38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Investment for Tough Times, August 12, 2009
This review is from: Philips Norelco QC5055 Power Hair Clipper (Health and Beauty)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Money is tight and I'm trying to save pennies wherever I can. My son and I need haircuts every 3-4 weeks, so the dollars add up.
These clippers make a lot of sense (cents? sorry). :)
There's not a ton of difference between me telling the girl at Supercuts to "use the #3 clippers on the sides and blend it on top" versus doing it at home, except maybe the mess. These clippers surprised me though, because they don't throw the hair all over the room the way other clippers do.
These clippers come with three different attachments: two for different hair lengths and one for a "stubble" finish. The attachments impressed me, because they were rigid enough to maintain a consistent length. I've had other trimmers where they were flimsy enough that applying pressure to the attachment would force it to cut shorter, which can be disastrous. I was also impressed with how well they clicked from setting to setting; the settings don't matter much if you can't click back to the one you want next time you use them.
I was happy to see that you could clean these clippers under a running faucet. It made it a lot easier to get a good clean result when I was done.
Finally, I was glad to see that I could use these clippers on my facial hair too. I don't like having different gadgets for different things, so it's nice to be able to use these clippers on my beard as well.
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UPDATE: 7/19/2010
I was using the trimmer this morning and thought maybe I should post an update on this review. I still LOVE this trimmer, but the rechargeable battery has pretty much pooped out. I'm really glad this trimmer isn't like other rechargeable devices where you can't use them and charge them at the same time. So I just plug it in to use it...no big deal.
The other thing to mention is that the combs are starting to get a little floppy, so I have to be more careful not to apply much pressure. I scalped myself a little while trimming my beard today. No big deal this time, because the beard grows so quickly.
Bottom line...nearly a year later with LOTS of use and I still really like this product. It won't last forever, but it's still pretty reliable.
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46 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Meh, I'm torn on this one. I really want to like it..., January 9, 2011
This review is from: Philips Norelco QC5055 Power Hair Clipper (Health and Beauty)
Let me start out by saying I'm really starting to love Philips Norelco products. I was always a Braun guy but I'm starting to convert, based on amazon reviews and my own recent purchases. As an example, I'm a recent owner and very happy owner of the
Philips Norelco BG2040/34 Philips Norelco Bodygroom Pro Grooming System, Black / Silver.
What I like:
With that said, I want to love this product, I really do. It's (for the most part) high quality, its rechargeable, you can clean it under tap water (a must for me), its light-weight, it's a brand I trust. I love that there are no blades to replace (self sharpening), I love that the clipper attachments are built-in/adjustable (no swapping required for me) and I love that it comes apart easily.
My first haircut - too short!
You could call this my fault, or you could call it bad design. Or both. I'm a guy that pretty much shaves his whole head; to keep it simple, and to last longer. I do it myself, because I can and because my wife has better things to do. But I don't like it too short. Which is why I tried to start long and work my way down until I got a feel for these clippers. I started at level 3, grabbed the clippers in the most comfortable position I could manage, and started my haircut. I noticed immediately you can't go too fast with these. They don't have the power of my cheap plug-in clippers, but cost almost twice the price. Which means I had to go a lot slower with these. Perhaps that's just a drawback of cordless? Anyways, my hair was already short, and I was only taking off a little hair; but these things start jamming and pulling my hair as if I was taking kindergarten scissors to a tree branch. So I backed off and took it a lot slower and didn't snag my hair any more. First strike. And then it happened. I felt my head and realized my hair was a lot shorter then normal. And it was. The clippers somehow slipped from position #3 to #1 while I was cutting. And here's why. To adjust the clippers, you push on a small tab on the back and slide the attachment up and down. Its very easy to do. This tab, however, sits exactly where I grip the clippers when I cut my hair. And that's how it happened; I grabbed the clippers, mistakenly pushed the tab, and slid the attachment while cutting my hair. My vote, poor design. The attachments should lock in place and require a twist or something more difficult.
My second haircut - bald spot down the side of my head!
You could also call this my fault, or you could call it bad design. Or both. So I cut my hair a second time today - this time making sure I took it slow enough as to not bog the clippers and snap my hair. And I was careful not adjust the attachment position mid-haircut. But upon approval of my wife of my second haircut, and her laughter, I realized I screwed up. Yep, looked in the mirror, and I have a huge bald spot in the side of my head. BALD. So what happened this time? When I cleaned the attachments after the first haircut, and put them back on the clippers, one side of the attachment didn't fully seat in its guide rail. The attachment was cock-eyed on the clippers, and the flimsiness of the attachments allowed the clipped blades just enough clearance to shave my head clean. Lesson learned - make sure your attachments are seated perfectly on both sides before cutting hair.
What I don't like:
-Not enough power if you like a fast haircut - a little too weak for my taste, much weaker then my cheap plug-in clippers (take it very slow and it works)
-Flimsy attachments (seriously Philips, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, YOU'RE BETTER THEN THIS) - but so far they haven't broke
-Attachments can mistakenly be seated improperly on clippers (I have a new bald spot to prove it)
-Attachments adjust too easily (which means you'll go too short if not careful)
After writing this review, I think I've convinced myself to return these and obtain something better. I hope Amazon will take them back, or I'm stuck with these poor performers. Philips Norelco IS better then this. I imagine these were on the way to a great design but shoved into production prematurely. They really need to go back to the drawing board and perfect the design - they are SO CLOSE! But not close enough for this Amazon shopper.
Take my advice on this one, and look past this product. I'll definitely try another product on Amazon, and I wouldn't hesitate to try another Philips Norelco product.
PS - I hope this review gives you some insight and help with your choice, and a little knowledge from an unbiased owner. If so, please click on "YES" below this review to vote it as helpful.
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great hair cutter, easy to use., August 27, 2009
This review is from: Philips Norelco QC5055 Power Hair Clipper (Health and Beauty)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
My wife is a professional hair stylist. She cuts my hair every 2-3 weeks and relies heavily on using electric shears to do so. This unit works very well. It can work plugged in, or with battery, which should give you about 40 minutes of time per charge.
The shears are sharp and do a great job of cutting through my thick hair. The attachments are also very nice. Unlike other units that have 6 or 7 different guards depending on what you want to do. It has a fixed length one, a short variable one, and a long variable one. For my hair she used the short variable one. The settings go from 1/16 of a inch up to about 3/4 inch, and the long variable one goes up from there.
Having the variable length guards is great as it reduces the number of guards you need and allows you to change lengths on the fly.
Using the shears without the guard is also good for trimming to the skinline, edging and shaping.
The only complaint my wife had is that she wishes it were a little more powerful on battery, but wasn't really lacking in power, it is just that she usually uses professional shears. This unit is actually as powerful or more powerful than most shears you buy at walmart or the like.
Overall a great shear for home hair cutting.
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