ES8103S

I've tried electric razors periodically over the years hoping to find one that gives a shave relatively comparable to safety or disposable razors. Inevitably, I've found the electrics notably inferior to blades and have switched back. Fed up once again with the rising cost of disposable blades, along with the accompanying nicks, cuts, and irritated skin, I decided recently to try the Panasonic ES 8103s based on the strong positive reviews on Amazon.com. I'm truly glad I did, and encourage those looking to switch from blades to an electric razor to give the ES8103s serious consideration. I should note that I have a relatively light beard, so those with heavy beards might want to look for a review of this product by users with similar features. I also have a mild case of psoriasis, with patches of affected skin near my sideburns and on both sides of my neck near my larynx. This chronic, genetically inherited skin condition means I have a sensitive face that is prone to razor burn and other shaving-related irritations. Thus, a clean, close, comfortable shave is particularly important, since nicks and other problems associated with shaving tend to get magnified. I've used the Panasonic ES 8103s for about two weeks so far, and can honestly report that it has delivered by far the best shave I have ever had, blade or electric. It's easy to use right out of the box. Just unpack it, plug in the detachable charging cord and when the digital display reads "100%" it is ready for use. Right away you will notice a very positive feature: the ES8103s charges very quickly, going from 0% to fully charged in about an hour. The razor holds a charge (based on my shaving needs) for about a week. Cleaning is simple. When the razor needs to be cleaned, a "spigot" symbol shows in the display. Press and briefly hold the on/off button until the razor enters the "turbo" mode (a digital indicator will show, plus the blade sound is clearly different), wet the foil (blade cover) under running water, apply liquid hand soap to the foil and allow the razor to clean itself. The foil is then easily removed by depressing two black buttons on either side of the razor head. Rinse the now-exposed blades and the foil, and let dry. Quick, easy, and efficient. What about the shave? Five stars. The razor looks big, but is actually light and well balanced in your hand. Never mind the few reviews that call attention to what the reviewers perceive as a "freakishly large" head. It just looks that way. I find the ES8103s makes fast, nearly effortless work of my beard. Virtually no pressure is needed to ensure a very close clean shave. Even problem areas (just under your nose, for example) are a snap. The result has been an astonishingly close shave that leaves my face smooth and clean. The shave it delivers lasts longer than a blade shave. No bumps. No nicks. Absolutely no razor burn. Best of all, the ES8103s absolutely does not irritate my sensitive skin. In fact, I swear it does the reverse: it leaves my face so clean and smooth it actually reduces the underlying day-to-day irritation that accompanies mild cases of psoriasis like mine. The ES8103s simply delivers the best shave I have ever head. Every time. If you have sensitive or prone to chronically irritated skin like mine, this product is worth every penny. PS -- you may note that Amazon shows other users purchasing the WES 9013PC replacement kit (outer foil/inner blade) plus a second inner blade only replacement kit. Don't make the mistake of doing this. Just get the WES 9013PC replacement kit on its own. Panasonic recommends replacing the outer foil once a year and the inner blades every OTHER year. Assuming that's right, you won't need 2 sets of replacement inner blades. PROs: GREAT shave. Zero irritation. Lightweight razor. Fast charge. Easy to use. Very decent price for the quality of the shave. Works wet or dry (I have only used it dry). CONs: None. USER UPDATE (12-30-2010): I have now been using this product daily for a month. I can report no changes necessary to my earlier review, except to say that it takes less time to fully charge than originally reported (30 minutes or less as opposed to 1 hour). Bottom Line: Great shave, great price. Highly recommended.

It's been years since I have used an electric razor exclusively and the last one I owned, a Norelco from the late 90's, was a real workhorse. It was a rotary razor that I picked out for a Christmas present when I was barely 18 years old. I used that razor till the batteries no longer charged and it was left in the bathroom closet as I began to alternate between a regular razor and my dad's cheap rotary electric razor. Frankly, both of them would tear my face up when I used them. After awhile, I finally found a triple bladed razor that did an excellent job and I stuck with it. Fast forward nearly 2 decades, I have been through several variations of razors, including a 65 year old safety razor that did an amazing job, but was hard on my skin if I got in a hurry. After some more experimentation I settled on a relatively cheap razor system that worked well. You see, I find that anything more than 3 blades in a regular razor irritates my skin and causes unwanted ingrown hairs on my face. Since 3 blade cartridge razors seem to be fading away in favor of 4, 5, and even 6 blades, I needed an alternative. That was when I started looking into electric razors again. I knew I wanted a foil razor since past experience showed me that a foil style razor did a good job on my face/skin without irritating it. But when you start to read reviews most say to go for the Braun foil razors, but for the money I just didn't see the point. Im sure a 100-300 dollar foil razor is nice and very advanced, but Im just cutting hair, all I need is something that can handle that. So I sat down and made a list ... 1. It needed to be a foil razor 2. It need to be Lithium Ion powered 3. It needed to have >30 minutes use on a single charge 4. Some sort of battery meter 5. Good reviews from people who use it. 6. Less than $100 7. Wet/Dry usage After much research I found this Arc series from Panasonic. All of them have good overall reviews and meta-analysis on the reviews shows very few paid reviews for these razors, meaning people actually liked the razor enough to log on and write about. This fulfilled requirement #5. For the price, I paid roughly 60.00 for mine, it satisfied my #6 requirement, and the other details of the razor covered #7, #4, #3, #2, and of course #1. So I bought it. Day #1 The first day it took about 20 minutes to charge to 60% before I used it. I have about 2 days growth, so it wasn't a beard, but no where near mere stubble either. Total shave time about 4.5 minutes and I had to go over 2 small spots again due to the fact I wasn't shaving with a mirror. After some aftershave lotion and some time to calm down my face was just as smooth as it is when I shave with my safety razor and more smooth than the time I got a straight razor shave. As for day #1, I give this razor a 9/10. The 2 point deduction is from having to do my jaw line twice since I couldn't seem to get it to cut around the radius of the jaw bone without missing some hairs. I assume this is due to my lack of experience with this razor. Overall, the shave was excellent. Day #5 I have shaved 3 times this week, which is a definite an increase from my normal routine of 1-2x per week. The razor is doing an excellent job. The one thing I have noticed is the foil gets warm the longer the razor is used, which I clearly a side effect from what little amount of friction there is. Because of this, I have found that it is far better to shave the more sensitive areas of your face first, then proceed to the other places. Also, this thing is really loud! Not "wake the baby" loud, but very noticeable by those nearby. Day #10 Today I utilized the wet/dry functionality of the Arc 3. After wetting my face with hot water, I applied a run-of-the-mill $1-$2 shave foam and allowed it to soak for approximately 10 minutes. I then applied a second coat of shave foam and proceeded to shave. I extra lubrication was nice and allowed the razor to glide much better than when I shaved dry. However, the vibrations of the cutting head basically threw water all over the place while I was shaving. Another downside is that with the shave foam, it is difficult to actually see where you are shaving, or what you have missed. Overall, the outcome, at least for my face, wasn't any better or worse than a dry shave. Perhaps a longer soak to soften the stubble or perhaps shaving after a shower would yield better results, but I doubt it would make that much of a difference. Another test I plan to try later on is using a product designed specifically for putting on prior to shaving with an electric razor. Overall, I have to say the Arc 3 is the best razor I have every used thus far. It cuts clean and close, which is saying a lot with the barbed wire I call facial hair. For the price I feel it is a clear winner and a good compromise between cheap razors that mangle your face and ones that cost several hundred dollars.

I would honestly give this 4.5 stars if I could because I really like it a lot but think there is a little room for improvement with cutting quality. I received this razor as a holiday gift after picking it out for myself. I've used disposable razors for years and it's been a while since I have had a rechargeable model. I like having a pretty clean look but find with a manual razor that I tend to blow it off fairly often. The other reason it was a good time to try one was because of some upcoming medical treatments and I really wasn't supposed to shave with a blade during that time. So it was a good time to pick one up. The manufacturer options were pretty clear - Panasonic or Braun - or if I wanted to consider a rotary model I could go Norelco. I have always been a Panasonic fan as their products are always top quality and last a long time, so with no other clear reason in the ratings to go with the others I went with Panasonic and this model. My single minor hangup I have with this model is that it is far from a 'single pass' type of razor where you only have to sweep past each area once and you are done. I don't know if those even exist but I knew by the ratings that this one definitely didn't do that. I also read reviews of many other models and it didn't seem like paying much more was going to make that much of a difference. I would not consider my beard coarse and manly but I certainly need to shave every day for work. There was a note with the instructions that said to be sure to use the razor daily for a month to allow your beard to adjust to it. I don't know if it actually does adjust or not, but I think they just don't want you to give up to fast if you aren't satisfied. To some it up, it takes me about as long to shave with this than it does for me to shave with a razor. I have to go over each area multiple times. I don't have the best eye sight without my glasses and occasionally my wife has pointed out spots under my chin out of sight that I completely missed. We laugh it off and I try to be more careful. The big difference between this and razors is that I won't risk cutting myself with this, razors are EXPENSIVE, and I can do this completely dry if I choose. Did I mention that razors are EXPENSIVE?? So I've now used this virtually every day now for a couple months and have always used it dry at the sink. I think I have used a razor again once or twice and it did feel nice to get a nice clean shave with a razor but it wasn't enough for me to go back to it on a daily basis. I would definitely use a razor for an important event like a wedding or something like that. Before writing this review though, I decided I better at least try it with shaving cream and see if any improvement in performance. Basically I didn't notice anything and if anything it was a little harder to see if I missed anywhere. I tried with both Edge gel and Barbasol foam side by side and the Edge did slightly better. I also tried it in the shower but to me the noise of the water made it hard to hear if I was actually hitting hairs like I can at the sink. I also had no mirror in the shower, lol. So not sure that was a fair test. All in all though, I think I will stick to dry. It seems built well and charges quickly. The battery status and charging status are visible on the display in 10% increments (i.e. 10%, 20%, 30%,etc). I typically average using about 10% of the battery per shave so I need to charge it every 10 days or so. Cleaning is VERY EASY and I recommend doing it at each charge if not every other charge. Takes about 30 seconds and comes out looking like new when done and restores peak performance. I will note that some of the reviews mention that Norelco rotaries gave a closer shave than the Panasonic type. Maybe they would work better for me but I really like this setup for my needs and have no plans to change.

I came to the Panasonic ES8103S from the Braun 7000 Syncro series. I had the Braun for over 10 years and loved it. It saved me a ton of money on disposable razor blades and helped me get a good shave without irritating my neck, which traditional disposables roughed up to the point of embarrassment. Unfortunately, the charger cord would no longer make a consistent connection which kept me from being able to charge the shaver. So I went looking for another Braun. However similar Brauns to my 7000 Syncro are now quite expensive. I paid $100 for the Syncro 10 years ago and had in mind to spend about the same amount. I came across the Panasonic and while I'd always heard good things I'd never used one. I'm glad I decided to give this thing a try. It is superior to the Braun in almost every respect. It shaves a lot closer, cleans much easier, charges faster and is, at about $80, a great value. Moreover, it doesn't make the mess my Braun used to. It captures most of the hairs it cuts inside the shaving block. The old Braun used to spread most of those all over my sink. The one draw back to the Panasonic vs. the Braun is the Braun has a better long hair trimmer. The Panasonic's is good for light touch ups but the Braun's could really do some heavy cutting. As for the shave, I have a medium beard and a sensitive neck. The Panasonic shaves much, much closer; almost disposable razor blade close. It took my skin a couple of weeks of shaving to adjust. Panasonic gives you 30 days to try it out and they also tell you to give it 30 days for your face to adjust. Obviously, with that schedule you'd run out of time. My suggestion is to give it a good 3 weeks of regular use and if you don't like it send it back. Me? I'm keeping mine and certainly recommend the product. A couple of other things to keep in mind: the shaving block replacements for the Panasonic are approximately $25 to $30 and cheaper than many of the other shaving blocks. That's a reasonable price since you'll probably want to switch out every 6 to 8 months. The shaver is surprising lightweight but doesn't feel cheap. It is clearly well made. I've only used it to shave in the shower one time and have not tried it with shaving creams, though I understand it can be used with them. And while it is a wet/dry shaver from what I've found on the Internet it is not fully water proof; more like water resistant. I'm happy to use it for dry shaving or for use on a wet beard and washing the shaving block off under the sink.

Oh my goodness this thing is absolutely the best. I (a male writing on my wife’s account) find myself constantly busy and try to save time everywhere I can. Shaving in the car is one of the ways I do this. I had a previous shaver that was quite rough (which I didn’t know at the time) to use. It took me almost 15 minutes some times to get a nice presentable shave and left me with bits of beard hair all over my clothing when I was done. I would literally have to bring a towel to lay around my neck to prevent this. Getting fed up with that I tried this shaver. It had great reviews and let me tell you they were right! There are a number of great features with this 1) It is quiet. I don’t have to increase the volume of my talk radio (oh man am I officially old now???) to hear over the whirr of the motor. I could have a casual conversation and run this thing and it is a nice low hum. 2) It cuts very well. The two coils function great and the pivoting head (which I didn’t have before) is a godsend. Not only will it turn side to side to fit the contours of your face but it will also rotate on the z-axis to accommodate different pressures. 3) The battery is quite nice. My previous model would power longer but would lose the torque early on. If it wasn’t 100% I felt I wasn’t getting the best cut. So while the battery lasted longer with my previous model, I get more usability out of this model since I get the full gusto all the way down to 10%. This is like a digital shaver when I’m used to analog. There is nothing fuzzy with this shaver since it cuts so good (did you see what I did there?). this will easily last me 15-20 shaves before needing charged. 4) Cleaning is easy. It keeps all the hair fibers in the tray (hooray no dirty shirts!) and can be cleaned with running water. Very simple and easy. Simply put – this is the best shaver I have ever owned and it is pretty much as good as a razor shave without the irritation. Sure it doesn’t get down to baby powder smooth like a straight razor but at this price it is pretty much the cost of replacement razors. I really don’t see how a $200 shaver could be $150 dollars better than this.

I had a Panasonic electric microscreen razor that I had been using for about 7 years. It still cut fine, but the batter could only hold a charge for 1 shaving, so I figured it was time to get a new one and see what new technology has to offer. I decided to stick with Panasonic as I've been very happy with the brand's performance. I decided to get the 3 blade shaver since this was the type of razor I had before. This ES8103S is a great razor. I really like having the display that shows how much batter power is left...no guessing involved. I have found that I can get 6-7 shave cycles on a single charge. As far as the shaving, I can't say I really see much of an improvement over my 7 year old razor. It still takes me 4-5 minutes to shave each morning, but when I'm done it leaves my face smooth and stubble free. My neck hairs are still the hardest to shave and they take the majority of time for each morning shave. Once I move to my face the razor is very fast, one pass usually gets the job done. This razor is much lighter in my hand than my old one. Probably because they use more plastic parts to save on cost, but still it is nice. The razor cleans up easy with liquid hand soap and water and has a nice sonic cleaning mode to really power clean the heads. The swivel ability of the shaving head also is a nice improvement from my old razor. Overall, I can't complain. The razor performs on par with my old razor and since I've been using an electric microscreen razor for many years my face is used to it and I get a very close and comfortable shave with no irritation. The battery lasts a long time, the razor has a nice contour that fits in my hand well, and the display feature with the batter power is great. I would highly recommend this razor, especially if you've been shaving with an electric razor already. UPDATE: It's now October. I've been using this razor for about 10 months now, and I must say I'm very happy with this purchase. The razor still gives a very close, very fast and comfortable shave. It's so lightweight in my hands. Easy to navigate around my face. The batter is still holding a solid charge (uses about 10% per shave, so I can easily get 8 days worth of shaving on a single charge). And it recharges from 20% to full in less than 2 hours. I would still highly recommend this razor.

Let me start by saying that I have extremely sensitive skin so I have all but given up on razor shaving, it always makes my skin scaly, blotchy and red (a real eyesore and sometimes painful). So I gave the Braun Series 7 shaver a try about 5 years ago and it gave me razor burn on my neck (gave it 30 days). I have a fairly light beard but the hairs on my neck/under chin are pretty dense. I have been using just an electric beard trimmer to "shave" for the last couple years and obviously it does not get close nor is it intended to. I had an interview coming up so I decided to try electric again and with the reviews on this device I thought "why not?". After about 2 weeks of use and using only about 3x/week here are my observations: PROS -I don't mind the higher pitch hum at all, definitely not noisy enough to complain and I have very sensitive ears. Lot of reviews on "hear" indicate that is a problem, it is not IMHO. -Shaves closer than any other electric I've owned hands down and I've owned several Brauns, several Norelco's. ***But see cons. -Does not give me razor burn or irritation on any part of my face (I use Remington FaceSaver). -Charges very quick (about 1 hour) or a quick 5 min charge is possible. -Nice LED display displays % of charge remaining making it easy power management. -Best cleanup of any shaver out there (Panasonic in general), very cost effective (soap/water) and very quick. -Wet/Dry is a plus for clean up by I'm skeptical of using shaving cream to shave with electric. Nonetheless, wet/dry gives it more versatility than other razors. CONS -takes quite a bit of time to shave, to me the advantage of electric is the ability to shave in under 10 mins. This typically takes about 10-12 mins for me to shave. -takes a lot of passings to get a close shave (see above). -Long(er) hairs are not easy to cut. If you go without shaving for 2-4 days it has a harder time with that length of hair. The side trimmer is helpful with longer hairs but does not completely solve the problem. -Side trimmer is not engineered properly so you can see where you are cutting, creates a "blind spot" and is a guessing game where you are shaving. -Does a very good job of shaving under chin but struggles mightily at shaving north/south below side burns. I end up using a straight razor to get the 2 inches below my sideburns straight and clean every time since this is very poor at shaving in this area in particular. This creates more time/cleanup time shaving which is what we are all trying to mitigate. -Because shaves take so long this does not hold enough charge for two weeks of shaves, which it advertises. More like 1 week's worth of shaves (3x/week) which is pretty sub-standard. -Need to allow corded shaving, this is a must for any good shaver in my opinion. All in all, I think is a slightly above shaver but I am captivated enough to try their Arc IV which adds an additional blade with the hopes it will take less passings to shave. I will be returning this within 30 days and looking for a Black Friday deal for a Arc IV since the 4th blade adds quite a bit in price (questionable value for 4 blades). If anyone has any tips or best practices for the shaver please let me know (particularly shaving below side burns and creating a straight side-burn end). As Bill Murray/Harold Ramis once said, I want to be a fan of this shaver "but I am willing to learn". Hope this helps...

We have two ES8103S now. The first one, I ordered to replace an electric shaver I used on my legs. This one seemed sturdier and to have overall better reviews than most of the designed-for-women shavers I looked at, and a little time searching around the web confirmed my suspicion that I would be FAR from the first woman to use a man's razor to shave her legs. I ordered a second one for a 91 year old woman who prefers to shave, not tweeze, the thick hairs that grow on her face and under her chin. For all areas, the trimmer first: If you're shaving hair more than about 3mm or 1/8 in. you NEED to use the trimmer first. The shaver seems much more likely to pass over longer hairs, leaving them uncut. The pop-up trimmer thing seems to work great. Moving it gently over skin leaves, basically, semi-long stubble that the shaver has a much easier time with. Looking at how it seems to work I wouldn't recommend pushing hard with the trimmer at all; it looks like it could pinch/tear skin that managed to get caught. So we've been using it with respect and haven't had it hurt either of us. (There's no way to adjust the length of hair the trimmer cuts in case anyone reading this is curious.) For legs: I don't expect an electric shaver to get as close as a razor. Using this on my legs I can get the skin smooth to the touch, but the stubble will be back the next day as opposed to using a razor which usually leaves my legs feeling smooth for closer to two days. I use it in the shower with shaving cream on my legs. I have to go over most areas at least twice to get rid of all the stubble, and I seem to get the best results shaving in multiple directions instead of always with or against the hair's grain. I've never had it cut my legs or even leave razor burn/irritation. I could use it out of the shower on dry skin, but I prefer the results I get using it to shave when the skin and hair are all wet and soft from the shaving lather. For underarms: I did try using this to shave under my arms, but I gave up. The only way I could ever get the skin to feel smooth to the touch required many passes pushing pretty hard. I'd wind up with scratches/welts from where the edges of the foil scratched me. So I stick to a disposable razor for shaving my armpits. After that experience, I'm in no rush to test the shaver on my bikini line. For 91 year old female face: We use this on her face after she's had a shower. It would probably work better in the shower, but there are non-shaver related reasons which make that impractical. I can shave her even if she hasn't recently had a shower, but I get better results when the skin/hair is still soft and damp right after bathing. Like my legs, it usually requires multiple passes and directions to get the skin to feel smooth. I have the most trouble getting hairs near the corners of her mouth and under her chin where her skin is very loose. Best results seem to come if we can manage to pull the area of skin we're shaving taut. Overall: I have no complaints about the quality. The thing seems sturdy enough and looks like the pictures. It doesn't strike me as complicated to operate. It recharges within a few hours; it's always finished charging when I think to come check on it, so I'm not sure exactly how long it takes. If speed is an issue, I would not recommend this over safety razors because it always takes us longer to shave with this. I use this on my legs to avoid the irritation and cuts I get from razors and to reduce the number of disposable razors I go through. I advised it for the old lady because her hands shake too much to shave herself and none of us, her caretakers, are confident enough using a razor on the rather loose and wrinkly skin on her face. I give it four stars for, "I like it" because it pretty much does everything I was expecting. I'd give it five stars if it didn't take multiple passes, but it might be more apt to irritate the skin if they redesigned it to cut more aggressively.

Ya había tenido previamente una rasuradora de la misma marca que me duró años hasta que se murió la pila recargable. Pasé por una Remington de 3 cabezas muy mala, a la que le duró poco la rejilla, por lo que decidí comprar de nuevo una Panasonic y fue una muy buena inversión. El corte es indoloro no importando lo largo de la barba y bigote, el motor es algo potente por lo que se calienta en ciertos instantes la rasuradora pero es tolerable. Muy recomendable.

Tired of electric shavers with large heads that seem to be more for show than usefulness? Try this simple but effective model. The two heads make for a much lighter product (great for travel) and yet one that shaves just as well as more recent models that have four-way foils but still only two heads. There is no display of elapsed shaving time, but the charge level is always visible and that is likely to be more important to most people. There is also the welcome absence of any beeping when you switch off the shaver and the charge is low.

Wonderful shaver. It takes 12 to 15 minutes. I use Philips & Braun but it is amazing. It is overall Good. Thanks to Amazon for reach me on time.

I’m very much into wet shaving. In fact l have a small collection of safety razors, shaving creams, aftershave etc etc. As much as l love the ritual of a wet shave, there are times where l don’t have the luxury of time. Hence the reason l started my research of a electric razors. To my complete and utter surprise l was super impressed on how this beautiful razor looks and performs. I will mention l do have sensitive skin. But, right out of the box, without any shaving cream…l was anxious to try out this new purchase. I couldn’t believe how close a shave l received with very minimal irritation. I believe with time, and lubrication, l can get a super nice, close and incredibly quick shave. I know there are much more expensive razors in the market, but why pay more…this one performs near perfect. I did a lot of research and this arc 3 had really excellent reviews. My regret..what took me so long!

Shipped very promptly. I'm a razor guy... but my hope is to be fully converted to this shaver in a month. I get lots of ingrown hair on my neck, with a razor I only shave a few times a week just to avoid the irritation, the razors I use cost a small fortune as well. With this new shaver I am shaving daily. I was impressed with how close this can shave, it's better than I could get with my razor. Initially I had pretty bad razor burn but I'm told to expect that, a few days in it's much less pronounced. I'll update with my experience, but so far I'm really impressed.