REVIEWS

Philips Norelco BT9285/41 9100 Beard Trimmer Review – Laser Guided

By Philip Yiga | January 16, 2015

This laser guided trimmer was introduced in 2014 by Philips, it revolutionized the way men trim their beards. Laser technology is well known for its perfection, so once it was integrated in this Norelco BT9285/41 men started getting perfect shaves, it can also be used to shape the edges of your side-burn or beard in general.

[See price on Amazon….]

In my opinion, this Norelco BT9285/41 is a great threat to Philips Norelco QT4070/41 Beard Trimmer, even though QT4070/41 has been around for time, the irritating noise it makes might drive most men to this laser trimmer. In this review, we shall try o see the pros and cons of this BT9285-41.

Norelco BT9285/41 vs Norelco QT4070/41:

These two brands are ideal trimmers for men, those who like the laser trimmer will tell you it’s better than BT9285/41 vacuum trimmer, but let’s get down to the basics and see who is better.

SIMILARITIES:

Both have 17 – 20 built-in length settings which makes them even. So you can easily adjust the length and get custom stubble.
Both use Lithium-Ion Battery which charges for 1 hour and gives 60 – 50 minutes of nonstop trimming. Lithium batteries are durable and long lasting, so it will take you a while to replace these two trimmers. Note: (You can’t replace old battery with new one, it’s a catch to make you buy a new trimmer after some good years of usage)
Both have a digital display to help you know the status of the trimmer. Info displayed will include battery level & length settings.
Both models are washable, so after trimming that thick beard, you can run tap water over them and get rid of clogged hair.

RELATED MODELS:

DIFFERENCES:

QT4070/41 has a vacuum cleaner which traps hair as you trim leaving you with a non-messy shave, yet BT9285/41 will just leave all trimmed hair on the sink, giving you more work after grooming your beard. Now, this might not be a big deal, but it makes sense to men who want to save time. Just imagine spending extra 10 minutes cleaning up the mess.
BT9285/41 has a laser trimmer which guarantees you with perfect results. This laser trimmer can be used to perfect the edges of your side-burn / beard and mustache, yet when it comes to QT4070/41 you have to remove the comb to groom your side-burn, this will require you to be cautious otherwise you might mess up the edge of your beard / side-burn.
QT4070/41 has a Turbo boost which you can use to improve on the speed of the trimmer, this feature makes QT4070/41 an ideal beard trimmer for thick long course beards. BT9285/41 lacks this feature, it’s just an ordinary beard trimmer, the laser feature will work best on the edges of the beard & side-burn, but I doubt if it can do well on thick long course hair.
Length Settings: QT4070/41 length setting stops at 0.5 mm when the comb is removed, yet BT9285/41’s length settings goo up 0.2mm. This means that if you want a very short stubble, you should use BT9285/41 beard trimmer.

SCORE**

After looking at both similarities and differences of these two products, I think QT4070/41 is still the best beard trimmer for men, even though it makes some noise when the turbo is switched on, you can bare with the noise, but also BT9285/41 is not that bad, at least it has a rating of 3.8 out of 5 on Amazon, it not the best rating but not bad as well.

[See price on Amazon….]

QUESTION:

Is it really worth to invest my money in a laser beard trimmer? Yes, laser trimmers are just a class above the ordinary, it is better you try out something new and compare results, at least that will give you a clear picture on how that product performs.

PROS:

Excellent Blades: – The blades of this BT9285 Beard trimmer are sharp and thin, surprisingly they don’t irritate the skin. The laser feature defines the edges of the beard & side-burn very well.
Good Battery life:– The Lithium battery will charge for only 1 hour and it will work for 60 minutes. This feature makes it better than most trimmers I know of.

CONS:

Can’t use it n shower: Much as most of you would like to shave while in the shower, this is not a wet & dry product, so you better shave while at the sink and get ready to clean the mess because it has no vacuum to trap the hair.

FEATURES:

17 Length Settings: – You have the opportunity to customize your own stubble or beard in that case. Adjust the trimmer to a desired setting and start trimming your beard, everything is controlled by a button, so even beginners can find this BT9285-Beard-Trimmer user friendly.
Laser Guide: – This feature is what makes this beard trimmer unique from the rest on the market. The laser guide will give you precise results, it will define the edges of your beard perfectly.
Chromium Steel Blades:- Very strong and sharp thin blades which can cut through any thick long beard. These blades are self sharpening, so you don’t need to oil or do any maintenance on the blades. The edges of the blades are circular / round, so they don’t irritate the skin hence giving you a comfortable shave.
Dual-sided trimmer: – This feature makes it easy to use this product. You can trim from all angles hence giving you a detailed trim.
Corded and Cordless Trimmer: – You can charge it fully within 1 hour and get 60 minutes of shaving. But at the same time you can use in while in a cordless mode, no need of standing close to a power source, this is not a clipper, it’s a norelco beard trimmer.
It is 100% washable:- After trimming that thick beard, hair will get stuck in the blades, so you have to use a brush and tap water to remove this hair, however, let the machine dry out completely before storing it or using it again. But let’s not mistaken the washable features with wet shaving, this machine can’t do well while in the shower.

[See price on Amazon….]

FULL DIGEST:

Can you use it as an electric shaver? – Probably not, even though it has a laser trimmer, the purpose of this feature is to perfect the edges of the beard, but it can’t give you a clean close shave as an electric shaver would do.
Voltage: – This is a dynamic premium beard trimmer, it can work with both 110 – 240 V, so if you leave in Europe / Australia, this product will perform as expected. Charge it fully for 1 hour and get 60 minutes of nonstop usage.
Type of Electrical Plug :- The box comes with a two pin American plug, if in your country you use 3 pin, you can take the plug to an electrician so that they change it to a 3 plug, but if you have some electrical basics, you can do this by yourself. On the other hand, you can browse YouTube for instructions on how to perform this tusk.
Closer to 0 mm:- I have seen some customers on Amazon asking if there is a Norelco beard trimmer which goes up to 0 mm. I’s a wired question, because a trimmer is not supposed to give you a clean shave, 0 mm is a close clean shave, but, the only thing this laser trimmer can do is to give you something related, your stubble will be close to 0 mm.
Using while in the Shower:- This trimmer is not a wet & dry beard trimmer, even though the manual says that you can rinse it under water to clean it, but at the same time, the manual says that the trimmer has to dry out completely before using it, this means if you use it while in the shower, it will get damaged.
Length Settings Without Comb:- This cordless beard trimmer features 17 length settings, but if you remove the comb, you might get up-to 0.2 / 0.5 mm, this is just an estimate, so you better try it out manually and see.

WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED?

NOSE TRIMMER:- In most cases, when you shave / trim your beards, you need to clean your nose too. But you need a too which doesn’t irritate your nose yet at the same time it delivers the best results. Try out this Norelco NT9130 Nose Trimmer; I will cover its review in my next post.