Philips Norelco i9000 Prestige Ultra Electric Shaver, Adriatic

I'm 65 and have shaved with a straight razor all my life. Hands are arthritic, getting a tremor and my face is pretty weathered. Up close vision is starting to take a crap too. Noticed I was nicking myself a little too much and thought maybe I'd skip the disposable razors and try an electric. I don't have a heavy beard and I usually go 3 days between shaves with the straight razor. I read where the rotary electrics were better for multi-day stubble vs the foil (Braun) type razors so I opted for a Norelco. Bought the i9000 Prestige Ultra with UV charger, cleaning pod and trimmer attachment. NOTE: None of the Norelco's come with the charger...only the USB charging cord. There's a link in the manual to the Philips site where you can order a Norelco branded charger through the warranty process for free. Took about a week to get it. It seems to be a little more robust than the run-of-the-mill generic charger. Wasn't sure what to expect jumping into the 21st century with the electric razor...but I was pleasantly surprised. The razor charged up quickly (used the USB cord plugged into an Apple phone charger) and I had my usual 3 day's of weak growth. The razor wasn't too loud and plowed through the stubble with no pulling or discomfort. It was a lot different than using the straight razor. The straight razor you can see where you've been by the missing lather. Motion is relatively up and down. So getting the correct pressure and circular motion while hitting all the facial territory was challenging the first time or two. Trust me, when you scrape your face with a straight razor...you know exactly where you've been and where you haven't! This is where the GroomTribe App came in handy along with the pressure/motion light on the Norelco. If you've been using an electric razor for a while the App is probably not a game changer for you...but I found it helpful and am still using it for the past month. You do need the App to change the shave settings (sensitive, regular, Intense, foam, Custom) which I could do without, but I guess that's the price of technological progress. I have not experienced any "burn" or rash using the Norelco...probably because my skin was toughened up from 52 years of straight razor abuse. I did use some good old fashioned Lectric Shave which did seem to help me get a closer shave with less errant hairs left behind. The smoothness of the shave pretty much rivals the straight razor. The i9000 seems to have good battery life as I have only needed to charge it once in the past month. The cleaning pod does a good job of clearing out the cuttings (I took the blades apart a couple times and didn't find any residual hair) and supposedly lubes and sterilizes. I used the UV charger once, not sure I'd get that again as it is too large to pack for travel and kinda large to leave on the counter. It is well made though. I also like the fact that I can shave whenever I want at the drop of a hat. With the straight razor it was always after showering to soften the beard, then the ritual of stropping, lathering, rinsing, clean up...the electric is way less fuss. Makes me wonder why I took so long to convert. It's pricey, but compared to what the initial investment in a straight razor set-up would be these days it's probably a wash. In the end, I get just as good a shave and it's more convenient and faster.

I used Philips Norelco electric razors for years. Worked well and never stopped. Yet, I felt the older models were lacking when the beard was a few days old, so I tried the Braun Series 9 Pro. It was fine for long whiskers, but never got close enough. Searched a few more tube videos and decided the Panasonic ARC6 was a smart idea. At first, it handled the long and the short of it, and I thought I was on to something. But the blade sharpness declined quickly and after a few months it started to sound like an outdoor yard tool. I jumped at the chance to purchase this new Norelco. Nirvana! Handles long whiskers and gets so close and I love the cleaning system and UV case to sterilize and recharge the razor. When you open the head you do not see residue from many shaves. Cleaning handles that issue, so after months the sharpness continues. The app and glowing lights show the amount of pressure and motion you should use to shave and is designed to train you for the closest shave. It is high tech, to be sure, but I have found that pressing a bit harder and not worrying about seeing the green light rim around the razor actually results in the closest shave I have ever had! Perfection. So, don't worry about the app. The shave is close and smooth, no nicks, no pulls, and no irritation. Cleaning system is amazing and it is quiet. It fits the hand perfectly and is lighter than the Braun or Panasonic. I have found the perfect razor. Worth every dollar.

Excellent shaver - versatile with a close shave.

I’m very happy with this Philips Norelco shaver. It feels excellent on the skin, very smooth and comfortable, with no irritation after shaving. The design feels premium, it is easy to hold, and the battery display is very useful. I also like that it is waterproof, which makes cleaning much easier. Overall, it gives a close and gentle shave. Highly recommended.

I will say, the product itself is well built, the motor is quiet, and at first it seemed like a great shave. Super close, baby soft, and felt fine during. It even got all the edges and hard to reach places. No knicks, cuts or burns. But after about 24 hrs I got the worst ingrown hairs and shaving burn of my life. I used it on the sensitive setting, carefully followed its motion guidance. Used gel with as well. I thought maybe it was me so continued on with less pressure but then it was just leaving patches that absolutely needed more pressure, while still making more ingrowm hairs. Overall its probably a great product, unless you have more sensitive skin or just are incompatible with it. It just isn't for me.

Best Norelco shaver, i have may other electric shavers, other Norelco models, Braun and Panasonic. This is by far the best shaver of them all, you will be amazed how good this one works. I have a very tough hair. Grey and black, this is the only shaver that takes them all off clean.

Usually wet shave with double edged and canister razors for years but wanted something a little easier to use on sensitive skin with thick facial hair. I was hesitant about the performance of electric razors and was not impressed in the past compared to DE. Tried the Norelco i9000 along with Panasonic Arc5. The Arc5 cut me multiple times and would not shave neck no matter how many passes or technique used. The i9000 on the other hand was able to handle 7 day and 1 day stubble no problem on neck mustache and side burns. Dry and wet shaving leaves no nicks, no friction burns and leaves the skin feeling exfoliated on intensive setting. I found dry shaving left better results. It was odd that Arc5 comes with 2 year warranty while Philips comes with 7 year warranty, between that, missing UV charger, and the bad skin irritation I kept the Philips and returned the Arc5. As for cleaning pod: used after quick rinsing the rotary heads under only water then running a clean cycle on the cleaning pods, they don’t smell after 3 weeks and costs around 5 bucks per month for monthly refills if shaving once every day. Overall, this razor gets about 90% as close shave as double edged razor with the upside that I don’t have to worry about nicking myself and leaves my skin feeling really nice, even neck area and adams apple. I’ve not used the double edged razor since purchasing this a month ago, would buy again as I now enjoy shaving and no longer worry about having pain related to it.

I spent awhile looking for a great electric shaver for my husband, and finally decided on a Philios Norelco Prestige Ultra i9000, at the steep price of more than $400!! I ignored other reviewers' complaints about the lack of charging block in the package because we already had a few extras from phones and other devices. However, it turns out that ONLY A SPECIFIC VOLTAGE AND WATTAGE MUST BE USED!! AND NONE OF OURS WERE EXACTLY RIGHT. Now I'm faced with an extremely expensive shaver that I can't even charge, without the risk of damaging it. Do I have to wait now to order one from Philips? This is extremely inconvenient for customers (as many other reviews testify), and makes me want to never buy their products again. Something might be amiss in this once-great company, because the tiny instruction pamphlets included with the shaver are also almost useless. Almost no text, mysterious miniature sketches, and everything entirely printed with tiny white text on a dark navy blue background, which must have used a lot of expensive ink to print!! (Why not just simple black ink on white paper, like the Safety pamphlet?) I'm pretty skilled at interpreting diagram-based instructions, having assembled 30-40 pieces of Ikea furniture without difficulty. However, the Philips instruction diagrams are so miniscule and monochromatic, that it took several readings to decipher what they are trying to say. PHILIPS: Please wake up and listen to your customers! The Shaver does look like good quality, and the UV Charging base is very handsome. I also like the idea of the Cleaning station - it should be very convenient. It is assembled by putting a liquid cartridge inside a plastic tub holder, and the cleaning is activated by placing the shaver on top. This is just a guess, because I can't clearly read the instructions, and can't charge the shaver yet to try it out, for lack of an appropriate charging block! But what I can see already is that THERE IS NO CAP OR LID for the top of the device. At times when the shaver isn't actually on it being cleaned, I will have to look at the "insides" of a conplicated plastic mechanism sitting on the counter, 24/7, attracting dust and curious kitty paws. Why on earth don't they provide a simple plastic lid for the cleaning tub? Now I have to go look for something to place on top of it that doesn't look too odd. What is really odd is the decision-making going on at Philips, where they obviously aren't doing any field research on customer satisfaction.

Finally a rotary that can quickly and efficiently get baby smooth results. Well worth the investment

Tengo piel muuuy sensible y siempre es batallar con rasuradoras o rastrillos de baja calidad. Está solo me irritó muy poquito las primeras 2 veces y ya para la 3ra vez que la uso ya no me irrita la piel. También el que traiga la funda con cargador y limpieza UV, está genial, la termino de usar, la lavo con el chorro de agua, la escurro y la meto a la funda UV y se carga y limpia. Tengo 1 mes con ella y estoy súper satisfecho con la compra. La he usado tanto en seco (ahí si irrita un poco), en mojado y la mejor, con crema de afeitar y es como mejor me funciona.

I would like to leave the rating without a single star. I have been using this shaver for months now, and no matter how I try, I cannot have a clean shave every single time. I have to take a trimmer and trim off the hair that is left by this shaver. Does not matter if the beard is couple of days grown or more, no matter in which circular motion I try, I cannot get this shaver to cleanly shave (not even close to 75%) my beard. I have been using electric shavers for almost 2 decades now, and I can say this is the worst shaver I ever used. I have to spend double time, first using this shaver and then using another trimmer to clear out the left over hair every single time.