Philips Norelco SpeedXL 8240XL Men’s Shaving System

The new Philips Norelco Speed-XL 8240 features 50% more shaving surface for a fast close shave. The new Contour Following System follows the contours of the face catching each hair with one stroke. The shaver simply rinses clean for easy maintenance. The Precision Cutting System features ultra thin heads with slots to shave long hairs and holes to shave the shortest stubble. Super Lift and Cut Technology ensures a close shave with a dual blade system designed to lift hairs to cut comfortably below skin level.
Philips Norelco SpeedXL 8240XL Men’s Shaving System Features

• 50% more shaving surface for a fast, close shave
• Contour Following System follows the contours of the face catching each hair with one stroke
• Simply rinses clean for easy maintenance
• Precision Cutting System – Ultra thin heads with slots to cut long hairs and holes to shave the shortest stubble
• Super Lift and Cut Technology – Dual blade system lifts hairs to cut comfortably below skin level

Philips Norelco SpeedXL 8240XL Men’s Shaving System Review

The new Philips Norelco (formerly known as just Norelco) 8240 comes to you in a box with a window that allows the shaver to be seen within its clear plastic packaging. You will need a sharp pair of scissors and/or a Rambo-style Bowie knife to hack thru this hard plastic covering and remove the shaver. Use extreme caution when doing so. Once you’ve defeated the packaging, you will find the sleek, gunmetal gray shaver; a protective cap; a small cleaning brush; a curly AC power cord; English/Spanish instruction booklet and a basic black zippered nylon case.

The manual says you should plug the shaver in and let it charge for a full 12 hours before using it for the first time. The light on mine started blinking within the first hour, but I left it plugged in overnight anyway. When I tried the 8240 out the next morning, I was amazed at how quiet it is. My old Braun buzzes like a lawnmower, but this thing just whispers! The Norelco will supposedly go for up to 17 shaves before it needs recharging, and you’re not supposed to recharge it until the battery is nearly depleted. Note that this model lacks the LOW BATTERY indicator light available on the 8250 and 8251 models.

The overall design of this razor is quite impressive. The three shaver heads rock all around individually and the entire head assembly pivots on side bolts. This allows the cutters to hug your face while you shave for better results. Best of all, there’s a latch on the front that allows the hinged top to be popped open for easy cleaning. After shaving, you just push this button and run hot water inside the hair collection chamber and under the blades. Then you just leave it open to air dry. On the back of the 8240 is the standard spring release trimmer for mustaches and sideburns.

You can try the Philips Norelco 8240 risk-free for 45 days. If you’re not fully satisfied after using this shaver exclusively for three weeks, you can send it back to Philips Norelco for a refund–but it must be shipped prepaid by insured mail. So you really have nothing to lose but the cost of shipping. As far as I’m concerned, this is the best electric razor I’ve ever used. But, if you’ve got the extra cash, you might want to go for the higher grade 8250 or 8251 model.

“WARNING: Close supervision is necessary when this razor is used by children.”

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Philips Norelco HQ9 SpeedXL Replacement Heads

SpeedXL Replacement Heads for all Norelco SpeedXL and SmartTouchXL Shaving Systems. SpeedXl provides 50% more shaving surface for a faster, smoother and closer shave.
Philips Norelco HQ9 SpeedXL Replacement Heads Features
SpeedXL Shaving Heads for all Norelco SpeedXL and SmartTouchXL Shaving Systems

Philips Norelco HQ9 SpeedXL Replacement Heads Review

This product contains three replacement heads for the Norelco 9160XL electric razor. After 1 1/2 years of continuous daily usage the original cutting heads were no longer giving a good shave. I decided to replace the original blades with this set.

The good:

1.)Easy to following instruction for replacement on the package, and the actual replacement process was incredibly simple and easy to do.

2.)The new blades functioned perfectly; because the decline in performance of the original blades was so gradual, it was difficult to believe how much of an improvement these replacement blades provided.

The not so good:

Only one complaint; the packaging. The replacement blade were embodied in a package that made it extremely difficult to actually get at the blades. There were a series of 6 grommet eyelets surrounding the entire package making it very secure. I literally had to force scissors between the layers of cardboard to get around the grommets to eventually get to the blades inside. In a word…frustrating. Plus, a slight slip and a bad cut may have occurred (I think everyone has experienced trying to open one of these newer hard-plastic wrapped items and knows just how difficult it can really be to get at the product inside).

Conclusion:
An excellent set of replacement blades. (I just hope they’ll last longer than the 3 months it took for the original blades to start to lose their sharpness). Time will tell; but up to now, so far so good.
However, getting the blades out of this package could be considered a potential hazard.
5 Stars for the product itself, with 1 or 2 Stars off for the needless obstructive packaging.

Addendum Feb 24/08:
Interesting to note that they’ve changed the packaging on this product (since my original review) making it appear that it’s less hazardous to access. However, as I haven’t purchase this specific product package, I can’t comment on the ease of access (or safety) of the new packaging.

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