Philips Norelco 8140XL SpeedXL Men's Shaver

I am very impressed with this razor. I have used electric razors most of my 35+ years of shaving. I was skeptical using it for the first time, I thought it wasn't working because it is so soft to the face and so quiet. It didn't sound "agressive" like my other razors did. WRONG!!! The shave was close, my skin was not irritated at all, and it cut smooth basically in the first pass. This unit is first class.My previous razor was a Braun foil. I bought one for myself and another for my son from Frys because of the price. JUNK!!! We both have heavy beards, he more so than I, and both of us had terrible 5 o'clock shadows by 10:00AM! And the skin irritation on my neck, just horrible.I took a long time comparing all the available models. For me this model provides the best mix of features and price. I definitely recommend the Speed-XL shaving heads. Other nice features are it can be cleaned under the faucet, it charges quickly and maintains that charge for a long time, and it provides what I consider one of the best shaves I've had in a long time. The heft and feel is good. Materials are good. Workmanship is good. The only feature I'd like to have is a battery charge indicator.The other Speed-XL model is the 8160. It includes the cleaning system with a much higher price. Now there is the SmartTouch-XL which may be overkill. But if price is not an issue...May, 2012 - I can't believe I wrote the original review almost seven years ago. I'm still using this razor and it still works just as I expressed back then. The battery still keeps a great charge, and the shave is still excellant. I went on a 10 day vacation last year and the charge held for the whole trip. This is truly a great product.

I switched from the Braun electric razors (last two generations) back to a rotary electric razor with this purchase and FOR ME, I prefer these rotary razors. I say, "FOR ME" because I realize that my own experience may be different from others.BRAUN - CLOSE SHAVE FASTBoth razors are pretty good at quickly shaving the easy spots where the hairs stick straight out (upper lip, cheeks, chin). However, in those easy spots, the Brauns give a closer shave in the first pass or two. It might take as much as twice as long using the 8140XL to get it as smooth as possible. So, the Braun wins the race for getting a very close shave as fast as possible.ROTARY - BETTER AT DIFFICULT SPOTS WHERE HAIR LAYS FLATHowever, the rotaries get a reasonably close shave for everyday use in a pass or two AND they do much better in tough spots where the hair tend to lay flat, like my neck. With the Braun, I would always have a few hairs that would never get cut. They would get so long that I would eventually have to pull them out with tweezers. The 8140XL get's those hairs every time I shave so that they never get long enough to be pulled (or seen) individually.8140XL - BETTER VALUE THAN LATEST BRUANS AND EVEN LATEST NORELCOSTo me, I found those neck hairs a bigger frustration so I much prefer this rotary design and I'm very glad I switched back. It's almost a secondary issue for me, but the latest Braun's (and the latest Norelco's) are much more expensive than this model. As far as I can tell, the only difference between this model and the latest Norelco's is that the latest Norelco's have a more modern looking design and they don't have floating heads. Another nice thing about this model is that the top flips open so that you can rinse it under the sink. There is no need to purchase costly cleaning solutions. All-in-all a much better value even if you had a more neutral preference for flat laying hairs/difficult spots versus quick close shave in easy spots.

Summary: Nothing not to like!Background: Previously, I owned the earlier model of this razer. It was the same exact razer except it used to be blue. I loved this razer, but it was eaten by a dog! I didnt want to cough up the full cost of this direct replacement, so I used a lower-end Norelco. As you may know, the lower models do not feature the "Speed-XL" shaving heads (which have 3 concentric rings of blades (per head)). Instead it had the single outer row of blades, which is pretty typical of any non-high-end razer.Why this razer is good:The point of my background story is that there is a SIGNIFICANT difference between the Speed-XL models, and older style heads. In fact THERE IS NO COMPARISON! With the cheaper razer I had to go over my face at least twice as much, and usually more like 3x as much as with this razer. As with all electric's, you're not going to be able to make a single pass and get everything, but as electric's go, this razer (and all the Norelco's with Speed-XL) works great. Both myself and my dad (who is used to foil razers) agree that Speed-XL is the best electric we've used!Some niceties of this razer are that its VERY easy to clean. Usually you can just pop the top and tap most of the hair out, maybe use the brush real quick. I dont feel like I have to do a deep cleaning (taking the heads out and apart) very often because it doesnt seem to trap a lot of hair in the heads. But if you want to, its very easy to access everything.The body is waterproof, so you can clean it out with water as a middle ground between just tapping hair out and dissassembly.The charger is now VERY small, and takes up only a single plug (even on a strip), and the base is also small.Battery life: lets me shave for multiple days (at least 4) before it needs charging.That said there are some minor quibbles. Like most Norelco razers, the charger doesnt shut off automatically, so you need to be careful with leaving it plugged in all the time. My solution: leave the charger in a draw, keep the stand on my countertop to hold the razer all the time, and then just get the charger out (and plug it into the stand) when the razer actually needs charged, which for me is only ever handful of days. this also has the added benefit of saving some small amount of energy by not having the wall wart plugged in while you're not charging.This razer now comes with a form fitting travel case, and you cant put the razer in it with the hair gaurd on it :( so make sure you clean it before you travel with it. You also cant fit the charger in the case...its really a case JUST for the razer, to protect it in your regular toiletries bag.All in all any of the speed-xl razers will cut the same, so just buy the model that has the accessories you want. I think this model represents the best value because its the cheapest :) personally i dont care about a multi-step battery readout, or a cleaning station...but if you do buy those versions.