Philips Norelco Vacuum Beard Trimmer 7300 with Adjustable Length Settings (Model # Qt4070/41)

First off--like other critical reviewers you'll find here, I also had major problems with the comb. This review was almost a ONE-star rating, due to the sharp tines and general design of the comb. This _extremely_ poor comb design caused me to stab my lip several times and also resulted in uneven trimming.Like other reviewers, I previously owned a Norelco T980 and needed to move "up" when it would no longer hold a charge. With the T980 no longer available, it appeared that my options were either the QT4050 or the QT4070. Overall, the QT4050 is far inferior to the QT4070 in that it lacks the travel lock, quick charge, and turbo functions. HOWEVER...the 4050 has one feature that I believe was SUPPOSED TO BE included with the 4070--the "contour following comb". If you look closely at images of the two units side-by-side, you'll see that the comb design on the 4050 is closed--no giant gap and sharp tines with which to cut/stab yourself--and it also has a flexible guide. Those who previously used the T980 will surely recognize the design!In my frustration with the 4070's comb, I did some research. Philips Norelco CLEARLY markets the 4070 as using their "contour following comb". That's not actually true for what's "in the box", however. The comb that comes on the shaver is model number 422203617701, which is their "plastic stubble comb". As it turns out, the combs for the 4050 and the 4070 are _interchangeable_, and with a phone call to Philips, I was able to get them to provide the 4050's comb--model number 422203617711.After you get your shaver, if you're experiencing similar issues with the comb, call Philips at 800.243.3050 and ask to speak with a supervisor--first level reps can't seem to approve parts orders. Explain the situation, tell them you want the comb for the QT4050 (P/N 422203617711), and they'll send it to you, free of charge. Within a week, you'll be able to fully enjoy what Philips should have built in the first place!For the record--after I received my new CONTOUR FOLLOWING COMB, the QT4070 is a FIVE-star trimmer--it's exactly what I wanted. The one-star ding represents the hassle it took to get this product to be all it should be!

I had the previous top end version of this trimmer and had it for many years before problems happened (mostly plastic part cracking/breaking). I was able to work around them (by using superglue) until the batteries wouldn't hold much of a charge. So I replaced it with this model despite the comments warning me about its shortcomings. Well, two months in and I'm not that impressed with the design or quality.The good: it provides a decent, consistent trim, charge lasts a long time, it charges quickly, good adjustment function/display, vacuum function works reasonably well.The bad: The trim guard - has too few comb tines that are sharp and poke you in the lip unless you are really careful when trimming your mustache, just feels hard and uncomfortable. I much prefer the guard on my previous model (and that is on the current Philips Norelco Qt4050 model). The vacuumed hair door latch is a tiny plastic tab that has already broken off. When the tab was there, the door was cumbersome to get open. I only use my trimmer 2-3 times a week, so it took less than 25 uses before it broke. The tends to stay shut without the latch, thankfully. I don't like the swinging door design as much as I like the "hair cup" that slide out of my last model that I could tap in the trashcan or the sink to empty. Tapping the whole trimmer on the trashcan/sink is more difficult. There at just too many sharp spots on this trimmer. When using it with the guard off, there are two sharp plastic points on the outside bottom edge of the trimming blade. It was not comfortable to use for precise trimming around the mouth and nose because it scratched/poked my lips and nostrils. I had to use a burly nail file to round of the sharp points to mostly alleviate this design flaw.I'd chose the Philips Norelco Qt4050 over this one knowing what I know now. **** EDIT (May 2012): I'd stick with the Qt4070 based on the fact the contour trim guide is now included. See other edits below.edit: Today (3/14/12), I used Philips Norelco's customer service chat to order the contour trim guard which was not included with my trimmer. They are back ordered and was not given an ETA. They said they would send it via expedited shipping once it was in stock. When I bought this trimmer in October of 2011, it only shipped with the gray stubble guard. I later chatted with support about the broken tab on the vacuumed hair door and they are sending me a replacement trimmer since the door is not customer replaceable.edit (May 2012): I have received the new trimmer since the original trimmer's door broke and I have received an additional contour trim guard. The contour guard makes ALL the difference in the world in regards to comfort vs the standard trip guard. I am also impressed with the customer service/support for this product and how I was helped. I have changed my rating from 3 to 4 stars.

Review updated one year later, March 2015:After 1 year of weekly use, I downgrade this to 2 stars. Durability for a Norelco product is very poor. Within 3 months (about 12 uses), the catch of the clippings door broke and I needed to keep the door closed with tape. Now after 1 year the hinges email of the door is broken so the door is taped both sides. About 4 months into using the product I thought it wasn't holding a charge from week to week, which is strange because I use it maybe 10 minutes at a time and a charge should last 50 to 75 minutes of use. With trial and error I figured out that either there is a short or a loose connection triggered by disassembling the blade head to brush clean and or very mildly tapping to remove clippings. It doesn't happen every time but the only way to make it work again is to put it back on the charger for a full charging period.Original revieew March 2014:Four stars because it includes the contour-following comb, which is more comfortable than the fixed comb which is attached when it arrives packaged. This is a recommended trimmer if you like all the upgrade features. I paid for the upgrade features like 1-hour charging and two comb options, but now find I would have been OK with the features of the QT4050 because the 4050 has only the desirable contour-following comb but 8-hour charging. I'm going to keep this, but I wanted to let others know that if you don't need fast-charging, get the lower model, and more importantly, in terms of comfort, the contour-following comb is better than the fixed comb. I have had this trimmer one week, but see below I've been using an older Norelco with the preferred comb for years so I'm not new to the Norelco line.I needed to replace my Norelco G380 trimmer when I dropped it for the second time in a month and the comb length setting finally broke so I couldn't adjust to the length I keep my beard. The month before the spring mechanism of the contour-following comb broke and that made the comb less comfortable. I had the G380 several years and the Ni-Cd batteries weren't lasting very long, so a new trimmer was a must. I searched the reviews here on Amazon. What I really needed was a beard and mustache trimmer and that's what I focused on. Also, it was time to go Li-ion technology for the improved charging and duration. The G380 was a combo system, meaning it included a nose-hair trimming head (hurts), a big comb to trim hair (never used), a smaller head for sideburn trimming (worthless) and a tiny foil head for "shaving" (again, worthless). If all you need is a beard trimmer, avoid combo kits as they don't have good auxiliary tools. If you need one of those other tools, buy it separate.To summarize, this is a good trimmer. Comfort should be your first priority. The contour-following comb is the more comfortable comb to use; the "fixed comb" sometimes grabbed my beard while trimming. Lower-cost models like the QT4050 have the better comb (per Amazon description), with a slower charger, but would be worth the savings.

I've had a beard for a long time and I generally get a new trimmer every 3 years. At least, that's been the average life of the trimmers I've had. I bought this Phillips Vacuum trimmer after reading reviews online and determining which would suit me best. My previous trimmer was a Wahl Lithium battery unit, which I was quite fond of but bit the dust after 3 years. Most of my comparison will be to the Wahl.The Good.The thing I like best about this Phillips trimmers is its design and ergonomics. It has the same tactile rubbery plastic that my Phillips Sonicare toothbrush has, though with a black face for masculinity. It fits well in my hand and feels substantial and well made.I also really like the adjustable length guide and the digital display. My biggest downside with my previous trimmer was that I had over a dozen attachments to keep track of. Also unlike my old razor, this Phillips does not require oil. It trims my beard very well and its easy to dial in the perfect length. Previously, Id trim on the short side and let it grow in. Not so with this trimmer.The big selling point of this trimmer is obviously the vacuum. It does work very well. I'd say it traps about 70% of the trimmings and the rest land in the sink. You would need to empty the chamber multiple times if you're doing serious trimming duty, as it is pretty small. The vacuum is ideal for the lady friend because girls hate hair in the sink. At least that's been my experience.The Bad.My most prominent difficulty with this trimmer is that it is quite imprecise for edging. Because the vacuum surrounds the blades, it's difficult to see where you're going. I'm getting used to it, but my previous trimmer was much better.The trimmer also lacks power compared to my previous one. I always use 'turbo mode' because regular just doesn't have the speed and vacuum power that is necessary.In addition to edging difficulties and lack of power, the blades are much larger than previous trimmers I've had. This means that its difficult to get close on cheeks and for neck shaving. It gets it down to a fine stubble, but for a smooth neck you'll need an additional razor. Luckily, stubble is in fashion. So, i just let it be.Finally, the battery is good for about two weeks with daily use. My Wahl went about 6 months on its first charge and it was much more powerful. The Phillips redeems itself by having the fastest charging time I've seen with a digital display of battery life. I charge it with a similar cycle to my Sonicare. The downside of the low life is that I have bring the charger with me if I travel, and a travel case was not included.The Verdict.Overall, I love this trimmer. If they can address the issues I pointed out, it'll be perfect. It's great for beard trimming but bad for edging and neck shaving. I'm getting used to it and can tolerate its shortcomings because it does everything else so well.

I've owned many trimmers, razors, and shavers and this one seems to be the best one out there. As you've probably noticed by going through the reviews, the old reviews about the comb stabbing you is no longer an issue because they also provide the contour comb as well.At first when I started using it, I didn't really like it. It seemed as though I had to do more work than I bargained for to get a nice even shave. I played around with the different settings and adjusted the length multiple times only to see that there were still a few rogue strands sticking out. However, after just setting it to the length I hoped would be correct, I just pushed in through the hair to the skin and let it fly and that seemed to do the trick. It seems with this trimmer that being afraid to make some minor mistake is not the way to go if you expect to have a nice even shave, and no you do not have to apply pressure, just let it trim the full length of hair up to your skin. So, with that being said, I will explain the pros and the cons:Pros:- Easily switching trimming lengthsI have a goatee and a full beard so I tend to trim them both down to different sizes, so switching easily to different lengths was a big deal for me. This shaver does that with no problem, simply slide the adjuster and keep shaving.- Turbo modeI guess this is a pro, as the few times that I have used it I haven't really noticed a huge improvement in the speed and efficiency of shaving seeing as the regular mode does the job just fine in a timely manor.- Battery lifeI charged it once I received it to full battery and haven't charged it since and have been using it almost on a daily basis. (Have owned it for almost two months.)- VacuumThe vacuum is new to me. In general it's great because before I had to deal with cleaning up a lot of hair in the sink and now the cleaning is very minimal. Depending on your beard size and how much you trim, you may have to do multiple empties of the hair trap.- PrecisionThis is a major pro for me. If you use it correctly and know the right length to trim everything down to then this trimmer can be very accurate at giving you an even shave.Cons:- VacuumThe hole where the vaccum sucks in the air is somewhat small and can get clogged easily. If you're letting your goatee/beard grow out and trim down a decent amount then expect to make many trips to clear out the hair trap and unclog the hole.- Sans BeardObviously this is a trimmer and you can't expect to be able to get a full clean shave out of it, but it gets it down to a fairly minimal amount of stubble to be able to easily shave it with a companion device. In hindsight, maybe I didn't work at it enough to get a full clean shave as most of my shaves are early in the morning when i'm rushing out the door.All in all, this is a great trimmer and I would recommend it to anyone who has a beard or goatee. It may take some getting used to until you get that perfect shave down, but once you do you'll understand what you need to adjust for the future shaves.