Customer Reviews

Philips Norelco QT4021 Stubble Trimmer

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I have used several beard trimmers in the past, and this one is the best. Why?

* It is light and maneuverable.
* It is self-contained: there are no separate parts and trimming guides to lose.
* You can adjust the trimming length WHILE the unit is running, unlike other brands where the unit has to be off to adjust the length.
* The trimming guide is removable, so you can adjust hairlines directly with the blades.
* The battery charge lasts for weeks with typical use. [EDIT, DECEMBER 2009: NEVERMIND! See below.]
* The blades are sharp and can be used to trim your beard very precisely.

I'm not really sure why they call it a "Stubble Trimmer" as it doesn't seem any different than all the other beard trimmers that I've used in the past -- the length goes from longish stubble to full beard length.

A real "stubble trimmer" would have far more precise trimming abilities at the low end. The trimming guide goes from 1-9 in length, and the only setting that could be said to be "stubble"-like is setting 1. Anything more than that and you're into short beard territory.

So if you're looking for something for excellent detail work with your stubble, this probably isn't for you. But if you're looking for an all around excellent beard trimmer, I highly recommend this product.

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EDIT, DECEMBER 2009 -- Reduced to 2 stars because of poor battery life.

Well, folks, it was nice while it lasted. When I first got this stubble trimmer it held a charge for weeks. Now it barely holds enough charge to get through a couple trims. I will plug it in overnight and get perhaps 5 or 10 minutes of usage out of it -- and the motor doesn't stay fast throughout that whole time, but rather starts getting slower and slower until it is almost useless long before it COMPLETELY stops.

The same thing happened with a previous Norelco trimmer of mine, and a Norelco shaver. They are very impressive when you first get them, but within a few months the batteries just won't hold a charge anymore.

Very frustrating.

I was excited to receive this item as I wear a permanent stubble look on my face. I typically use a Wahl beard trimmer which gives me the trim I need but has its own limitations. So I figured this Philips Norelco unit might offer some improvements. The Norelco is much more sophisticated than my old-fashioned Wahl in terms of the design - it is lightweight, has a rubberized finish that feels less likely to slip out of my hands, has no attachments to lose and has a nifty turn dial to change length settings. However as others have noted this is a beard trimmer rather than a stubble trimmer. I wish there was a setting between 1 and 2. I find the 2 setting to be a bit too long. I also would not classify anything beyond 2 as "stubble". All of the settings beyond 2 are of no use to me - if you like to trim a beard then these settings might be useful, but this is not a "stubble" trimmer.

The other major difference between this unit and my old Wahl is that the head on the Norelco is wider. This is good for covering larger areas more quickly but when you want to remove the comb/guard in order to do some shaping I find the head size to be a bit too large. This is personal preference and not a product design flaw.

Overall I like this unit and can recommend as a beard trimmer. It is however limited if your objective is stubble.

Also as of this review, the Amazon listing is for Philps rather than Philips. Not sure how you can have a typo error in a product headline but I guess it happens.

I've got clippers to clip my hair. And I used those to clip my body hair. Then I bought the Norelco BodyGroom, because they convinced me it was better for shaving everywhere else.
Then I got tired of shaving everyday with my Norelco Cool Skin razor and decided to let my facial hair grow out, but keep it trimmed to stubble. I like to call it "the weekender". Anyway, I was using my normal clippers for this, but they were large and corded and rough on my skin.
In comes the Norelco Stubble Trimmer, tailor made for guys like me. I can keep my stubble, groom it with a smaller tool that is more facial friendly. Plus it is easy to adjust the level of stubble cut off. And if you remove the guard, you have a nice little trimmer for detail work.
I charged it fully when I got it, and have been using is a bit over 2 weeks without a recharge. Now admittedly, I don't use it everyday (more like twice a week). It did sound like it was slowing down when I used it today so probably time for a charge.
All in all it does the job well. I use the guard at the lowest setting, and it evenly cuts my beard, even the hard to get places like the mustache area and chin.
I only gave it 4 stars because there are other clipper/trimmers who do this and more, but if you like gadgets (and I do) then this one is a good one to add to your grooming arsenal.

I was very unsure about which of these trimmers to buy, but I'm glad I went with this one. It's very easy to use and it's nice to not have to worry about attachments to change out and keep up with. All you have to do is simply twist the dial and you can cut your hair to have the 5 o'clock shadow, turn the dial and trim your goatee/side burns, or change it to one of the higher settings and actually cut your hair.. It's truly an all in one device. This replace my Mach 3 Fusion razor and my hair clippers. All for this amazing price. I've had it for a little over 2 weeks now and i use it every few days, it's still on it's first charge. The good thing about it is that you can simply plug the adapter into the wall and use it while it's charging if you need to.

The only issue i have against it would be the fact that it does kind of throw hair, but that's just because it cuts so fast. The only time it has done this bad was the first time i used it and my facial hair was a little thick, I was waiting to see how well it would perform. But if you keep everything cut every 2 or 3 days it's not that bad at throwing hair..

I Fully Recommend this..

If you are like me and want to stop paying $15 or $20 per haircut, are okay with wearing a simple one-length crewcut, and also have a short beard of somewhere around the same shortish length, then this tool can make you pretty happy.

I do not like haircutters that have many loose parts, and this one is just one simple unit with the length adjustment intergrated in with a slick length-dialing collar, so that's a big plus with me. The blades, how long they stay sharp, and the battery, how long it holds up, will probably be what determines the long-term satisfaction this unit provides, and I have only had it for a month or two so I cannot say on these. The blades are supposed to be self-sharpening and the battery is currently (sorry, loose pun attack) very peppy and lasts plenty long enough for more than one haircut now.

In order to get the really uniform length that makes for a sharp appearance it does take lots of repetitive passes over the same hair spot, but the batteries are well up to this challenge. Are you? If you are looking for a one or two pass sort of thing, then you need to look at some much more pricey pro equipment, I imagine, (and maybe hiring a barber to use it, too). This thing gets me free from the barber, beard and all, as long as I am willing to run the thing all over my hair about a dozen swipes at minimum over all hair surfaces, including the beard.

Wearing a one-length crew cut and a one-length full beard is the way I have found that best reduces the fuss and cost factors of grooming from the neck up. I make only one exception to this uniformity, and that is that because my mustache is thicker than the rest of my beard I cut only it one click closer than the rest of my beard. After I do this it looks more uniform than if I left it all the same length! Now all I have to do on a daily basis is use a disposable razor to maintain a clear bottom line and top edge-line on my full beard, and that's it for me.

I tried that vacuum trimmer a few years ago and found it to be a not-so-hot gimmick then so I didn't go back there when I bought this new one. I do not think I can find anything that works better for me than this one, at this price point. The length adjustor is trustworthy in design, doesn't threaten to accidentally slip to another setting.

At the end of my beard trim I usually have to take some small pointy scissors and trim a few hairs a little shorter directly under my nose. Tha's the only place where the built-in adjusting guard stops me from using it to cut every hair.

And when I am done giving myself a haircut I take the guard off, call in my wife, and she uses the unit without the guard to cut a clean hairline at the nape of my neck in back where I can't see to do it well enough for myself because I am not coordinated enough to do that reverse-my-hand-motions-because-I-am-looking-in-a mirror thing.

Cleaning the unit: if you are cutting dry hair, the clumps of cut hair usually just fall off into to sink area. Once in a while and when I am all finished with it I take the adjustable guard off and blow the loose hair off with a puff of air from my mouth. The guard slips off and goes back on with zero effort and no accidental length-setting changes.

This thing is nicely thought out and has very good "human-use engineering". I am really satisfied so far. Of course, one day one even better will be built, but this seems to me to be the best one for now.

The name 'stubble' is sort of misleading, because it is more than that. It is just as much a very good "shorter-hair-and-beard trimmer".

I was first anxious if this will deliver on its promise of Stubble length uniform cutting. But it does a very good job. The lowest setting gives me a very close stubble. And by removing the comb it works as a liner for mustache and sideburns, but not very good as the dedicated ones we get on other norelco product (I used to use a norelco that has all the interchangeable heads). Good battery capacity too. But it is to be noted that it is a very specific type of beard trimmer and will not satisfy all needs. But anyone considering maintaining a stubble should consider getting this as a beard trimmer in addition to whatever hair groomer already in use.

A stubble trimmer literally does that - allows you to "create stubble" on your face from a longer beard. You might find this a little silly, but in the end it's no sillier or more normal than choosing any other hair style or face style. If you enjoy having the James Bond five o'clock shadow stubble beard look, then this would be the device to help you maintain that level.

This works the same way an eyebrow trimmer does. You have the trimmer part, and then a comb that sets the height of the hair. To be more precise, it is exactly a beard trimmer.

It's first setting - the smallest one - gives you a stubble. The second one maybe does. By the third setting you're at "normal" beard or mustache trimming lengths. There are settings out past a half inch. I'm not sure how that qualifies as stubble. From that perspective, this is really just a beard trimmer that does have a "stubble" setting at its lowest point.

Item 2. The unit is fairly large. If you're trying to keep some facial hair and stubble the rest, it's hard to detail with it. The blades are fairly deep in the unit, making it hard to make an edge. The only way to edge is to remove the whole outside part and edge with the naked blade. The plastic blade "bounces" in and out away from the blade area which doesn't seem to be useful or helpful at all. It seems to gather a lot of hair inside the unit when it trims, rather than letting it fall into the sink. I would count that as "bad" in terms of that area filling up.

It does clean very easily because the entire top unit is press-fit into the main unit. It comes with a little brush. Most units of this type come with a little tube of oil. This one doesn't - but maybe long term it doesn't need one? Or do they assume you'll buy some of your own?

We have other beard trimmers which can do stubble and which work much better than this unit. If anything, this might be useful for someone looking for a crew cut - set it to notch 4 or 5 and run it over your entire head.

For charging there is a cord you plug into a wall, which you can detach from the hand held unit part.

This really seems to be a beard trimmer with a new, trendy name. It works well enough at that role - I'll give it four stars - but it's nothing different or special.

I was excited when the Vine program offered this as my 18 year old son loves having the 5 o'clock shadow look but has found it hard to maintain. His feedback on this Norelco Stubble Trimmer is:

- easy to use
- comfortable to hold
- great for its intended purpose, i.e., having a constant light beard of stubble
- not so great at any other trimming level
- no battery indicator
- ability to use cordless in shower or away from bathroom/outlet is a bonus

Overall, he's really happy with the unit and has used it regularly for about a week. Simple, easy to use, and it does what it's supposed to do - what's not to like?

This is his only experience with a stubble trimmer, so keep that in mind when evaluating this item based on its usefulness and purchase price. It was a free item for us from Vine, but my son said he'd have used his own money to buy it for under ~30.

This trimmer is worst grooming product I have every used. The top fell apart within the first few uses and the blades catch and pull hairs instead of cutting them. I have used trimmers for 10+ years and this one is awful.

Well made, easy to use. The shortest setting is perfect for short stubble...goes shorter than other trimmers.