PanasonicES-LV61-A Arc5 Men’s Electric Razor, 5-Blade Cordless with Multi-Flex Pivoting Shaver Head, Wet/Dry Operation

Update: Now that I have spent significantly more time with this shaver, I'd like to provide a quick update to my initial review. By now I can get definitely better shave with this shaver than I can get with Gillette Mach 3 Turbo blades, and even a slightly better shave than with Harry's blades. My average shaving time with this shaver varies around 5 minutes, which in my opinion is quick enough. In order to beat the quality of shave I get with Panasonic Arc5, I'd need to spend over 10 careful minutes with DE razor–a tradeoff which I'm not willing to make. I always use this shaver dry, and it does not irritate my skin at all. All I do after my shave is using a basic moisturizing lotion, and my skin is much more healthy looking than if I'd be shaving with manual razors.Long story short, at some point in late November, 2015, I knocked Norelco 1150X along with its charging station off the table, leaving me with a broken electric shaver (shaving head couldn't attach to the handle anymore). I went back to shaving with blades as I had a couple of Harry's blades stored aside, which I can get a very good and fairly comfortable shave with. Overall, I'm happy when shaving with Harry's. Couple weeks went by and the blades I had started to become dull, so it was time to get some new ones. Unfortunately, Harry's shipping is slow, and I had to leave from Boston to Florida soon, thus I couldn't order them as they would not have arrived on time. Since Prime shipping is fast, I headed to Amazon.com, and found Gillette Mach 3 Turbo handle with some replacement blades for a great price, and as usual, the order arrived two days later.However, shaving with Gillette was complete pain. I don't know why Mach 3 has so good reviews, but I didn't like that shaver at all. I kept shaving with Mach 3 for about two weeks, using all 5 replacement blades during this time in order to achieve at least some decency! My skin was pretty irritated at this point, and I knew I needed something else to shave with. At this point I had already arrived to Florida and I again had an address to order stuff to, so I placed an order for some new Harry's blades, which again takes too long to arrive, thus I also came back to Amazon and searched for a new electric shaver. I could have had a new Norelco 1150X, a shaver that I was perfectly happy with, for around $70, but then there was a $50 discount coupon for this Panasonic Arc5 electric razor, after which the price would come down to about $140. I was wondering which one to buy, on the other hand I was perfectly happy with the Norelco, but then this Panasonic had much more glowing reviews. I decided to pay twice the price of Norelco and try out the Panasonic Arc5 instead.I have to say that this Panasonic shaver is very good, not twice as good as 1150X, but still better. However, my first shave with the Panasonic was not very good, nor the second, but beginning from the third shave I started to get results that I'd call good. The closeness of the first shave could have been beaten even with the Mach 3, while the second one was about equivalent to the Mach 3 shave. I already considered returning the Panasonic shaver, but decided to keep shaving, and I am happy I did. The third shave was already a significant improvement to what I could achieve with Mach 3, and it was just about equivalent to what I could get with a Norelco 1150X as well. Ever since the quality of shave has improved slightly, and it is definitely above the level of 1150X or the Mach 3. Panasonic is faster than either of the above two as well.I can't say that I'd get as close shave with the Panasonic as I would get with a blade, because with DE razor or Harry's blade I could still shave closer than I can achieve with the Arc5. Regardless, Arc5 is an excellent electric shaver, the best I have ever had, and since it is more forgiving to my skin, I will be mainly using the Arc5 to shave my face every morning. What I like even more is that this shaver does not come with a mandatory charging stand, thus the risk of knocking this one off the table is much lower, and for this reason I believe the shaver will last at least twice as long as the 1150X did, making this one better value at a price point of $140. It is also often cheaper to use an electric shaver compared to blades, and especially when compared to Gillette's blades. DE razor will give you better value overall from monetary standpoint, but DE shaving is much more time consuming.At $150 and below I would recommend this Panasonic Arc5 shaver to anyone shaving with anything else than DE razors. If you are a DE shaver, and completely happy with it regardless of the time it takes, just stay with what you're doing as it cannot be beaten. If the best price that you can get for this Panasonic falls in between $150 and $200, then I would at least look at other electric shavers as well, probably purchasing Norelco 1150X or equivalent myself. At $200 and above, I would recommend buying something else instead.

After my trusty Braun 7000 series died (7 years of use!), I replaced it with the [then] top-rated Norelco 1250/1260x. I used that Norelco for about a year but grew frustrated after they revised the shaving head and cheapened it up -- it just didn't shave well anymore and caused a lot of ingrown hairs. I threw it away! I was tempted to go get another Braun since it was a known-quantity, but I also remembered that Panasonic made shavers. After some quick research and poking-around, I opted to go for this Arc5 ES-LV61.One word: wow. Not only does this surpass the Braun that I grew to love, but it even beats the Norelco before they changed the shaving heads! On the very first use I knew that this was a keeper.Ergonomically, this thing is a bit awkward at first. The shaving head is indeed massive in order to fit the 5 blades. Some might be turned off by this, but the larger head makes shaving faster. I can now shave my entire face, neck, and even trim my sideburns in under two minutes. The unit itself is just "okay" to hold but I suppose I will get used to it over time. Compared to my Norelco and Braun, the rounded shape seems a bit more on the "form" side rather than "functional" is all I'm saying here. The lock switch is a nice feature; my Braun had something similar and the Norelco's was a bit more unusual: you had to hold the power button for a few seconds to lock it. The built-in trimmer is definitely not as good as my other two razors were, but it's certainly sufficient. The flip-up design is probably a necessity because of the massive shaving head and rounded profile. Time will tell if that actually holds up. What I will say about the trimmer is that it is quite sharp and powerful, much moreso than any other electric razor I've used (including beard/mustache trimmers). The LCD readout is quite bright and easily read, even when covered by water or shaving cream. The timer + battery level is an interesting choice as opposed to simply showing the battery level, but I'll admit my two previous razors were more on the entry-level side.But on to the important part: functionality. I will add a caveat that everyone's skin, face shape, hair, etc. are different so your mileage may vary. My beard is not particularly coarse or heavy, but I will say that my skin is more on the sensitive side and I'm prone to ingrown hairs. My neck hair is particularly difficult to shave since it seems to go in a million directions.All of that being said, the Arc5 blew me away on its first use. Not only did it slide right across my face without any resistance, but the pivoting head had just the right tension to follow the curves without awkward contorting. With that massive shaving head, it was almost comical how fast I could shave...under two minutes from start to finish (1:53 to be exact, including trimming my sideburns). During the shave, there was no discomfort or sense of "pulling" that I had with the Norelco 1260x. I moved in clean up and down strokes and the Arc5's five-blade design really proved itself capable of handling nearly two days worth of stubble. The shave was far closer than anything my Braun or Norelco had ever given me.When it came to shaving my neck, a notoriously difficult spot, the Arc5 again made it a breeze. It only took one pass in one direction to get everything nice and clean. Gone were the annoying strays and red bumps that previous razors had left behind.Sadly, Panasonic does not include a charging stand. The LV61 is available with a big cleaning &charging station for an extra $100, but I don't see any real point in that. My cheaper Norelco did include a charging stand, but it was actually the ONLY way you could charge the razor -- the stand had strange metal contacts and the AC adapter couldn't be plugged directly into the razor, making long-term travel difficult. The Panasonic's charger plugs directly into the razor itself and is the same size as any other adapter I've seen. Traveling with it shouldn't be a problem, but with 45+ minutes of use, I don't think you'll need to take it with unless your trip is going to last more than two weeks. Also included is the typical cheesy carrying case. Fortunately, it's an easy-to-pack shape unlike the Norelco that looked like a sandwich wedge.The included manual says the inner blades should be replaced every two years (wow!) and the outer foil every year. Norelco and Braun were a bit more aggressive, though I suspect there is some financial motivation involved. I think those with heavier and coarser beards may need to replace a bit more often to ensure the best shave. The entire set is about $60 right here on Amazon, or you can buy just the inner or outer for about $35 each. That's about on-par with the competition. I'm not sure if my local stores stock the blades, but I'll be sure to check.Time will tell how the Panasonic fares, but of the three electric razors I've owned in my life, this one impressed me right out of the box. I will try to update this review in a few weeks with some thoughts on how it handles the wear-and-tear of daily use & travel, and what sort of battery life I'm realistically getting.For anyone looking to get a new razor, whether in replacement for an existing one, or to make the switch from manual shaving, the Arc5 is absolutely worth considering. While it might be awkward to look at, the five-blade system works like no other. I'm quite impressed.

I have been using this shaver since September 2nd, 2016. So far it's the best shaver I have ever owned. I'm very glad I purchased this.

best razor I've ever owned

Perfect and very fast service.