Panasonic ES-LV95-S Electric Shaver Assessment
Recently, i began using the ES-LV95 after a brief detour using the Braun 9095cc, both flagship shavers from Panasonic and Braun; the ES-LV95 replaces my older ES-LV81. This review is actually a comparison with the (relatively) new Panasonic with the newest Braun, however contrasting this new Panasonic with all the old, the ES-LV95 improves performance and convenience in each and every respect in contrast with all the earlier Panasonic, and so i won’t reference the venerable ES-LV81 again.
As opposed to Braun, the latest Panasonic is lighter in weight (7 oz vs 8 oz) and slightly slimmer. It’s mostly plastic, but so may be the Braun, and esthetics of either is an issue of opinion. The Panasonic has slightly less chrome showing and is a little more svelte, which I kind of favor, so a win to the Panny for appearances for me. If you have any concerns relating to wherever and how to use Panasonic ES8243A Review, you can get hold of us at our site. The pinnacle is larger – about 1/4″ wider – and seems more flexible compared to the Braun’s, moving quicker around a true 360 degree axis rather than the Braun’s two-dimensional swivel, allowing the Panasonic to evolve into the contours of the face better. It covers more area quicker, and shortens my morning shave by almost half when compared to 9095cc, but does require practice maneuvering the larger head across the corners and angles of your respective face. The Panasonic has 5 cutters arranged symmetrically (a center flat cutter for much longer whiskers, flanked on either sides by 2 foils), contrasting Braun’s asymmetrical 4 cutters (2 different flat cutters, blue and silver, which has a foil on both sides). One benefit of the Panasonic would be that the cutter blocks and foil can be obtained separately – the foils need replacing faster, so could need more frequent replacement, but they can get replaced without replacing the cutters. Using the Braun, the cutters and foils are one cartridge assembly so you need to buy both. For an addendum, replacement heads to the Braun are generally unavailable now for more than a year, along with the few that you can get priced sometimes at a lot more than the price of the shaver. The Panasonic replacement heads are plentiful anywhere, usually $50-60 range for foil and cutter blocks combined.
The better speed cutting cycles with the Panasonic (14,000 cpm) compared to Braun’s 10,000 cpm, seem to provide a much more comfortable shave (in my opinion) – that’s 233 cutting cycles per second (Panasonic), as compared to 167 cutting cycles per second (Braun), or 40 percent faster. Braun’s “sonic” technology also creates more vibration (and noise) inside the head and shaver as opposed to Panny. The top speed Panasonic has a tendency to smooth out each pass, and require fewer passes or repeat passes, instead of the Braun’s “paint mixer” vibrations with your face and then in your hands. Neither naturally is as quiet to be a rotary shaver. The Panasonic shave is unquestionably closer, with fewer missed spots or random whiskers. Panasonic also has a “sensor” mode about this shaver, which reportedly detects beard thickness and adjusts cutting speed, which it actually appears to do; it will lead to a less irritating shave than previous models and the Braun, that may be attributable for this feature. The Panasonic takes a different technique and also a lighter touch than the Braun – because it cuts your beard more quickly, you don’t must apply any other pressure shaving to have a close cut; the truth is in case you press as hard together with the Panny as you sometimes must along with the Braun, it will let you know you’ve possessed a close shave, and not in a good way. Easy will it. Both shavers use a lock for that head, allowing a more in-depth shave around more complicated areas such as beneath the nose and around sideburns, and have a pop-up trimmer for trimming along a straight line. Both configurations work equally well for anyone purposes.
Battery longevity seems similar for both shavers, using the nod intending to Panasonic for number of shaves per charge as it takes a shorter period to shave; should last a week or even more on the highway by using a single charge. You are able to charge these shavers with all the cord, without having the cleaning station, and both of them are multi-voltage for traveling. Cords are similar with large transformer plugs, and just like all wet/dry shavers, you can’t use either shaver to be a corded shaver but must recharge. Straight cord for that Panny, coiled cord for any Braun. Info on the shavers’ LED displays is similar; the Panasonic provides percentage of charge left versus the Braun, which just displays diminishing bars until the final 10 mins of charge. The Panasonic also displays “MIN USED” to get a shave, as much as 10 minutes, in the event it starts over. I just find this helpful for improving my shaving technique and speed.
The cleaning station for your Panasonic is quite a bit improved across the previous design, which sometimes had problems with leaking solution. The brand new design utilizes a detergent solution plus a filter tray rather than a cassette – you mix the detergent packet with water within the tray, and I recommend distilled water to protect yourself from mineral build-on shaver or cleaner. The Panasonic cleaner is water based versus the alcohol based Braun station, but both provide excellent cleaning performance – Braun says their cleaning option is not suitable for soap, so not one of the Braun shavers offering a cleaning station are approved to get used with shaving foam or gel. That’s right folks – the Braun wet/dry shavers that come with a cleaning station are not approved by Braun for use with shaving cream. The Braun alcohol option is advertised as “sanitizing” the shaver head, but both cleaning solutions provide more than adequate anti-bacterial properties (remember, you wash your hands with soapy water), and neither actually sterilizes the top (important tip – don’t share your shaver with anyone boys and girls). The Braun station runs with a few minutes of louder buzzing (running the shaver to clean), accompanied by about 40 minutes of any quiet fan cycle, although the Panasonic station runs the shaver somewhat over 5 minutes, then a little over sixty minutes of fan drying; both stations seem to run either comparable cycle at about the same noise level – the fan cycle is plenty quiet for a spouse, partner or member of the family sleeping feet away. The Panasonic has a tendency to dry the top completely, whereas the Braun is always slightly damp the following morning. Both station/shaver combos occupy about the same counter space and height, with similar controls and data for drying or cleaning, together with the Braun being slightly larger and taller.
Probably most significantly, the Braun cleaning cartridges might cost more than double the amount because the Panasonic detergent packs, require orders of magnitude more storage area, and therefore are flammable; one plus to the Braun cartridges is simply because are self-contained much like the Philips Norelco cleaning system, requiring no mixing. If storage is as vital as convenience however (and we’re talking one minute or more exercise of opening a detergent pack, emptying it in to a tray and filling the tray with water – monthly tops), it is possible to store over a year’s worth of Panasonic cleaning packets in the bottom of any bathroom cabinet drawer without noticing, although that many Braun cartridges will fill a substantial part of your closet with flammable liquid. Cartridges for your new Braun cleaner don’t apparently last as long as previous units either, less than a month normally personally, shaving daily. Panasonic detergent solution lasts more than per month – going on 2 months with the existing solution and only as effective cleaning. Cleaning with either station will leave your shaver like new and smelling fresh, but both shavers can really you need to be rinsed in running water, so that you don’t really need a cleaning station, even though it is convenient. The Panasonic head is less difficult to clean up manually than the Braun since foil and cutters are separate. Normally the one minus of your Panasonic as opposed to Braun is the travel case – the Braun features a nicely fitted hard leather case, where Panasonic has their standard “faux leather” vinyl bag, nevertheless they do provide a hard plastic head cover.
As a side note, there exists already a new Panasonic set of shavers (ES-LV6/7/9) available on the market that appear similar, which has a slightly redesigned head and the body, and also a similar cleaning station, therefore the ES-LV95 is not their newest model. Again, remember that if you are a conventional “wet shaver” – I.e. shaving soap and water – Braun specifically says their only approved Series 9 shavers for shaving foam or gel are the 9040s plus the 9080s (the “s” suffix means is not going to would be the cleaning station), NOT the 9095cc. I had tried it successfully with a shaving brush and soap, but in accordance with Braun’s literature it is an “off label” use and may even void your warranty. For anyone who is a wet shaver, technically your only option is the Panasonic between the two of these. Recommended.