Mailbag: Braun 370 review

I got the following email from Bill Tuer a while back, commenting on the Braun 370 electric shaver.

I have been a die-hard razor user (on my beard) for 30 years. I finally switched from my old Gillette double-edge safety razor to a Mach III after my beloved Gillette finally died and I couldn't find an inexpensive replacement. A couple of months ago I decided to try shaving my head. I wasn't experiencing any hair loss, I just wanted to try somthing different. I loved the new look , but the shaving experience left something to be desired. The mach did a good job (smooth, minimal razor burn and nicks), but it was taking me forever to shave. Maybe my head is unusually shaped but the Mach would only shave a path 1/4" wide on most places (flat blade vs. curved skull). Hoping to speed things up I bought a Schick Extreme III (the cartridge model not the disposable). The flexible head certainly shaved a much wider path, but it was at the expense of a ton of razor burn and liters of blood.

I was almost ready to give up and let my hair grow back, when I saw a Braun 370, "Pocket Twist", battery-operated shaver at Walmart. It was under $19 canadian and I thought what the heck. I had tried electric razors, on my face, in the past; but was never happy with the results. Being fairly cheap, I would not have invested the $50-200 that other shavers cost for this little experiment, but this was only slightly more than a Mach III Power making it simple for me to justify.

Well this little inexpensive shaver does an amazing job, at least on my head. It is much quicker than a razor, no irritation or nicks, and it shaves almost as close as a razor and I can touch-up late afternoon stubble quickly and easily, anywhere! The battery life seems to be quite good as the batteries that came with it lasted almost a month.

I can't compare this to other electric shavers, but I still recommend it if you are a newbie struggling with blade-shaving your head or if you'd like a portable way of quickly cleaning up stubble.

Besides, at $19 canadian (probably about $12-15 US) what do you have to lose?

I recently purchased the same model shaver at a local London Drugs store, and I agree with Bill that it's a pretty good shaver at a really nice price. I use it when I don't want to go about getting a full shave, but have too much stubble for my own comfort. It gives me another day of relative comfort before I have to shave completely.