ARC6 Electric Razor for Men Face, Wet & Dry Shavers for Men with Foil Shaver, Pop-up Trimmer, Ultra-Fast 6-Blade, Smart Shave Sensor, 22D Flexible Pivoting Head - ES-LS8A-K (Black)

I have had a Panasonic Arc3 for years and decided it was time to upgrade. I also considered the highly rated Braun Series 9 and its many configurations but decided on this Arc6. It is certainly an upgrade from my old shaver...more features, closer shave, and most importantly, more comfortable. The Braun was also a close shave, but just not as comfortable for me. I know the big head can be intimidating to some, but I have no problem with it....it gets where it needs to go, and as I said, is quite comfortable. I didn't get a version that has the cleaning station as I find these shavers are easy to clean and occasionally oil without that big thing on your countertop. I recommend it.

After lots of hands on research including the Panasonic Arc 6 and the Braun Series 9 Pro. Here's my feedback. 1. Panasonic Arc 6 will give you a closer shave than the Braun Series 9 Pro. Whether you shave dry or wet. 2. A closer shave can mean more razor burn and this is equally true with the Panasonic Arc 6. The Braun Series 9 pro won't shave as close as the Pan Arc 6 but it will be a bit more comfortable (wet or dry), less razor burn. However, here's the important facts to keep in mind. Fact: Dry shaving will never get you as close a shave as wet shaving. It cannot. The physics are simply not in favor of drying shave closeness. Closeness however is a relative term. Some people don't want to shave that close and that's perfectly ok. It's a personal preference. If you want the maximum comfort at the cost of a shave that is not as close, then the Braun Series 9 pro will save you some money and serve you well (wet or dry). If you are in pursuit of the closet shave you can get with an electric razor, here's what I found to be true. Take your shower in the morning before shaving. Apply a nice shaving cream with a shaving brush. Avoid the canned stuff. Then use the Panasonic Arc 6. You'll get the closest shave you can with an electric and the razor burn will be nearly eliminated. That's it. No secret. No magic. Wet shaving (shaving with real shaving cream) and the Pan Arc 6 will get you the super close shave you might want with an electric. The upside on days when you are in a rush, before you shower, you can use a pre-electric shaving lotion gently pass the Pan arc 6 over your face and get a quick and dry shave. Not as close as wet shaving but likely good enough for the vast majority of people. Dry shaving is just dry shaving you cannot make it more than what it is. It is fast and with a little bit of practice you can avoid razor burn by not trying to get a closer shave than the shaver is capable of doing dry by avoiding pressing the shaver hard against your face or going over the same area too many times. Accept that it's going to be "less close" but you get the advantage of speed and convenience. Wet shaving is the real ticket to a close shave no matter what method you use. That takes a nice hot shower, and high quality shaving cream (not the canned stuff). Here is the larger question. If you're committed to a wet shave why not just use one of the really good cartridge razors? and the answer is....... You can. A Gillette proGlide shield will give you a shave that is a bit closer than the method I describe above. So if you already using a proglide, and wet shaving (obviously), then you can stick with what you're doing and avoid electrics althogether. The one recommendation I would give is that even the proglide can be dramatically improved by dropping the canned foam and buying a nice shaving cream and using a shaving brush. After a full year of researching all the different shaving paraphernalia, I've come to the conclusion that a hot shower and really good shaving cream makes the biggest difference no matter what you shave with. What your dad told you when you were just a kid; turns out to be right. :) Shavers come and go, but a hot shower and a good shaving cream are here to stay. Start with that then pick whatever shaver makes you happy.

To set the ground here, I’ve been a double edged wet shaver for the past 5ish years or so. Specifically, I’ve used a variety of Merkur handles with blades from Feather, Gillette, Astra Blades and many others. What that all means is I’m accustomed to a baby smooth shave. Literally no feeling of hair any which way the skin is rubbed. This move into electric shavers is new to me, and kind of off a whim. As time has gone on, I’ve grown lazy, and what I have come to appreciate from wet shaving slowly became a nuisance. Yes, there’s quite literally no other way to get a closer shave. But it’s tedious and time consuming; from prepping the brush, blooming the soap, creating a lather, to completing 4+ passes to achieve the ultimate shave, it’s would take me sometimes near 20-30 minutes. As laziness usually does, it leads to change. So I began searching for the quickest, yet still comparable shaving experience. That lead me to two contenders, this Panasonic Arc 6, and the Braun Series 9 Pro. After a few days of intense research, I still had no clue which one would be better for me. Ultimately, I landed on the Arc 6; mostly because it’s sleeker, sexier design, and smaller footprint of the cleaning station. Since I didn’t really know what I was looking for, that’s simply what it came down to. Once it arrived, I was welcomed by a pretty neat unboxing experience. Although the shaver was completely dead, I stuck it in the charging station and it charged up to 70% in a matter of 35 minutes or so…pretty impressive. After adding the cleaning detergent and water to the cleaning station, I set up for my first shave with this beautiful shaver. I had about a day and a half of stubble, which for me is rather coarse with hair laying in all directions. I went to town dry, no soap or cream which is unusual for me. Expecting it to be rough since I’m used to such a smooth glide, I was pleasantly surprised with how smooth the shaver traveled across my face. Like with wet shaving, I tugged my skin in some areas and did passes in all directions. I was extremely satisfied with how easily I was able to shave my chin area due to the head flexibility, something that I’m very much not used to and has always been a problem area for me. After all was said and done, I was finished in about 5 minutes, which I’m sure could be accelerated once I’m more comfortable with the razor. I was able to touch up my sideburns which was really nice, since I usually have to go to a hair clipper once I’m done wet shaving for that. All in all, I couldn’t believe how smooth my face was. Baby smooth, maybe only 5% less close than with my extremely detailed wet shaving could get. More so, it actually gave me a closer shave than I’ve EVER been able to get on my chin, which I attribute to the head flexibility. I was completely stunned. Blown away with how well this razor performed. Once I was done, I put the razor to sleep in the cleaning station, set it to clean, and walked away. Simple is an understatement.. The price is obviously nothing to scoff at, but I truly couldn’t be happier with this purchase. Get it, use it, enjoy it. As I’ve always said, pay once cry once. I’m hoping this razor lasts for years, and I firmly look forward to all future Arc releases from Panasonic.

A few updates after 4+ months: 1) I've been getting about 4-5 shaves per charge. The battery doesn't discharge evenly as I wondered about below. Not a problem in my case but not the 20 shaves I estimated based on the initial shave. 2) I still prefer the razor body of the Braun series 7 old gen. It has a slightly paddle shaped body relative to the Arc 6. The razor body of the Braun feels more substantial, controllable and comfortable in my hand. Personal preference. 3) Replacement cartridge prices seem to be holding fast at about $115.00. In comparison, Panasonic's predecessor ARC5 cartridge is about $60.00 currently. The Braun series 9 cartridge (Braun's flagship foil razor currently) ranges between about $50.00 and $80.00 within Amazon and at the time of this writing. Given that Panasonic estimates an 18mo service life for the Arc 6 cartridge, I'll have another ~14 months before I need to buy another. Bottom line: great *foil* razor. Maybe the highest performing based only on reviews, not personal experience. That said, while it may be 'the best' in foil razor design currently, it's still a foil razor, not a sci-fi laser shaver. It may be that foil razors long ago hit an evolutionary dead end. My grandfather used a 1970's era corded Remington foil razor for many years. It outlived him. Given the era, this would have meant that it was manufactured in the U.S. - most likely. Although I can't speak to the closeness of the shave it provided, he always looked clean shaven. Nice to see Panasonic flexing their engineering prowess, moving the bar a bit but given the performance, relative cost and especially the cost of replacement cartridges, it's hard to enthusiastically recommend. Original review: There's a scene in the movie Pulp Fiction with characters Vince and Mia in a restaurant. Mia orders a $5.00 milkshake. Curious about an expensive $5.00 milkshake (early 90's), Mia lets Vince try it. Vince does and says "I don't know if it was worth $5.00 but it was pretty #^&$#@ good". That sums up my experience with the ARC6 after two uses. It's relatively expensive but once I started reading reviews from a variety of sources and getting caught up in the hype, I had to know. I'll get this out of the way first: A replacement blade cartridge costs $115.00 currently. In comparison, you can buy an entire ARC5 razor for $109.00 currently. The ARC6 cartridges are likely to drop in price as time goes on. Or not. Someone in marketing from Panasonic said this about the ARC6: "You Heard Us. We're Doing Six Blades." It may be that the genesis of the ARC6 was from the marketing department, not an engineering goal. There's a lot of marketplace competition so perhaps Panasonic was looking for a design that would stand out, generate sales. I guess. Not sure how much further engineers can take foil razor design. Foil razors may be an evolutionary dead end, perhaps have been for a while. Reading the manual will be necessary. There are things end-users will need to know to fully utilize the features. This replaces a high performing and long lasting Braun Series 7 (old gen). There are two versions of the series 7 with different cartridges – new and old gen. Note that Braun's current flagship model is the series 9. It may be that their series 9 is higher performing than series 7. A better comparison for the ARC 6 would be with a Braun series 9. With the old-gen series 7 Braun, I have to shave daily. The ARC6 left marginally less stubble after ~24 hours but shaving once per day will still be necessary for a lot of us. In comparison, using a 5 blade Fusion results in less stubble than both after ~24 hours. With a Fusion, I can get away with shaving every two days. Needless to say, comparing a blade such as the Fusion to a foil razor is apples to oranges. The ARC6 provides a somewhat faster and smoother shave than the old- gen series 7. This is to be expected given that the ARC6 is a six blade design, the series 7 a three blade design. According to Panasonic, two lift blades, two thick stubble blades and two finishing blades. The old-gen series 7 has one stubble blade and two finishing blades. With the ARC6, you’re shaving with the equivalent of two Braun series 7 razors. Fewer passes required. It took about 3-4 minutes to complete the initial wet shave with the ARC6. As with many things in life, 'slow is smooth, smooth is fast'. Don't grind, let the razor do most of the work. Technique makes a difference. It got under my nose well, around the chin, etc. Definitely a faster shave with the ARC6. I also dry shaved once and got a great result. Regardless, touch up was needed with a Fusion's reverse-side single blade precision trimmer. This was the case after shaving wet and dry. A few hairs on my neck and a few on my chin. This has always been the case with my old-gen series 7 Braun too. The need to do so is going to vary from user to user. If your face is not perfectly smooth, you have scars, weathered skin, pock marks, etc., foil razors in general may need some help. From a 100% charge, I was left with an indicated 95%. If the battery discharges evenly and at ~5 minutes per shave, ~20 shaves per charge. LI batteries lose capacity over time with charge cycles so expect fewer shaves per charge as the razor ages. Ergonomically, the ARC6 is comfortable to use and the multi-directional head unit is easier to shave with. Perhaps because I'm used to the series 7 Braun, I prefer the ergonomics of the Braun's razor body more so than the ARC6. The Braun has that 'just right' feel to it while the ARC6 didn't let me forget that I'm handling something. As I time goes on, I may change my mind. The ARC6 head is multi-directional which keeps it in full contact with my face more evenly and easily than the series 7 Braun. After ~24hrs, I noticed that the stubble had a very even growth, something I never noticed with the series 7 Braun. The series 7 Braun pivots in one direction only. Stubble after ~24hrs isn't patchy exactly but compared to the ARC6, not as even. So, should you shell out for an ARC6? Impossible to say. Beard types differ, shaving technique makes a difference, budget and perceptions differ. Perhaps the most compelling reason to pass on the ARC6 is cost. For the price of the baseline model, you can buy three (!) ARC5 baseline models at current pricing ($109.00 advertised for a baseline ARC5, $339.99 paid for a new baseline ARC6). Braun's series 9 pricing is pretty close to the ARC6. I'm going to keep the ARC6 knowing that it's probably as good as it gets when using a foil razor. Quality product, impressive Japanese engineering, time tested brand and likely to last for years. That said, if you're a Panasonic loyalist, carefully consider the cost benefit of an ARC5 vs an ARC6. Definitely consider a Braun series 9 as well. Both are high quality, well designed products.

YES this is a good shaver but NOT superior to the arc5 which is ~half the price. I bought the arc5 and this model to try simultaneously. I used both models separately and did side by side shave competitions several times over the past 3 weeks. They both struggle to shave the same stubborn areas like neck and upper lip (as all foil shavers do). Although the arc6 has better shaving tech ON PAPER it doesn’t translate to a perceivably closer or faster shave. The arc6 isn’t heavier in hand and the matte black finish looks cheaper compared to metal details on the arc5. Absolutely no justification for the huge price jump. You can buy the arc5 for under $50 on eBay. The replacement blades for arc5 are also half the price. I like the arc5 for touching up my shave on a daily basis when I don’t feel like wet shaving with a razor. Oddly I found these worked better on dry hairs (I use electric shave liquid sometimes too). Using these wet in the shower made them miss more hairs, it was frustrating and I had to redo with a razor (never again). I think the dry hairs catch better and if I’m going to wet shave I might as well just use my razor. These foil shavers are about 80-90% as close as a razor. Or like a razor shave with 12 hours growth. In searching for an electric shaver I noticed all these companies (Braun, Phillips, Panasonic) just put out several “improved” models of the same machine with confusing comparisons and frivolous bells and whistles in order to upcharge the consumer and make them assume more expensive and new is better meanwhile the shave experience is more or less the same across the board. For reference I also tried the Norelco 9800 and the arc5 beat that too. And according to my research the Panasonic is superior to the Braun foil shaver which is also very expensive so I didn’t even bother trying that. So in conclusion I’m keeping the arc5 and returning arc6.

I'm 77 years old and have used every imaginable way to shave for electrics to cartridges to double edge to straight razors and I swore I'd never use an electric again. Never say never. I have no choice now so I bit my lip and bought this unit. I was very pleasantly surprised. It was quick and very comfortable and gave a very close shave. Now when I say close it ain't like a straight razor and I have some double edge razors that shave almost like a straight and this doesn't match them however most typical DE razors? This shaves about as close. The last electric was a Panasonic ARC 4 and I've used a Braun #9 and this beats both. The cleaning unit is a bit fussy and I think the Braun is better though in the end the result is the same. Ergonomics are outstanding as it's build quality (This is made in Japan-not China) It's also pretty quiet. Of course it's $500 smackers and it says the battery has a 3 year life if you use it every day so factor that in. Before you buy any electric research thoroughly so it matches the kind of beard you have.

I rely heavily on the pop-up trimmer, which I use on my face when I don't want a close shave but also don't want a two- or three-day beard. I also use it on my scalp. This shaver's trimmer works beautifully, even better than my last Panasonic, which was discontinued. The shaver itself is incredible, gliding across the neck and cheeks like silk. The extra blades allow it do a better job than past shavers of catching oddball hairs that are curly or growing in the wrong direction. I was worried the razor head would be too big but it isn't. The blade assembly is different from past models. The blades are contained within the same housing as the foil, which seems like an improvement. It'll definitely be less fiddly to replace as compared to the models for which you have to grab those little blades with your fingers and try not to cut yourself. The sleekly elegant and ergonomic design of this device reminds me of a luxury car. Yes, you can spend less for something that works fine, but if you can afford the top of the line, you'll quickly see how much nicer it is than its less-costly siblings. I opted for the version without the charging and cleaning stand as I've had those before and never used them. It's easy enough to keep the shaver clean by running it under hot water. LOVE this shaver and recommend it to anyone who shaves a lot, has a tricky beard and/or sensitive skin, or just wants the best shaver money can buy. It's worth every penny.

Presentation: This shaver comes in a very high quality box, with plenty of packing material (bags, high quality cardboard etc) keeping the shaver safe. Overall a very nice presentation when opening and taking out components out of the bags. Build Quality: The overall build quality of the shaver itself is incredible. It feels very rigid in construction and consists of mostly metal and grippy materials. The cartridge featuring 6 blades very high quality. The heads all maneuver in their own ways in order to shave around the contours of your face. The head itself also pivots every which way imaginable. The Shave: Being blatantly honest in this section. If you wait a few days, you will have to touch up sections of your neck. Whether it be with the trimmer or with another means entirely. It does not do a great job at catching those long flat laying neck hairs. HOWEVER, if this is your daily shaver and you don’t really take a break between shaves it does an excellent job. Again with a quick prep it will do the same if it has been a couple days or more. The closeness of the shave is insane. It is 100 percent comparable to that of a Gillette or other high quality razor. If you are new to electric shavers, it is important to base these results after about 10-15 minutes due to the use of pre shaves that may raise hairs. Allowing the hair to settle back into the skin will show just how close a shave this truly achieves. Cleaning Dock: This cleaning and charging dock will save you plenty of time post shave. Just pop the shaver in and press select and the default of clean and dry will occur. It does a solid job at cleaning up the cartridge and removing hair. The drying feature is awesome, no rust, or any kind of issues that come with moisture will be a concern. Highly recommend the dock. Is It Worth It?: If you are looking for the absolute closest shave attainable from an electric shaver and have the funds, yes. However there are cheaper alternatives that are about as close such as the Arc 5. If you are considering buying this shaver, I cannot recommend the dock enough. In for a penny, in for a dollar.