Braun TriControl

Bad – I'm shopping for a shaver, again, this shaver lasted less than two years, an expensive mistake. Apart from its elegant look, I cannot see any reason why you would like to spend money on this model, or any foil shaver, for that matter. shaving time is Ok, battery life last fine. To get a close shave, you need to press the foil tighter against the skin, I am constantly changing (expensive) foils, even though I hardly press. When the foils fail, the blades cut your skin badly. The trimmer didn't last long either, definitely stay away from ANY foil based shavers. I also cannot get a clean shave for flat lying hair around the adams apple, something I never had trouble with when I had triple head shavers.

OK – After using disposable razors for years I tried an old Remington rechargeable foil shaver that had been sitting in the bathroom cupboard for years and (after dismantling and cleaning) used that for a while until it failed. I planned to buy a Free Control shaver but was talked into a Braun 4745 as it was only $10 more, was rechargeable and had a more sophisticated head. I was impressed with the battery life however the shaving head was narrow in comparison and the central shaving head seemed like a gimmick.

After about 9 months I used another old shaver for a while, an Elite brand single-head mains-operated shaver which seemed powerful to the point of dangerous in comparison. The shave wasn't close but it would power through any stubble, was easy to clean and the low-tech single head was actually more useful than the double or "triple" heads.

The foil disintegrated so I went back to the Braun and now it just seems weak, awkward to use, and difficult to clean and I now want to buy a powerful main-operated shaver if they still exist. I think I will only keep the Braun as a portable shaver for use while travelling. Charge lasts a while.Close shave.Foil mounts either way.Provided with brush and hard case. Shaving head could be wider.Central head is not helpful.Manual does not give any information on everyday use charging time, it only says "when charging for the first time" to leave charging continuously for 8 hours. I may have been slowly killing the battery through overcharging as I've charged for 8 hours ever since.The batteries don't provide "full" power for very long so operates mostly at moderate power, increasing shaving time.Power is pathetic compared to mains-operated shavers (this may be true of all rechargeable shavers).Did not draw off mains power when using while plugged in with low batteries as advertised.