One Thousand Shaves with Braun

Most gadget reviews are based on a couple hours — or at best, a couple weeks — with a product. That’s usually enough time to figure out if the product is good or bad and how it compares to the competition. But it doesn’t tell you how well the machine will perform in the long run, which is why you’re buying it in the first place.

So I’m happy to report that one thousand shaves later, I’m still as impressed with my Braun 8595 shaver as the day I bought it, four and a half years ago at Costco. (That suggests I’ve shaved 222 times a year, or once every 1.6 days. It’s probably about half that often, but the counter thinks 10-second touch-ups are a new shaving event. No biggie.)

The 8595 has been discontinued, but Amazon is selling it refurbished for $70, and the newer Braun 790cc ($230) looks excellent. That’s probably what I’d buy today.

Before the Braun, I stayed away from electric shavers because I didn’t think they could cut thick hair as well as a manual razor like the Mach 3 Turbo, which I used before. Wrong. It’s great, it never cuts my skin, and its self-cleaning charger base station is clean and efficient.

Upkeep costs are reasonable. Every few months, I have to replace the alcohol cleaning pack (3 for $19 at Amazon) and every two years or so, I have to replace the foil and cutter block ($36 at Amazon).

Not the cheapest system in the world — but years later, it’s still worth it.