Accessories Reviews

After seeing the reviews online on the ES8003W, I decided to purchase it...I was amazed with the results from the first shave. Following Panasonic's recommendations, I used a thin layer of Gillete Shaving Foam and got a shave that was closer at the end of the day than Norelco's at the beggining, and with only minimal irritation (the irritation went away after a few days). I also found that after using a skin cleanser on my face, the shave became even closer. Now, I'm able to get a shave that lasts the entire day (and leaves your face feeling like a baby's but) and leaves little or no stubble even at the end of the day. I couldn't be happier with this product. It feels well built, and is extremely easy to clean (simply clean with water and soap). A light sensor also guarantees that the blades move at 13,000 RPM even when the battery is low. The NiMH batteries used by the Panasonic can also be recharged at any time, and can not be overcharged. Unfortunately, Norelco's Quadra line uses a NiCD battery with no overcharge protection, which also must be drained of battery life before it can be recharged.

It is truly amazing what a step up it is using this Panasonic.
I've never had a shave this close --stays smooth all day -- easy to keep sparkling clean, AND so much more comfortable used wet with shaving foam. The closeness
is a revolution -- I'm a new man, and I've only been using
this shaver for a week. But I'm now a lifetime convert, never going back!
This is the first time I've written a review for amazon--I haven't found such an easy improvement in my day to day
life in years, so couldn't resist saying so.

The brush itself is very good. Sturdy and well designed. The handle is long enough to let you scrub the grill while it's still warm and strong enough to let you use some elbow-grease. The bristles are densely packed for better scrubbing. If they were longer you could get a bit more of the grate at one time, but I don't think they'd scrub as well (since it's the tips of the bristles that do the real scrubbing and not the sides). The curved scraper does a good job getting each individual rail of the grate clean too.

I have only two complaints. First, the wood can get pretty dirty after a while and is hard to clean. Second, this isn't the best price I've seen for this brush. I've seen it at almost half price at the local [store]. In general, I'm very happy with the prices on Amazon, but I was disappointed when I saw this for much less at the store.

Anyhow, if you're buying a grill (like I did from Amazon) then definitely get yourself a good brush like this to keep it clean. If you're still using steel wool to clean the grill, you'll like this much better. Don't use it to clean the dog...long story.

Hope this helps and good luck with your purchase!

Other than the wax issue the Screwpull works great and is a nice tool to have in the kitchen. If we all stayed away from high production wines with those waxed bottles the world would be a better place and the Screwpull would be an absolute dream. The Screwpull is well-built and sturdy - highly recommended!

I agree with previous reviewers that clean up is not this items strong suit. I will probably dedicate a toothbrush to clean it, as the bowel is not removeable, and the directions tell you not to immerse the unit in water. So for spices, I would not recommend this item. (I prefer a mortar and pestle for this, anyway.)

For the price you pay, you get a pretty good coffee grinder.

The single word of advice that I would attach to this would be that you might wish a good, fairly long-handled and firm-bristled brush to clean it with: the shape of the lid and of the unit's base is such that grounds seem to adhere to the crevices. This is nothing that a washing of the lid can't address, but dunking the base in the sink has always seemed, well...inadvisable? It's a dependable machine: worth the money.

Norelco states in their manuals that you should use their shavers for 21 days straight. After a week, I noticed that the skin around my neck started to turn red. My friends would laugh at me because I literally had a "red-neck". Then I would use after-shave thinking that would work. But by the second week, my skin was so irritated that it broke out into a rash. I didn't even make the 21 days. I thought to myself, "was worth it to spend 150 bucks so that my neck could break out into a rash?" Obviously it wasn't.

I returned the razor the next day and went back to my blades. Hopefully you'll have better luck than me with this razor, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone I know.

Pros:

1. Great design - Fits perfectly in your hand.

2. LOVE the LCD - The display is great with a lot of features (backlit with minutes remaining, cleaning reminder, charge reminder etc).

3. Effective blades - The three rotating, swiveling heads are very efficient, the Quadra Action works well and the motors are extremely quiet.

4. Built-in trimmer - Works well with sideburns.

5. Cleaning - You will drop down on your knees and thank Norelco for making the shaver so easy to clean! Just hold the shaver under warm/hot water and it cleans in a jiffy! No brushes (although it is included), no blowing and getting hair in your eyes, no fear of using a shaver with a wet face, and so on. This is one of the best features, in my opinion.

6. Incredible warranty - Norelco fixes or replaces anything and everything for for two years! The warranty is so good that they replace the charger cord, brush and the protective cap even if you lose them, all for just shipping charges.

7. Nice stand to place the shaver when not in use.

Cons:

1. It takes a LONG time for the regions of the neck and chin to get used to the shaver. I am not entirely satisfied with the shave because of this, but I hope it gets better with time.

2. The 6885XL does not come with the car adapter, which is sold separately, while the 6886XL (sold at warehouse stores like Costco and Sam's Club) includes the car adapter for the same price.

3. The minutes remaning on the LCD is deceptive in the beginning as it does not display the right amount of time left. This fact was in the manual but I overlooked it. It takes about 4-5 charges for it to display the accurate time remaining for some reason. The good part is that no matter what, the shaver gets to a full 45 minute charge in barely an hour!

4. While the carry case is bulky, it is very effective in the fact that it protects the shaver well, and is cleverly designed to hold the shaver, the charger (without the big plug getting in the way) and brush.

Before I bought the shaver, I had shortlisted my choice down to two. The 6885XL and the Braun Syncro (with LCD). While both are considered equally good, people tend to overlook one main problem with the Syncro. The self-cleaning cartridges. While they are readily available now, each of them costs around $10 and last for a month with average shaving. This means you have to invest $10 a month to keep the shaver clean or risk getting the blades dull. The Norelco has easy cleaning, and no added charges after the purchase except for new blades every year.

Finally, I gave it 4 stars only because of my problem with the effectiveness of the shaver in the neck regions. I am hoping that gets better soon and I don't have to use a regular razor to shave for the finishing touches. I strongly recommend the Norelco 6885XL (better yet, 6886XL). You won't be disappointed. My mornings are much less of a chore now! :-)

Now here's why I give the 6885XL 5 stars:

- Closest shave yet. This is the first electric razor I've used that shaves as close as a blade (including the Mach 3).

- Great for guy with sensitive skin

- It's quiet!!!

- Easy to clean. Open the top and run hot water through it. An indicator will remind you when it's time to clean.

- Sweet LCD Display

Sure, this is an expensive razor. Nevertheless, it provides the best shave ever. It's got all the bells and whistles a guy would want. If the price is a little too high, you might want to try the quadra action model without the lcd, it is much cheaper. However, if money is not an issue, go with the 6885XL, you won't regret it.

I just discovered that a UK company has made an adapter for the One:One to use 44mm pods such as Illy's E.S.E. pods (the One:One adapter is "UDM"). Since I think Illy espresso coffee is the very best, I'm very happy about this. For more info, check out the pod adapter secion of this webpage: http://www.easypods.co.uk

For more info on Illy coffees go to www.illy.com