Customer Reviews

Panasonic ER-203 Beard and Moustache Rechargeable Cord/Cordless Trimmer

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First, the facts, because they're hard to find and ought to influence your decision:
-- There are a dozen settings from 2 mm (1/12") to 18 mm (3/4").
-- The battery should run the unit up to 40 minutes.
-- A full charge takes 8 hours.
-- The manufacturer estimates the battery will last about 400 uses.
-- The cord is five feet long.
-- You can remove and replace the knives.
-- You CANNOT replace the battery: once it dies, you throw the unit out.

Some comments, in no particular order: The knives are really sharp. The shape of the head gives you good control. You need to pay attention to the charging; you shouldn't leave it plugged in more than a couple days at a time ("this may damage the batteries"). An occasional oiling and cleaning is recommended.

I'm happy with the performance and the quality, but this one gets only four stars because you can't replace the battery. We do, indeed, live in a throw-away society.

I have owned a number of beard trimmers and maintained a variety of facial topiary. This is by far my favorite yet. I am picky about trimmers, too. In fact, I bought this trimmer only two weeks after buying and trying a different trimmer and being totally disappointed. I gave that one to my dad, and stepped up to the ER203K. How can I be excited about a trimmer? One reason is enough -- this trimmer has the finest and most numerous adjustment settings of any trimmer I have ever found. With my previous trimmers, I was always stuck between settings -- I could never get those extremely dense areas of my beard short enough without accidentally leaving a whole in my beard. Not with this guy, though.

Everything else (battery life; cord; construction; ease of use) is very good about this trimmer, but the setting selection is what I really can rave about!

I was a little worried when I ordered this trimmer. The price is a bit steep compared to some of the others on the market. Although it is not a bargain, the quality of the trim makes it worth the money.

This is a nice unit that will work with a cord or without. The adjustment setting is straight forward and easy to set. The plastic guard pulls off for cleaning of the blades. There is some maintenance required -oiling the blade and brushing out the trimmings- but its not onerous. Overall a pretty nice deal.

Only trimmer better than this is the one it replaced. The old model was more powerful.

Been using this model for a few years now. Outstanding is the only word I can use.

Advantages:
* rechargable batteries that last.
* Can use power cord as well for low battery situations or for a little extra power for that extra extra thick beard.
* Holds charge for a long time.
* Long life (mine is many years old)
* Depth guard stays in place firmly - no changing settings by accident (improvement over old model)
* easy to clean and lubricate, blade pops off easily without tools
* wider path than most other trimmers
* depth guard can be quickly and easily removed for edging beard and be reset without changing setting
* build in power converter (not tried)
* solid design, firm clicks on dial. High quality plastic.

Only slight negative is the power could be a tad better on battery. But still far more powerful than any other cordless trimmer I have tried.

Best value. Not cheapest, but performance outweighs any price issue. Worth the price. If you have a beard and need/want a cordless trimmer, look no further.

I've always used the beard/sideburn trimmer on my Braun electric shaver, but I received the Panasonic beard and moustache trimmer as a Christmas gift. I have to say that it is much simpler to use for this specialized purpose.

With an electric shaver, I always had to be careful about getting too close to a beard, or else I would create a nice bald spot for a few days. This meant trimming the beard after a morning coffee to be more awake... The guard on the Panasonic makes this task much more of a no-brainer. I can set it to the optimal hair length, and just run it across my beard and moustache to get a nice even look. The rechargeable battery seems to last pretty long as well.

On travel, I'll probably stick with my electric shaver, as I don't want to lug around two shaving appliances. That gets to the only real caveat about a product like this. A beard/moustache trimmer will never take the place of an electric shaver, but for its specialized purpose, the Panasonic works quite well.

This is by far the finest trimmer I have ever seen or used.
It is quiet, the option to use the cord is indespensible if you are in a hurry and it is not charged, there is also no wall-wort so it is great for travel. The adjustability is fantastic, 12 very precise settings, and the removal of the shield for fine trimming and cleaning is wonderful, just be careful trimming, those blades are truly sharp and stay sharp. It is more expensive than other trimmers on the market, but this is well worth it. Excellent quality. Don't cut costs, cut your hair.

I use this once a week and the battery is dead already. During use the battery (or motor) seemed to slow down sporadically. However, it always provided a quick trim, and dead on accurate. I have an inquiry into Panasonic about the battery. Hopefully I can have it replaced under warranty.

I had it when my previous trimmer didn't have 1/2" settings and I would have to manually set the length in the middle of 1" and 2". It would constantly slip and move and eventually, a chunk of my beard would be gone. I decided to try this trimmer out. I got it today and I have to say, it is the best trimmer I've ever used. The blade is very high quality, the size of the trimming area is huge and the length locking system (with 1/2" settings) is key. There really isn't much more I can say except that if you're serious about your beard, this is the trimmer for you.

I've always used Norelcos.. and my last two were great. My last Norelco broke, and I bought their new top-of-the-line. I use this both to trim my beard and head.. and it was uneven, cheaply made, required lots of effort, and would not operate without a charge (couldn't plug it in when the battery died.)

I replaced it with this panasonic which has:
-really sharp, even-cutting (!!) blades
-quiet (yes!!)
-doesn't have the norelco's vacuum, but oh well. It didn't work well anyway (and probably caused most of it's problems.)
-works on multiple voltages.. yeah!!!!
-has a screw to open it up and change the nicad battery when it eventually won't charge anymore (the new norelco's have NO access to the battery.. basically like a disposable.)
-comes with blade oil, you can tell they take their blades seriously.

Get it before they outsource their production to some third world country.. hehe (the supposedly made in austria norelco is 100% made in ***** inside... no offense to *****... but you know..)

The trimmer lasted for almost 2 years, before the battery died out!
I did not use the trimmer frequently, once a week and re-charged after every use.