Philips Hair Clipper Series 9000 HC9450/15

Doesn't charge after 8 mths – This is the worst clippers I've had, lasted less than 8 months now doesn't charge. Save your cash and buy another make. Not comfortable to use, not value for money. Show details

Does the job, but not the premium experience I was hoping for – I had a set of old rechargeable Philips hair clippers for about a decade which felt light and secure in my hands and did an okay job. Unfortunately the plastic guide comb is now brittle and breaking so I splashed out on a fancy set of these new Philips clippers with '400 length settings, 120 min cordless use, digital swipe interface...' So the… Read more

first thing I noticed is that even though there is a nice display screen, there is NO battery level indicator. Annoying, right? Even my Panasonic and Braun electric shavers since the 90s have had accurate battery level readings. According to the manual, the only time you get a battery indicator is when it's about to run out.

I've now used the clippers to give myself a 4mm haircut five times. As this only takes me about 15 minutes each time, I've only charged the clippers twice - once before first use, and once before the fifth use just to make sure it doesn't run out part-way through the job. (If only it had a battery level indicator...) So yes, the battery does last for at least an hour.

Unfortunately, my actual usage experience is not so great. Firstly, the motor intermittently changes speed. It normally has a lethargic motor speed, but every now and then, it randomly goes into a higher speed/pitch without any real change in the cutting load. I assume this higher speed is what it's SUPPOSED to be maintaining, so it's probably a fault with the product and I may take it back to the store to show them the issue. Regardless, it does cut my hair so it's still doing the job.

Secondly, the design of the comb mount unfortunately results in cut hair getting trapped between the comb and body of the clippers, building up quickly and essentially pushing 'new' hair away from the comb blades. So you have to constantly stop and dislodge the hair which is trapped under the guides in order to make the clippers effective again - I have to do this every 20 seconds or so when I do my first pass, which I never had to do with my old clippers.

Thirdly, I have fairly small hands, and my old clippers were small, light and easy to keep a hold of from whichever angle I needed to pass over my head. These clippers are much longer and slightly heavier, and even though they have a thinner section to grip, this places your grip some distance away from the cutting action. I find myself holding the clippers around the screen to be closer to the cutting end for better angle and pressure control.

In conclusion, while they work, I'm not impressed with the design of these clippers, nor the way they catch hair in the comb or feel in my hands.