The sad reality about electric razors is that many men are afraid to use them because they’ve had a bad experience (or two) with one at some point in time. Just as little as a few short years ago, many of the popular foil and rotary shavers being sold were still well known for “pulling” more hair than they shaved. This made many men feel like traditional safety razors were the only grooming option for removing unwanted facial hair.
Things have sure changed over the last few years, especially with Panasonic constantly adding more and more comfort technology to their foil shavers. The Panasonic ES8103S Arc3 foil shaver is the perfect electric shaver for men looking to get a taste for daily foil shaving.
Modern Technology Without a Hefty Price Tag
As mentioned, older shavers were notorious for pulling out hairs rather than cutting them off at the skin level. The resulting irritation was enough to scare off most who tried any electric shaver retailing for less than $100. Thankfully, the ES8103S doesn’t make its users suffer from this problem, and for a few key reasons:
1. High Power Linear Motor: Old-school shavers had motors that turned the internal blades at a speed of 6,000 – 9,000 cuts per minute. The ES8103S uses a high powered 13,000 CPM motor – just 1,000 CPM less than Panasonic’s $300+ foil shavers.
2. Ultra-Sharp 30-Degree Nanotech Blades: With the updated motor speed in place, these Japanese sword-making-inspired blades are made to be ultra sharp, mega durable and hypoallergenic, keeping their perfect edge for up to 18 months of daily shaving without the need to be replaced.
3. Advanced Multi-Fit Pivoting Heads: The floating, pivoting heads on this shaver follow the contours of the face perfectly and give a shave that’s worthy of electrics costing hundreds more.
The benefits to having a high CPM motor are obvious to most: Faster spinning blades make it easy for the shaver to keep up with any thickness and level of stubble growth, even as much as 5 days of thick growth.
The Nanotech blades come from a long line of Japanese sword and blade honing techniques and practices, and are angled inside the heads at precisely 30-degrees to ensure they cut hairs rather than pull them out like many of the other manufacturer’s 45-degree angle blades tend to do.
Whether it’s the increased motor speed, Nanotech blades – or both – you’ll really feel the difference using this shaver if you’ve been “burned” in the past by lower quality foil or rotary shavers.
The floating, pivoting heads on the ES8103S are specially designed so that men can shave however they wish; up-down or side-to-side. The heads pivot 25-degrees up-down and a full 20-degrees side-to-side. This particular design feature in the heads is unique to modern Panasonic shavers and, in this writer’s opinion, cannot be matched by any other brand of rotary shavers currently on the market.
Additional Thoughts on the ES8103S
The ES8103S has a 10-stage LCD display that tells you exactly how much power’s left in the shaver after each shave. The display also shows cleaning reminders to let you know when the sonic vibration mode hasn’t been activated after each shave.
The sonic vibration mode is a really nice feature to keep the shaver clean. Simply turn it on after you’re done shaving, or even during, and the motor will go into sonic mode (17,000 RPM) to vibrate the blades clean while you hold them under running water.
As you’ve likely guessed, the ES8103S shaver is waterproof. Not only can you use it in the shower, this foil shaver is designed to withstand the increased demands on it when shaving with a gel or foam, making for an even more close and comfortable shaving experience.
Average Reviews for the ES8103S
One of the top comments about this Arc3 release from Panasonic is about the strange lack of noise while using it. The ES8103S is just that quiet! It’s so quiet, you can shave in the morning with your family sleeping nearby and not worry about waking them up. This, even with the lightning fast 13,000 CPM motor inside the shaver.
The on-board permanent lithium-ion battery also gets a lot of praise from ES8103S reviewers. On average, the battery takes about 45 minutes to charge from empty, and lasts for approximately 60 minutes of full-power shave time. It’s important to use sonic vibration mode quickly when cleaning though, as prolonged cleaning time will drain the battery faster.
Last comes the shave quality. It should come with no surprise that the reviews on the shave quality of the ES8103S are overwhelmingly positive. The ability to shave with shave lotion or gel is a definite bonus in the comfort column, while the powerful motor and advance blade and foil design make it a given that most all who use this shaver will be satisfied, if not overjoyed using it every day.
Is the Panasonic ES8103S Right for Your Shaving Needs?
If you’re looking for a wet/dry shaver, with excellent battery life, and with one of the most powerful motors offered in a foil shaver, the ES8103S is definitely worth buying. Considering this shaver regularly sells for $80 or more in the brick-and-mortar stores that sell it, we’d highly recommend buying it on Amazon, where it can currently be bought for around $65 directly from Panasonic.
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