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547 of 550 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Full Review and Comparrison to BG2020 & BG2040, October 5, 2008
This review is from: Philips Norelco BG2030 Professional BodyGrooming System (Health and Beauty)
In this review I am going to cover the BG2030 and also compare it to the previous model, the BG2020. There are some big differences between the two models and just because the BG2030 is the newer model, it may not be the one for you. Also, this is a body groomer and as such, body anatomy will be discussed. If you are easily offended, stop reading this review now.
If you are like me, you saw this body groomer and wondered what the big difference between this and a regular electric razor was. Well, after having been in those shoes, let me explain. If you've ever tried to cautiously use an electric razor or an electric trimmer on parts of your body below your neck, then you probably had a mixed experience. On some parts of your body it works, whereas on other parts it was painful and simply not possible. Those days are now gone. Regular electric razors/trimmers were never designed to shave the entire body. However, body groomers have been designed to shave the ENTIRE body and have blades that are closer together to prevent pinching the skin, thus providing a pain-free experience.
For the sake of clarity we need to address the parts of the shaver. In the picture you will see that there are two different heads that you can attach to the handle. The attachment with the foil on the inside and the cutters on the outside will be referred to as the foil attachment. The other attachment that doesn't have a foil will be referred to as the trimmer attachment. Also, there are 2 trimming combs and each trimming comb has 5 different settings, allowing you to trim your hair from anywhere to .12in(3mm) to .43in(11mm). Those are just the length settings when using the combs; you can get a smooth shave when you use the foil attachment. Also, all the pieces can be stored in the back of the charging stand. Unfortunately, there is no travel case.
Underarm Hair:
Prior to the BG2030, the BG2020 really struggled here and it took a lot of time. Now however you can use the trimmer attachment to knock down most of the forest. However, once the forest is down, minor maintenance with the foil attachment doesn't take long.
Chest and Ab Hair:
No problems at all. I was a little concerned about the nipple area but both the foil and the trimmer attachment were able to be used without any pinching at all.
Groin:
In the words of another reviewer, the "Bodygroom" is Shaft, Beanbag, and Starfish safe. No nicks or any pain...no worries at all. You can trim the forest to any length, and then follow up with foil attachment if that is your desire. Because of the design of the groomer, you can shape things any way you would like. I experienced no skin irritation, however, I would imagine that most people will experience at least some irritation. I have used the shaver both in and out of the shower and have noticed that I get a smoother shave when I'm in the shower. This is due to the warm water relaxing the skin and opening up the follicles, which makes it easier to shave. Like any electric razor, there are going to be some hairs that lay flat that you're just not going to get no matter how hard you try. When it comes to effectiveness, I actually think that my Mach 3 does a better job in getting everything smooth, but the body groomer is more convenient, and also allows you to trim certain areas instead of going completely smooth if that is your desire.
Battery:
NiMH
Travel:
Come on, Norelco, no travel case? Why do you do this?
--------------BG2030 compared to the BG2020----------------
The most obvious difference is that the BG2030 comes with the additional trimmer attachment. Also, you now only have 2 combs with multiple settings vs. 3 combs that had fixed settings. Sounds like the BG2030 is perfect, right? Well, what isn't obvious in the picture is that the BG2030 trimming combs only attach to the trimmer attachment and DO NOT fit the foil attachment! This is a HUGE change because the BG2020 model allowed you to attach trimming combs to the foil attachment. Norelco, what were you thinking?
The reason that this is a problem is because if you want to do both a trim and a shave, then you have to swap out head attachments whereas before you just had to remove the combing attachment. If you keep the body groomer in the shower, then that means you also have to keep both head attachments in the shower. Personally, it's frustrating to have to change out the head attachment and now when I travel I have to take both heads instead of just the one.
If you plan on doing any traveling with your shaver (without the charging stand), you'll probably want the BG2020, mainly because you can put a combing attachment over the foil to protect it. Also, you don't have to take the additional head. If you want to travel with the BG2030, then you'll need to find a way to protect the foil or else you'll have to take the charging stand with the storage compartment to keep the foil attachment in.
-------------------------- Overall Opinion ----------------------------
This is a FANTASTIC shaver, but I'm rating it 4 stars because Norelco chose to do away with combing attachments for the foil head. If they'd provide that like they did in their previous model, the BG2020, then the BG2030 would be untouchable. They also need to add a travel case and a lanyard to it so you can hang it in the shower vs. having to lay it down and damage the foil. If you are looking for a groomer to just trim and shave your groin area and chest area, then I think the BG2020 might be a better fit for you. If on the other hand you're going to be shaving big areas that have a lot of hair to knock down and you don't mind switching heads all the time, then the BG2030 will probably work better for you.
--------------BG2030 compared to the BG2040 and New Opinion----------------
I have not tried the BG2040 however, it appears as though Norelco fixed many of the problems that were found in the BG2030 with the removable heads and attachments. After 2 years of using the BG2030 I can tell you right now that even though I only do weekly maintenance, it's incredibly annoying switching between the foil head and the trimmer head every time I use it (even though it does a GREAT job). Also, the BG2030 is just not practical to travel with, something which I frequently do. With a foil head on one end and a trimmer head on the other end, the BG2040 appears to be Norelco's best effort-to-date. If I were to buy a new razor today, I'd absolutely go with the BG2040. The extra money you'll spend on it is well worth it, if only for getting rid of all the attachments that litter the bathroom counter or shower. Thank you Norelco for listening to your customers, but why do you fall so obviously short? You designed the BG2040 and the charging stand for easy travel but still, you deny the faithful a travel bag??? That makes about as much sense as a football bat. The lanyard option was always nice for the wet/dry razors too, so how about that while you're at it?
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75 of 75 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hands-down the best "body groomer" I've ever used. Period., December 4, 2008
This review is from: Philips Norelco BG2030 Professional BodyGrooming System (Health and Beauty)
Ok, so I'm a pretty hairy guy. For the past 8 years I've tried about 10 different razor/clipper/trimmer products to clean up my chest/stomach area and I've yet to find one that I really, truly liked. Either it was a straight electric razor which cut everything down to zero (not the goal), or some sort of "trimmer" device which invariable failed to work properly.
The BG2020 was the closest I'd gotten to something useful...It would take me a solid 30 minutes and LOTS of back-and-forth over the same areas, but if you held it juuuust so, you could get the job done. It was a pain -- I'd have to dedicate some time, and because my bathroom lights are pretty hot, after standing there trimming for 20 minutes I'd start to sweat, so I'd have to take a break and come back and finish later. All-in-all, a process, but the job got done.
I got the BG2030 in the mail this morning and all I can say is that I'm *stunned* at how well it works. I hooked up the trimmer attachment and gave it a quick whirl before I got into the shower...just to see how it worked. I was so amazed at how quickly it trimmed everything down, that I just did the whole job right there in about 5 minutes. No exaggeration -- what used to take a solid 30 minutes took LESS than 5 minutes with the BG2030. Nothing more needs to be said -- if you want a quick, simple, easy way to trim down body hair, this is the best product I've ever used. Period.
Now, for other areas (the "nether regions"), it's not quite so miraculous -- that's not to say it doesn't work, and it does, but it's no better than the BG2020, which worked perfectly. So this will continue to work perfectly down there as well.
All in all, a 5-star product and worth the extra money over the BG2020 without hesitation.
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60 of 61 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Does a great job when dry, but battery stinks being NiCd, March 3, 2009
This review is from: Philips Norelco BG2030 Professional BodyGrooming System (Health and Beauty)
I have been using this for almost 3 months now. I got this product because I wanted to groom my body hair while in the shower. Though, this product does work for that, it can take A LOT of passes before it finally cuts the hair to skin level when in the shower.
When I use this product dry it does an amazing job. The cut is both fast and close.
The fact that this product uses an NiCd is really a bummer because you cannot recharge the unit after every use. You have to wait for the battery to almost completely drain before recharging it. That means, there will always be one time you planned on trimming that you can't because the battery will die and you have to wait 11 hours for it to recharge. Also, the instructions warn to never leave it on the charger more than 12 hours or it can damage the unit. I hate things like that because it's easy to forget something you just do once a month and ruin your nice new trimmer.
The base stores the extra pieces while not in use, so that is nice except if you want to use this in the shower as the base is obviously not kept there.
This product has only cut me one time. (NOT PLEASANT, as it made at least a 1/8 inch long slice out of my skin, ouch!)
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