Wow!

Hello everyone. I've never reviewed a product here before, but saw there were no reviews on this shaver and had to tell the world about it. The 9160XL is a top-of-the-line Norelco shaver with not 1, not 2 but 3 rotating razors for each razor head. Norelco describes this as "50% more shaving surface for a faster, smoother and closer shave." I previously had a Remington R845, purchased because of its two razors per head, so I knew 3 had to be the greatest thing ever! Also, I had been manually taking out the razors, brushing them and spraying them with lubricant, so this shaver's "simply rinses clean" feature sounded awesome.

First off, I'll tell you the differences between this and the Norelco 8160XLCC, as they're very similar and you may want to buy that one to save money. It retails for about $30 cheaper. They're the same shaver, except the 9160XL has "personal comfort control," the battery lasts 90 minutes on a full charge as opposed to 55 for the 8160, and it comes with the automatic charging stand (I don't use this stand, just plug the cord directly in to charge it). Also the 9160 has an icon to remind you to wash after each shave, and an icon that tells you when the razors need replacing (cool!) On the other hand, the 8160 has the "jet clean and charge" system, where you put it in a stand and it jet cleans itself and charges (or rinse yourself with water). I wanted this feature, but I don't mind rinsing this one, and you only need to jet clean (lubricate) once a month, which I can do manually. Also you have to pay a bit for the jet cleaning solution. I think either shaver would be a great buy, if you don't mind doing without personal comfort control.

So what is "personal comfort control"? It's a little dial by the razor heads that lets you adjust the sensitivity of the blades. Turn left for "sensitive," right for "normal" or in-between. The sensitive setting relaxes the spring and pressure of the floating heads for a gentle shave, the normal setting tightens them for a faster shave. I've only shaved with this once, but it seems like a good feature as I have sensitive skin, particularly on my neck. For my cheeks, I turned it to normal so it would shave faster. For my neck, I quickly turned it so sensitive - so far, so good. I accidentally shaved some of my neck on normal and got some nicks - something to watch out for!

The "floating heads" on this razor were one of the first things I noticed. They really are flexible! Designed to contour your face.. seems cool. But the real question is, is this razor fast and close? Yes. I hadn't shaved for a long time, so I had to use the trimmer to prime my face first.. wow! This trimmer is fast! If you have a mustache or beard, you won't be disappointed. After I shaved, I noticed a few stray hairs which disappointed me a bit, but chalked them up to not having shaved in so long and being the first time I used this shaver on my face. By the time I was done, I was amazed how much faster it was than my old razor, and how close the shave was!!! I haven't shaved with a regular razor in a long time, but this reminded me of a razor shave. You may notice tiny black hairs if you look close in the mirror, but I suspect this shave is as close as anyone needs. I'm now a believer in the "lift and cut" technology!!

Now for another cool feature... the "rinse to clean." You simply pop open the razor cap (it doesn't come all the way off) and rinse the razors and hair chamber with hot water! I was amazed at how simple, fast and effective this method is. Absolutely perfect. You could do this after every shave in seconds. You also have to leave the cap open to let it dry - no big deal.

I don't use the charging stand (you can plug cord directly in to charge, or plug it into the stand), and the little clock on it seems very useless, but some might like it.

There's a battery indicator to tell you when to charge, and the aforementioned indicator to tell you to replace the razors. I recommend taking the few minutes to read the instruction manual, as it tells you some helpful hints, such as - don't recharge the battery until it goes low, and the battery will last long. Unplug it once it's done recharging.

I had a little trouble shaving with this, but they say it takes 3 weeks for your face to adjust to a new shaving system. Considering that, I'm very pleased and look forward to close, fast shaves in the future. Also I got mine new for $92 total on ebay (minus the little brush and new packaging..), so you might want to look for a used one. This is expensive, but aside from the cost of new blades every year or so, I think it's worth the money!

Update: I noticed later that I got quite a few cuts on my face, requiring aftershave gel. I recommend starting out on the sensitive setting. I still believe my face will get used to it though, and the best reward is, my girlfriend likes how smooth my face is. :)