superdrug. I knew that wouldn’t last due to its incredibly cheap price of a fiver but had the poorest imitation of Philips right down to its twin rotary heads until one day one of the blades fell out and the Superdrug shaver was consigned to the bin. I just didn’t reckon it would last a couple of months as opposed to one year’s assumption!


** Nar’s Quick Skip Product Spec **

• HQ 40 “Micro Plus” model with twin rotating Lift and Cut heads
• 60 minutes working time.
• 2 AA batteries supplied
• Dry cut only with floating heads.
• Protection cap, cleaning brush and travel bag supplied.
• Retails at £12-99 to £18-99 (My price: £14-99)


At £14-99 then, the Philips HQ40 was the cheapest shaver I could find in town even though at £16-99 another model from Hitachi with its aerofoil strip would have perhaps been the cheaper alternative where rechargeable batteries/cordless types are concerned.

In reality the Philips HQ40 doesn’t have a cordless purpose, but uses 2 AA batteries which come supplied already for use. This means that whilst it is not supposed to be used as a main shaver since it has this kind of power, it is suggestive however of either being a considerable holiday reason purchase or simply as I needed, one as a back up stored away and ready for use without worry of failing power – well that’s if you happen only to keep a few AA batteries in the home!



** Difference of Blade Type **


Unless you have had a Philips shaver before you’re not likely to know the differences of each blade type. Whilst Philips have had the “Lift and Cut,” standard blades for years set into the ranges of electric shavers, the blade design was drastically changed in the 1990’s to the more preferable “Micro Cut,” action. Simply, whilst the Lift and Cut blades are good, they don’t always provide a fine cut which means more time use on the face which can cause abrasion on some men and brings the usual “rash” at the end of each use.

Here then, it is remarkable that Philips have managed to get away with the fact that this model is one of very few to have the old fashioned and lesser quality Lift and Cut blades, despite the fact that Philips have branded this shaver with “Micro Plus” on the box and also stamped this on the main rotary blade covers at the top of the shaver. It may be a plus that it can take batteries and that it’s micro in size, but Philips need to get in on the act by offering consumers with the more assumed type of blade for a finer cut and don’t mislead the consumer otherwise.



** Performance **


In use then, the HQ40 is a simple piece of engineering. Made of thick PVC plastic and in contrasting colours, the shaver feels okay to use, if a little small to the bigger shaver I’m using, and has a orange button to release the rotary blade cap for cleaning. It measures around 9cm and it feels almost like I’m holding a small CB radio in my hand whenever I use it. Although it has no grippy texture to its body, it does have that typical built in Philips bend in the plastic on the shaver where logically your hand will curve around and grip it; I’d have liked some grippy texture on here though as I’ve dropped my other shaver a couple of times thanks to its all in silver surface. It has a safety lock on the activation button just like my larger shaver so it can’t turn itself on by accident thus wasting battery power – without human interaction to slide the button up with the lock button pushed in together.

However with the fact that the HQ40 retains the old fashioned Lift and Cut blades, I’m not overly impressed with the cut quality; again the HQ 40 needs to be used a few more times after a couple of initial sweeps to ensure all of my face has been shaved – just like my old Tracer shaver. I wouldn’t mind so much but my skin still feels stubbly as opposed to my other Micro blade fitted Philips shaver which takes up less time and literally cuts close to reveal smooth, supple baby like skin. On the HQ40 I find I have to spend more time constantly moving the skin in a circular fashion as I’m used to doing with other rotary shavers I’ve used anyway – but it takes too much time to get the same baby smooth effect.

And for most men perhaps the addition of these blades are fitted for a reason, not simply because they are slightly older in design; some men can get cuts off an electric dry shaver (I’ve only ever experienced ONE cut in 23 years!) and at best the older Lift and Cut action minimises any possibility of shaver cuts or nicks.

Noise wise however the HQ40 isn’t too whiney or grating; a fact that most rotary shavers suffer from, or indeed aerofoil types which have vibrating blade bars. On the Philips, yes you can tell someone could well be shaving by the associated grating sound of the blades, but it’s never annoying.



** Cleaning **


As with most Philips shavers, (or “Philishave,” as they used to be called) cleaning is simple and effective; the orange button releases the twin rotary hat, an inner grid which locks the blades in can be picked out and everything can be cleaned in a jiffy. It is however a pity that Philips have stuck to their parts bin and used the same grid which was used on my own Tracer shaver which locks the blades in. This means to anyone who has never owned a Philips shaver, a future warning – this grid is made of very thin plastic and remains very weak whenever the blades are taken out to clean. Break it and it may cost you £30 for a replacement blade holder grid as well as an average monthly waiting of time of three months! A brush is supplied and it’s just as easy to clean the blades with the grid still intact and locked into the hat as opposed to dismantling everything and treating everything with kid gloves.



** Quality **


The quality isn’t so bad on this Philips even though it has a boring beige grey plastic body with a see through red acrylic bottom where the batteries can be seen. It certainly does feel a lot better made than the Superdrug horror I was using! Whilst I’m on about the fact that this is a battery powered only shaver, I was surprised that a travel bag also came with this shaver in a soft fabric case with room to spare with the spare cleaning brush. There’s even enough space there to slide in a small 50ml aftershave balm or lotion if you’re clever!



** Longevity of Power **


The batteries which came supplied with the HQ40 were Philips own batteries and they since buying the shaver two months ago, the batteries are still going strong. Given that I work most weekends and stay with my parents before going back to the city, the shaver therefore gets used two to three times each week. For those two months on my average use then, I don’t deem this too bad although this could well change if other consumers have heavier facial hair to shave. It really depends on the thickness of stubble that men have which determines the power longevity of this shaver. It only has around 40 watts of power which isn’t much anyway for a shaver of this type. But, it is proving to be handy to have even though I considered battery powered shavers a waste of money compared to cordless long term. After all, the shaver can use rechargeable batteries too!

And installing batteries on the HQ40 is a lot easier than past models. Here you simply put your finger on the finger grip located at the bottom of the shaver on the front plate and pull upwards. The door then snaps back in place easily and efficiently although on its own, is slightly cheap and feels weak.



** Conclusion **


Over my Micro blade fitted rechargeable shaver, the Philips HQ40 makes a good stop gap shaver to have, perhaps suitable for men who work in offices and need a quick shave before board meetings etc, or simply just to have whenever they feel the need to shave on the go; for travelling in the car or simply having one at school would certainly be something of a worthy gift for someone.

Certainly there are other shavers on the market like the Philips which take batteries and try to set the same goals but the HQ40 is at best the most available shaver which is on sale at Boots, Superdrug and most high street shops which stock shavers in general. Whilst it has no beard trimmer and relatively low power, the quality of build is great despite its lower cutting quality. The fact that it can take AA batteries may well be a consideration for many, even though it does mean extra cost at the time if the batteries get weak. Three stars then. Thanks for reading. ©Nar2 2007

www.philips.co.uk

Summary: A good stop gap shaver to own for temporary shaves in between your normal one.