Philips RQ1051 ARCitec Rechargeable Rotary Shaver

I purchased one of these expecting a really good shaver - However, I was actually so unhappy with it, I ended up having to return it.

I liked the look of the shaver in the adverts and thought that the flexible heads were a good idea and would give a good shaving experience.

The main reason I was unhappy with this shaver was because it just didn't cut hairs very well at all - It always missed loads of hairs - it just doesn't cut some hairs even if you go over the same area again and again in circles, straight lines, apply more pressure / less pressure - it just makes no difference. I was really patient with this device and used it for a month before deciding things weren't improving. It was particularly bad on the neck area and left an embarassingly bad patchy result. I can't believe that this is meant to be a top spec product and I also wouldn't believe all the 5 star reviews for this product on various websites - it is clear that they have never used this product.

The pop out trimmer on it is completely useless and is so small it can't do anything. It seriously can't cut anything - I wasn't even able to cut side burns with it and it feels like it could break really easily. Again, shockingly bad. It is also a really poor design, as you have to remove the 3 circular shaving heads off the end of the shaver before you can use the trimmer. Very poor design - this product really is all show and no substance.

Also - For the extremely high price, it is shocking how little you get for your money. There was no carry case included (it scratches really easily) and the device is made completely from cheap plastic (no metal to be seen anywhere). All you get with it is a really cheap tiny plastic cleaning brush and a plastic base charging unit (it is so light and flimsy the base moves around really easily).

After buying this product, I have lost all faith in philips shavers and am going back to wet shaving. Avoid this product - You can't test it before buying, and after you buy you will find that you have wasted alot of money.

Well the title says it all. My wife bought me this shaver for Christmas after my previous Phillips shaver that I'd had for about 12 years finally gave up. That one didn't have any of the wobbly bits, was a tad bulky, but it did do one thing - gave me a decent shave.

I've persevered with this thing for 6 months - I tell you, it's such a poor shave I've checked several times that I hadn't left some packing or something in the heads!!

The final straw was when I found out how much she paid for it. For those who say they're getting a good shave from this shaver then I'd love to see it. If someone from Phillips would like to come round and show me where I'm going wrong then they'd be most welcome. I'd get a better shave from the cats tongue than this. It's back to wet shaving for me.

Absolute rubbish - avoid like the plague.

There isn't a no stars options so I've had to give it one - and you don't know how hard that's been.

I definitely need to shave every day and before getting this as a gift, I regularly combi shaved; electric on the face, wet on the neck. This ensured a smooth and comfortable overall shave with not much time spent.

It's not impossible to neck shave with a non Arcitec electric head, but it is much tougher. It takes a long time and leads to average shaving and a briefly red, itchy neck. So wet wins because of comfort, glide and speed.
The Arcitec however is pretty damn close. I've only been using it for 6 weeks, so it might get better due to my neck being used to wet for years. I found it 'decent' at the start as I got no redness and could shave fast, but there were some ingrown hairs that wouldn't cut. These seem to be shifting now, but hairs under my cheekbones and sometimes on my Adam's apple don't seem to budge (I don't use face wash before an electric shave). But as I've seen incremental differences over the weeks, it might just become perfect. Right now, it is a fast, comfortable and convenient shave. And now I don't combi shave, but do a full wet shave twice a week.

On my face it was perfect straight away. The blades don't feel as if they're cutting but on inspection the stubble is the tiniest I've ever seen and my face feels pre-pubertal after! I put down my instant satisfaction due to using a cheaper Philips on my face for years.

The trimmer is nicely designed so that hair falls on the shaver top and doesn't need brush gouging in the chamber. I do wish it was longer like my old shaver though.
The charging station, like others have said, is a bit too fancy, but it looks nice, and the display lights are useful (battery modes/wash alert). A soft case would've been nice, but no bother.

Lastly, unless you really want to have one of the best shavers out there, I don't see much point in having the higher sanitising models. If you're the only one using it, you'll be fine. The blades and chambers are cleaned with a quick hot rinse under the tap and it's good to go for another perfect shave.

Thus far, it's not 100% the electric shaving miracle it's made out to be. But it seems to be much better. The current price as of writing seems more easy enough on the pocket as it's hard for most people to want to spend too much on a shaver. Just over £100 seems right.