Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

"Seven years" yeah right. Mine didn't even last one. Quick background: I have thick (Eastern/Central European) facial hair and had relied on the Braun series 5 model all throughout high school before the battery died. Seeing as it was out of the two year warranty, I figured three years out of a new razor was worth upgrading to the 7 series. One thing I want to make clear is that the main razor will more or less last and do the job of providing a clean shave. However, the blade is very "sensitive", so to speak, especially over time. It will dull fairly quickly. This is not a huge issue provided you trim your hair short enough that you can go over it a bunch of times and from different angles, and keep up with replacing the main head every 6 months-year and clean it with the solution every time it says it needs it. (Though it will still "pull" hairs sometimes and cause razor burn with repeated use.) Even with that upkeep do expect razor burn and the pulled hair to be issues, but the main reason that forced me to write this review comes from something I'd taken for granted: the attached trimmer. Right away, my main focus went to the attached trimmer when I received my 7 series. I felt that the trimmer was inferior to the 5 series in that it seemed cheaper and did not seem to trim as closely- which meant patches of stubble could not be shaved thoroughly. You can literally compare the two: the 5 series has a larger blade that feels more secure with its vertical sliding action compared to smaller blade with the flip action. I've attached pictures below to highlight this. Beyond the quicker dulling (which should be a big complaint in and of itself) the 7-series also contains a major design flaw in that you cannot take apart the trimmer to clean it in any significant way. Lo' and behold not even a year later the flipper gets stuck thanks to excess trimmed hair that is near-impossible to clean out. With enough shaking/adjusting the thing closed, but upon opening again it broke off altogether. Seems curious that they would design it this way. Yes: I could go through customer service. But my line of work requires that I be clean shaven consistently. Which for me means a shave every other day. I cannot afford to go through customer service and must order a new trimmer. For a razor advertised to last seven years and for mine to not even last one...I advise a high level of caution when going with the seven series. At least if you have thicker facial hair. The main head still works--for now--so my solution is going to be to order an outside trimmer and still use the main head for shaving. But the fact this is even necessary screams to me that this thing shouldn't have been A) advertised to last beyond two years. B) Shouldn't be this expensive. While we're on the matter: I'm not sure why they created a trimmer that you can't unattach. Let alone one that is inferior to the 5 series. As for the main razor itself: it does seem to work okay-ish. It does dull and will eventually begin to "pull" on hairs if they aren't trimmed short enough, and will eventually give you razor burn. But it is more or less identical to the 5 series and was worth the convenience of having an electric razor. That convenience being that its harder to cut yourself and doesn't theoretically need replacing every use. That is contingent on the trimmer lasting, however, which mine didn't beyond a year. A major issue with the Braun's in general is that only the main head is attachable. This means that the trimmer or battery will dull over time which means that the actual lifetime is MUCH shorter than the advertised one. In the 7 series case- don't expect it to last longer than 2 years. I've gone ahead and attached a few pictures. In addition to comparing the main attached trimmers. I want you also to notice the long crease that hair seeps into at the base of the razor's head. In Summary: A) The trimmer of the 7-series is made more cheaply and with worse design than the 5-series. (In my case it just broke off.) B) Brauns in general advertise long-lasting, but because only the main head of the razor is attachable this means that either the battery or Trimmer will give way to wear/tear over time long before the main head's mechanism fails. This to me would seem like common sense. C) The main head definitely does wear faster than one would think, and while it does do the job of providing a clean shave--this is contingent on having a trimmer buzz your beard short enough for it to do the job. (Yes, even after 1-2 days of growth.) Seeing how much hair seeps into the creases of this thing, I wouldn't be surprised if the main function lasts to the two year mark. Overall, the problems of B and C are bearable. Those two were issues I'd dealt with with the 5-series. But A just made me mad to the point where I had to write this review. Not even a year of use and already a critical mechanism failure. I literally have no interest in going out of my way for this other than to punish Braun for gross and false advertising. I'd be an idiot for literally believing this thing would last the advertised seven years, but not even one? For those of you looking at this review and wondering about the two year warranty. Go ahead and take a look at the long list of conditions relating to use the warranty and you tell me if its worth the hassle.