Panasonic ES-RT47-S Arc3 Electric Razor, Men's 3-Blade Cordless, Comb Trimming Attachment Included, Wet Dry Operation

For $35 this is a pretty awesome razor. I’ve tried a rotary razor years ago, and for my face and beard type it just didn’t work. So I thought I’d give foil type razors a try. This razor and a Braun series 3. Both pretty much entry level shavers, around $35. They’re both waterproof, and charge fairly quickly. The Braun was ok, it didn’t have a built in trimmer like the Panasonic. The Braun blades and outer foil are all one unit, so cleaning without the cleaning station and the $15 cleaning refills is maybe only so so. The Panasonic includes instructions on how to clean it with ordinary liquid soap. You could probably do it with the Braun, just thought it was cool for Panasonic to include instructions to save you some cash.The Braun shaved ok, probably better for people with finer hair. I used both razors for both my face and head (balding). The Braun will get you there with quite a few passes, and some hairs it wouldn’t even touch. On the other hand the Panasonic seemed to work better with fewer passes, and nearly zero missed hairs. Pretty close to the smoothness of a double edged safety razor. Panasonic and Braun design their blades/cutting edges differently, personally the Panasonic works better for me. They’re up front with the recommendations about replacing the outer foil every year and the blades every two years. They also tell you the battery should last around 3 years. But batteries are always subject to a bit of luck, a your mileage may vary type situation. In the end it’ll probably be cheaper to buy a new razor. For $35 it’s a nice razor that provides a close shave, without having to spend $150-200 for one of the higher end razors.

This entire shaver costs about the same as the replacement blades for my Norelco and Braun shavers. And, amazingly, this one shaves better than any of them. It's a true bargain.As far as I know this is the least expensive Panasonic model that uses Li-Ion batteries which is important as they far outperform the older Ni-Mh batteries used in the cheaper models. The secret to this shaver performing so well is it uses the same third generation Arc3 blades and foils as the top of the line Arc3 models. There, are however, some differences worth noting.This shaver uses a 10,000 stroke per minute motor while the more expensive models, like the ES-LT41, use a 13,000 stroke per minute motor. That doesn't sound like much of a difference but the LT41 shaves better and faster. The LT41 is also quieter.While the shaving head does flex on this shaver the mounting is much more stiff than the LT41 so it's much easier to press too hard and it doesn't follow the contours of the face as well. So you need a more delicate hand to use the RT47.This shaver is fairly bare bones. You don't get a travel pouch or case just a blade guard. You also don't get a battery charge level indicator besides an LED that lights up when the battery is low. If you don't travel much neither of those are big deals.Overall this shaver is a true bargain. It outperforms my last Braun Series 7 that was about four times the price! It's quieter, has a more powerful motor, shaves closer, and best of all, shaves difficult longer hairs MUCH better than the Braun. Likewise it shaves better than any Philips Norelco rotary I've had and is vastly easier to keep clean. Cleaning the head on rotary shavers if difficult because there are nooks and crannies where debris builds up and doesn't want to come out. This shaver you just pop the head off and shake it out dry. And, when that's not enough, you just give it a quick rinse under running water.The pop up trimmer works great on this shaver. It feels great in the hand with rubber grips on the sides. It's well designed.I would consider spending a bit more for the ES-LT41. I have both with the LT41 being my primary shaver and the cheaper RT47 using the same blades being my travel shaver I leave with my travel stuff. I figure when the blades in the LT41 grow dull I'll swap the barely used RT47 blades and foils into it. The LT41, as mentioned, has a faster motor, a more free floating head, is quieter, and has a battery charge level display. See my LT41 review here but, in my opinion, there's no reason to spend more on any shaver from any company.

All in an all, a great basic shaver. This is a good shaver, but has an amazing cleaning station. The previous cleaning stations leaked and just stopped working. This cleaning station is much better. This cleaning station does not offer a separate drying without cleaning cycle (More expensive Panasonic Cleaning stations do), It has basically two modes... Clean and Dry... or Charge. It automatically switches to the charge mode after the cleaning cycle. This model uses air and Heat to dry the Razor (No fan like previous models or the more expensive version) so it does take about 2 hours to dry after the cleaning cycle has finished. This is VERY quite during cleaning too. Enough about that but it was a sore subject with previous razors.The razor cuts very close, and the trimmer is great. the attachment is adjustable so this Razor works as an adjustable trimmer. The charging is quick and this works wet too (You can shave while taking a shower). Another thing to consider is that they recommend changing the shaver screen every year so that may help you to decide verses other razors. I think it's a great value for the money.

The adapter makes it to long to stay in the plug socket. It Doesnt charge properly.

The razor works fine, but it just doesn't cut my beard anywhere as easily as my old rotary did. This shaver will ultimately give me a close shave, but the amount of effort to go from all angles to make it happen is more than I like. I will admit to having a fairly coarse beard, so I imagine that others might have better results. The battery life is also pretty strong. My only design complaint is that it is way too easy to bump or grab the shaver head release and have all the cuttings fall out in inopportune places.