Panasonic Electric Razor for Men, Cordless Wet Dry Lightweight Shaver with Ergonomic Grip, ES3831K, Black

Fantastic electric foil shaver!! I bought this and a couple other more expensive brands/types to find out which would give me the closest head shave. This one wins hands down. It's better than the high dollar multi-blade foil razors that are 3 times the price, way better than the skull shaver, and better than a good multi-blade Mach razor. I like my head to be as smooth as a baby's butt.........and this guy can do it quickly. The reason it works so well and shaves so close is that it only has one foil. It's one big flexing foil with a blade that cuts over the full semi-circle, so it cuts no matter which part of the foil the hair comes in contact with. The multi-foil razors only cut over a small angle of the curved foil, so you have to orient them to the changing surface of your skin all the time. This one cuts at any angle.........and the holes in the foil on this razor are BIG.....so your hair easily fits thru and gets cut. It shaves much closer than the skull shaver, and does it quicker and quieter for about $80 bucks less! Compared to the multi-blade Mach-type razor it shaves as close if not closer. How can that be? Simple..........because the foil keeps the blades from contacting your skin you can push the razor into your skin harder than you can a Mach-type with exposed razor blades, which if you use a lot of pressure will cut and nick the heck out of your noggin'. It's also easy to clean and doesn't get hot as you use it. So it's the best performer for a head shave, is cheap, but it isn't rechargeable. I figured that would be a show-stopper, as I didn't want to have to buy AA batteries all the time.........but after reading the reviews that kept mentioning how long the batteries last........I figured I'd give it a try. I've had it about a month now, use it every morning for about 5 minutes......and it runs as strong now as the day I bought it. Really. I don't know how it uses so little energy, but I can see why people claim the batteries last for many months! And lastly.........it's smooth! The motor just hums compared to the other razors, especially the skull shaver, which sounds and vibrates like the motor cost a buck. The only thing I can't comment on is how much the replacement foil and blades are..........this might be one of those things where it's cheaper to just buy a new razor than to replace the foil and blades. I hope not, but we'll see when I get there. Honestly, I expected this cheap electric shaver to probably be a piece of junk........but boy was I wrong. This is the only one I use now, and for the price it just blows the competition away. Incredible!!

I have shaved with a razor for nearly 40 years. I've seen razors go from single blade to twin blade to triple blade, and even more. Every year the blades get more ridiculous in price. Considering the price of my triple blade razors, I decided to try an electric shaver. I was really surprised to find a highly rated shaver that cost less than a pack of my triple blades. But with the Panasonic name on it, I had to give it a try. I not only shave my face, I shave my entire head, except for my goatee and eyebrows. So this little shaver gets a good workout. And I'm used to baby smooth shaves. I shave against the grain, so I leave no stubble at all. The directions with this shaver tell former blade users to use the shaver a while, and let your skin get used to the cut. And they're right. Not only does the skin take a little time to adjust from a blade shave to a razor shave, you have to learn about which angle cuts best, and how much pressure to use while shaving. The results after one month; I get a shave very comparable to my triple blade razor, in about the same amount of time. The battery has lasted for the entire month, with nearly every day use. Cleaning takes a couple of minutes with the enclosed brush. I have not tried using the shaver 'wet', although it is said to be a 'wet/dry' shaver. I prefer to keep mine dry. I have fairly oily skin, and I don't wash my face before shaving. I feel the natural skin oils are a good lubricant. So after buying a $15 shaver, I'm saving on shaving cream and blades, and only replacing the two AA batteries about once a month. From a cost standpoint, it's very economical. The quality of shave is excellent. The shaver itself seems well made and dependable. And if I have one complaint, it's that I wish it had a trimmer blade, for evening up the edges of my goatee. But I can do that with my razor in about a minute, about once a month. So I have to say, this shaver is everything it should be, and maybe a little better. Definitely a good buy, and a smart purchase.

I've been using cartridges for years, but I always wanted to try a foil razor, so I bought this one. I liked the price and the fact that I could use it in my shower. I also liked being able to pop my own rechargeable batteries into it. I used it several times in the shower, always with bad results. I made many passes over my skin, and still my face felt rough. Finally I decided to try pushing hard with it, and I ended up with a terrible shave, plus my face hurt me. Lesson learned: pushing harder does not work. Not wanting to give up, I researched pre shaves and decided to try Afta. It's a lotion, not a liquid, and I thought it might work better in the shower. I applied the Afta and waited a couple of minutes to let it dry. Then I shaved, making light passes with the razor. I'm not going to lie, I made mutlple passes, but I'd do the same with a cartridge. My shave was fairly quick, my face wasn't sore, and the result was better than acceptable. What impressed me the most was that I didn't work especially hard and I still didn't seem to miss any spots. As they say, your mileage may vary, but for me this razor and a little Afta did the trick. Final note: I've tried this razor both in and out of the shower. I was shocked that even with a wet face the After seemed to work fine. I got a good shave both ways, but I give the edge to shaving out of the shower. UPDATE 2 1/2 years later. I'm still using my Panasonic, but how I use it has changed. Long ago I had a Norelco that cut my beard very well, but I hated cleaning it. What I have discovered is that this razor only cuts my bear well if I keep it fairly short, which basically means I have to cut it every day. Leaving in in my bathroom made that a chore. I dislike standing in front of mirror long enough to brush my teeth and dry my hair, so very often I skipped the shave, which caused problems. To fit that i now leave my razor and my Afta next to my desk. Now I can shave when I'm reading my screen and it doesn't add to my mirror time, which I find a key benefit. As long as I shave every day I can get a nice, clean shave. I do have to make multiple passes, though. I'll also say that I rarely have to change batteries. All-in-all I'm happy with my purchase, and I'd buy it again. It just requires a bit of getting used to.

I'm not a big fan of the prior editions of Panasonic travel shavers ... I owned one and it was very anemic, wouldn't shave well at all ... but this current model blows me away, it runs faster and stronger off its batteries than my Braun runs off its (both use AA's). For that matter it runs stronger and better than my standard, home edition Braun. Let me put it up front: I'm a big Braun fan, they have served me well for years, but this inexpensive Panasonic travel sharpener is good enough, for me, for home use. It also has a great shape, great industrial design, did they hire Braun's designer or give someone with a new way of looking at things free reign to innovate? 'cause this is amazingly good looking and strong performing, shocking at $15 (batteries not included!). Pluses and minuses: + Produces high RPM from fresh AA's. (I will add an update when I have used this for a couple of weeks, how long it takes to decline and what it's like towards the end.) Since this is a pretty good shaver, I may try Lithium AA's which are actually cheaper than the more traditional alkalines, if you look at total power available vs. cost (although the initial cost is quite higher). Note that Lithiums have a very steep power drop off - which is good - they deliver their full power and hence rpm right up until the end, then drop off quickly. So you won't be faced with the quandary of trying to keep going on alkalines that still have enough power for a shave but not enough power for good performance. Energizer Ultimate Lithium AA 12 Battery Super Pack Lithiums last a lot longer - up to 9x as long in the Ultimate edition - and weigh much less than alkalines which is also good if you are going on an extended trip or hike. + Shaves closer than either of my Brauns. - I haven't had shaver burn from an electric in years - since my skin is conditioned to them. But with this one shaving closer, I have some shaver burn spots now. + Shaves close enough that I could, in a pinch, get away without my normal "touch up" shave with a blade in the shower. - It's still not as close as a good blade with careful work, but it will certainly pass for dinner or a date. - No edge trimmer. I don't use this much, preferring to use a blade, but you need to know this. - Due to the lack of edge trimmer and almost all electric shavers' inability to cut down the occasional stray (longer) hair, you will need to carry a disposable blade for touch ups. + Has a tiny button in the on-off slider which keeps the slider locked until you depress it. This is good for travel. + It is water proof so it's harder to mess up. I don't do wet (shower) shaving so I don't know how well that works - I don't like leaving the head damp. I will keep it in mind for my periodic deep cleaning though - it's nice to know I can wash this is a bowl of soapy water and don't have to use those old-fashioned shaver cleaner liquids. + Nicely designed, nice fitting clip-on clear plastic shaver head cover. - The cover doesn't have vent slots for drying out, an issue if you wet-shave with this. - + Bigger and heavier than other travel shavers - but still MUCH lighter than a home shaver. Gram shavers need an Eltron and you can even save a couple of ounces and some space with a Braun. - + The tiny utility brush doesn't fit into a slot on the shaver, and my prediction is you will lose it quickly. But hey there's always your toothbrush, right? I'll update here as necessary. It's good enough for daily shaving so I won't have to wait for a trip get a significant number of shaves on it. Notes: caucasian beard, lightly bearded but what I have is stubbly. Usually light to medium electric shave followed by a touch-up in the shower with a BIC single edge disposable razor. I wasn't in the market for a travel shaver, but a website reviewed the top 3 - Braun, Eltron and this one ( Braun Mobile Shaver - M90 1 Count , Eltron #el-3040 Compact Travel Shaver } - and commenters liked the Panasonic so I thought I'd give it a try. I'm glad that I did. Update: 17 days on my first set of AA batteries (Rayovac alkalines). August 30-Sept 15). Update: 17 days on my second set of AA batteries (Rayovac's again). Sept 16-October 2. Surprisingly consistent. No more razor burn! Either the blade burnished in, or my skin toughened up. Update: Oct 3 to Oct 13 on third set of AA batteries (Rayovac's again). Fewer days of life - did these batteries come out of another device, they were rattling loose in the drawer. Chalk this one up as an anomaly given the consistent performance of the first 2 sets. Update: October 14 until January 19 (!!! yes true) on one set of Energizer Advanced Lithium AA's. So apparently lithium batteries do last a lot longer. That was about 97 days. So the $2 a piece cost of the battery (vs. .50 cents for alkalines) is more than recovered. The "death spiral" of lithiums is even more drawn out than alkalines however - it was running slow (but enough to shave) for about 10 days before they gave up the ghost.

I usually don't give 1-star reviews or return products, but this time I'll have to. Seeing all the great reviews on how close of a shave it would give, I thought I couldn't go wrong with purchasing one of these just for the convenience as I have been using dollar-store disposables for years for close shaves with no problems; being sanitary, following the natural direction of the hair, and making sure not to over swipe has yet to fail me with skin problems or irritation. When I used this for the first time on dry facial skin, I was confused because it really wasn't cutting uniformly after about 5 minutes of trying. Although some hairs appeared to have vanished, I still had a very noticeable amount of hairs at least 5mm long hugging the sides of my face, chin and upper lip. Maybe they would go away if I tried going over them from multiple directions? Nope. Maybe trying to flatten out the surface of my skin by stretching it? Nope. Maybe a wet shave would work? Nope. My frustration eventually led me to try putting more pressure on the device against my face. Not only did this not get rid of the outstanding hairs, it really irritated my skin with a burning sensation. I sprayed a mist of rubbing alcohol on the shaved area (even more burning) and wiped it off with toilet paper and saw small splotches of blood. I have a cheap Wahl beard trimmer that I use to maintain my hair line. I also use it for shaving when I'm out of disposables that I'm willing to reuse. It has a clipper form factor, cuts close, and doesn't irritate my skin as nearly as much as this shaver did (although it still does irritate my skin to an extent). Although it's small, requires 2-3 passes, and not really suitable for a quick shave, it works much better than this product. I'm not sure what sort of hair type the majority of the users of this product have, but this definitely was not made for me. Instead of giving a "close and comfortable shave," it left me sitting with an incompletely shaven face that needed to be disinfected with rubbing alcohol and slathered in petroleum jelly. But I guess that's my fault, right? Nonetheless, it's really disappointing that this could not do what shaving cream and a disposable razor could do in one swipe. Perhaps I would have been better off with trying a higher-end model or maybe I'm just destined to use manual razors for the rest of my life. I probably should have filtered and read the critical reviews first as they mostly express the same issues but ... at this point I'm really hoping I don't get ingrown hairs from this.

Great shaver! If you are careful with it, the foil will not be damaged. I keep mine in the shipping tray it came in to avoid damage. The key to shaving with any electric razor is to shave in small circles to avoid razor burn. Because this is a wet/dry razor, you can soften your beard with hot water first and then use a light coating of shaving cream (I like Cremo), and you will not get razor burn. I always get close shaves that way. This razor shaves as well or better than ones that cost hundreds of dollars. The price is so low that I always keep a spare Panasonic razor in the event I damage the foil. You can get replacement foils and cutters however I find the replacement foils are not quite the same as the originals and by the time you buy replacement parts, you have spent a few dollars more than the cost of a new Panasonic. Just buy it and take care of it. You will not be disappointed.

Ok, so electric shavers still can't match a razor with soap, which I still prefer. My 20year old Norelco finally quit and I hoped it was just needing a new battery replacement, which I did twice before but something else is fried on the little mother board. I didn't want to jump into spending a lot on a new shaver, so for a temporary solution I thought I'd try this little Panasonic es3831. I think the size is nice, not to big or small and it does not make a buzzing noise louder than any other electric shaver. It's not really that bad, in fact I can talk over it in a normal tone. It does clean up easy and is powerful enough for a shaver that uses two AA batteries. I have chosen to use rechargeable Nimh batteries but it is warned on the package to use Alkaline only, so be careful. It states that rechargeable may leak but crazy as it sounds I have experienced this with Alkaline too. Ok so how well does it do? When changing shaving styles your face need to adjust for 2to4 weeks to get used to a new method. I will have to update in about a month as I just started using it and am only giving a first impression. I did not press real hard, but it did seem to do a better than fair job. It did leave a few patchy areas but maybe after using it a while it will do better. all and all I can say that it may not be the best, it is well worth its price. It is so affordable you can throw it out and get a new one every year. It is not as good as my old Norelco (I doubt the new Norelco's are) but it is a good little travel shaver and will be ok for every day use as well. Like I said I prefer soap and razor, but if I miss a day or two my whiskers are to long and I have a heavy beard, so dragging a razor starts to pull and hurts. So If I go to long in between razor shaves I use an electric. This one seems to be fine, maybe next year I'll opted for something better, but will see how close it's shaving after I use it a few weeks. So I give it a BIG 3 and one half stars for now. 1st update (1/5/2012) After using this shaver for only the second time, I decided to clean it as per instructions. I gently rubbed a little hand soap on the foil part of the cap and the foil partly popped out. I thought no big deal and just gave it a gently push back in with my finger. Well, now there is a slight crease/dent in the foil. I don't know if it will effect shaving performance as it is small and near the outer edge. This foil part costs about $10 to replace, that's almost as much as the shaver itself. I hope that it will have little effect on my shaver as this is only the second day I've had it. So beware that, even being as careful as you can when cleaning, it still can be damaged. I am missing my Norelco for it's durability, it was very rugged. I am taking back one half star rating for this. I can only imagine what will happen the first time it slips out of my hand and falls to the floor. perhaps I should put this away in my travel bag and only use it for it handiness and light use it was intended for and get another Norelco. I will still update again later on, after a few weeks to see how it's working so all who are interested in this shaver can compare. I know I really appreciate all of you who give reviews, it helps to decide on an item sometimes, thanks. 2nd update(2/3/2012) Well I have been shaving with this shaver for a month now and my skin/whiskers are as use to it as their gonna get. As a dry shaver it does a fair job, pretty close shave but I find I have to shave twice as long with it to get the same results as the old triple head I had. I would say that soap/razor took about 4-5min. to lather and shave, old Norelco about 5-6 min. This Panasonic takes about 10-12minutes to get the same quality shave. I have to go over trouble areas many times, but in the end, it does okay as a dry shaver. Now as a wet shaver it's HORRIBLE. I always thought it was the craziest idea to use an electric shaver with lather and that it was just a sales gimmick. I know it's been many years since this idea has come out, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. Well it has to be my worst shaving experience ever. I lightly wet/lathered my face and this thing just grabbed and pulled my hair out. It missed over 2/3 of my whiskers and just ripped at the rest. When I was done my neck was all red and even bleeding the little red dots like you would get from pressing hard from a razor, just a horrible shave. I won't try it again and my opinion about using electrics to shave wet stands. I rate this shaver a 1star as a wet shaver and a 3-1/2star as a dry. I rate it a 5star for water proof washing, I rinse it out after every use. I must rate a 5star for battery life, because I still have not had to recharge my Nimh batteries. They still feel full power, so if your gonna use Alkaline, you wont go thru to many. I recommend rechargeable, but at your own risk because the manufacturer states only Alkaline. I still think this is a throw away unit after the blades and foil get dull/warn and it gets only 2stars for that. So my overall is 3 stars. After the month long workout, I think I'll throw this into my travel bag, as I think it's well suited for occasional use and will probably last more than a year that way. I think I'll be getting a new triple head shaver for every day use. So in conclusion, if your looking for a full time shaver...keep looking. If you need a travel or light use unit, it's okay but for a little more money there are better choices. Good Luck. (1 year update) It's done,the blades will barely cut the lightest stubble. The cost of replacement blade unit is not worth the price, better to buy a new shaver, I have, a cheap norelco triple head. The Norelco is working light years better than this shaver ever did. I will keep this shaver rating at 3stars, it was cheaper than a years supply of safety razors and cut okay for a while.

First off this is a Travel Shaver and while it can certainly be used for daily use and do a fine job, it is not a $100+ razor. People expecting it to be such for currently less than $15 are simply being naive. If you have whiskers that give even an expensive shaver a workout, don't bother buying a battery operated travel shaver. You are not going to be happy. I'm not trying to be terse here, I'm just trying to keep it real. Now if you want a Travel Shaver that is lightweight, easy to clean, and does a very good shave for at least average whiskers, this is the one. Just don't expect it to be stellar at mowing down 2 or 3 days growth of your then brier patch of a face. Most shavers and especially travel shavers are not designed for this; so don't expect them to excel in this area. I have neither steel wool for whiskers nor peach fuzz. I would, however, guess my whiskers are a little greater than average for being problematic. As a result I normally like to shave with a blade and shaving cream, but I will once or twice a week give my face a break and shave with my full size electric razor. When I travel, however, I like to go as light as possible and decided I wanted a lighter Travel Shaver rather than my full-size electric. I wanted a foil razor (closer shave) and decided on the Panasonic ES3831K. I had a day and half worth of growth when I received it. I began with a splash of Pre-Shave (which is a must for a good electric shave) and started under my neck. I made sure my movement was against the grain and slow enough and light enough for the blades to do their work. I was amazed. While not as fast as my older full-size corded Panasonic ES8249, this shaver was giving me a surprisingly good shave in just a few minutes. Clean up is a breeze. At home I usually rinse the foil and blades under water; apply some foam soap from a pump to the inside of the foil head; reassemble and then run for 20 seconds; disassemble, rinse and let dry for the next use. Easy Peezy. I never use the brush that came with it. Many battery operated razors labor to cut even half a day's growth let alone a full day's. For my beard this is no problem at all for this higher speed shaver. While the Braun M90 has some cool features and one I strongly considered, it's blade speed pales in comparison to the Panasonic; is slightly heavier and more expensive. In the final analysis I thought the most important feature of any travel shaver should be how well it shaves and how long it takes to do it. If it falls short in this area, it really doesn't matter what other features it has. I wanted the best shave possible out of a travel shaver. So I'll end where I started, this is not a $100+ electric shaver, but for less than $15 I couldn't be more thrilled with the convenience and performance of the Panasonic ES3831K. If your expectations fall somewhere in the realm of the realistic, I am confident you will be thrilled too.