Philips Norelco QC5170 180-Degree Hair Clipper
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List Price: Our Price: $21.00 You Save: $28.99 (58%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Health Care See more product details |
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Product Reviews of Philips Norelco QC5170 180-Degree Hair Clipper
Product Review: It does the job, but not better than cheaper options
Summary: 3 Stars
I will say this, the rotating head feature IS a nice feature. However, if I didn't have it, this would have only gotten 2 stars.
I previously owned a 20 dollar, small standard buzzer from Philips Norelco. The only reason I replaced it was because I lost the adjustable clip that determines the hair length. I got this one thinking, "hey, I save a lot of money cutting my own hair, why not have a nice buzzer?" Well, this one is just OK.
The rotating head is nice, easy to use, and does make holding the thing a lot easier. The clips themselves sap in and out very easily. Adjusting the hair length is quite simple, but not easy enough to do my accident. It's larger size makes holding easy also, but at the drawback of making fine jobs hard, like around the ears, and the back of the neck. Also, maybe it's in the manual, but there's no reference to ACTUAL length on the clips or buzzer. It comes with a large clip, and a small clip, and both adjust to 5 lengths. No telling what those lengths really are until you start cutting.
The cutting itself seems sub par. I'm not snagging my hair much, but it just feels like I have to retrace over areas again and again. It's almost like my hair feels finer with this buzzer, managing to outwit the blades and pass unscathed.
That's about it really. It works. I use it. But for the finer detail stuff, I use my old, smaller buzzer, since I don't need the adjustable clip for that stuff.
Product Review: Looking sharp, done the quick and easy way
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
For more than one reason, I haven't seen the insides of a hair-cuttery in more than a decade. Flowbee was my trusted hair-management solution for all these years until I had the opportunity to try out Norelco's 'Philips Norelco QC5170 180-Degree Hair Clipper' and Philips Norelco QC5055 Power Hair Clipper. Now, I'm sold on these two.
Focusing on the QC5170, it lets quickly and efficiently do the back of my head and the sides and, thanks to the pivoting head feature, I can do it all by myself.
Operation:
Once charged, all you need to do is attach the proper comb (see below), select the desired hair length and proceed with cutting.
Hair-cutting tends to be a borderline traumatic experience for me - I'm a long hair type person - but this was a near-painless experience. I am looking forward to more future haircuts. It goes fast, smooth and easy and, in my case - I was only doing some advanced styling on the back and the sides following an initial cut - I didn't even need to clean the comb when I was done.
This may not apply to everyone but, speaking for myself, I can use either hands to hold the clipper. Even with both hands available, self-cutting would have been an awkward and difficult operation with a traditional tool but, on the QC5170 all I need to do is pivot the comb 90 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise and I could reach any spot on my head easily and comfortably. As for technique, I go against the direction of hair growth first then, for a nice finish, I go in the opposite direction to even things out. In the end, I'm pretty close to what most would get from a professional hair stylist in exchange for maybe $20 or maybe more.
What you get:
- The hair clipper body hosting the rechargeable batteries.
- The clipping attachment
- Stainless steel, self-sharpening cutting blades
- Precision cutter for contouring
- Large comb - .51-.83in. (13-21mm)
- Small comb - .12-.43in. (3-11mm)
- Charger
- Cleaning brush
- English/Spanish instructions
- Registration card with $20 coupon offer
Some specs:
- Battery life is rated at up to 60 minutes.
- Charge time is 8 hours.
- Cuts hair from .12 in./3 mm to 1.61 in./41 mm.
- 10 length settings between the 2 combs (5 on each of the large and small combs)
Returns and warranties:
There's a 45-day money back guarantee promise if the customer can provide proof of purchase and ships the item, insured, to Norelco at own expense.
The 2-year warranty promises to replace defective products for as long as the customer didn't do anything 'unreasonable' and he/she paid for shipping the item to Norelco, preferably insured. Proof of purchase of course, is a must.
What I liked:
Other than the surprising ease of use and operation and the quality of the haircut, I liked the easy cleaning and maintenance and the fact that, if needed, it can operate in a 'corded' mode. The easy grip makes self-cutting easy, efficient and confident.
The brief manual is written in good English and is very good at illustrating cleaning and assembly and has very good advice on maintenance, preserving battery life and even some haircutting tips.
Issues:
My big problem and the only one so far is the lack of some case or storage box. With so many parts of which some are small and/or fragile, not providing some way to store them, protect them and keeping them organized is inexcusable.
I am also having an issue with the maximum length. .83in. is too short for me. I can use this at the longest length setting for my back and sides but, for the rest, I will be using the QC5055. I understand that most men will be happy with the maximum length on this clipper so, for most, the QC5170 is all that may be needed to achieve hair-clipping peace of mind or even happiness.
Rating:
This would have been an easy 5-star if it came with a case. Since it doesn't, it gets 4.
I still recommend the QC5170 most highly but be prepared to supply your own box or pouch - I did - or risk losing combs or the cleaning tool or maybe misplace the all essential charger.
Product Review: Money Well Spent
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased the QC5170 clipper after having bad luck with Remington and Whal clippers. The QC5170 clipper has excellent power for a cordless. Since they are self sharpening and do not need oiling, they are ready to go in a moment. I have only used them once but am very happy with this product. My hair cut was quick and even. The clippers glided over my head without the nicking and bleeding I came to expect with my previous clippers. The only drawback I see with this product is the lack of a storage case or bag. I consider the price of these clippers reasonable and money well spent. I would rate the product a 5 if a case or bag had been included with the clippers.Product Review: Mystery solved: Press it firmly against your head
Summary: 5 Stars
MYSTERY SOLVED: To get this clipper to cut hair short, you must hold the unit flat against your head and press it firmly against your scalp, and then slowly and repeatedly slide it across your scalp. Otherwise, it just slides over your head without cutting. At first, I thought something was wrong with the unit. But after a little experimenting, I found that I could hear it cutting hair, and as I continued, I discovered the unit is an ergonomic masterpiece. It's easy to hold, and the rotating cutting head makes it easy to properly position for cutting hair on different parts of your own head.
At first I was surprised by the way my hair looked when I was finished. I thought I had been getting an even haircut before, but this was visibly more even, even at a very short length. I am now enthusiastic about the results I get.
I use an Andis trimmer to trim the hair off the back of my neck because I already had it, and it works well. Maybe the Norelco unit's other trimming head which snaps into place would work alright there; I just haven't needed to try it. But I'm giving this unit a five-star review based upon the phenomenally even cut I get and the ease of use. Another plus is that the blades on this trimmer require no lubrication.
I'm not sure why this unit provides such an unusually even cut. Maybe the blades are incredibly sharp. But you must hold the unit flat against your head and press it firmly against your scalp to get it to cut short hair.
Product Review: Nice simple clipper
Summary: 4 Stars
My hair grows back REALLY fast. I've been saving a lot of money using this clipper.
Quality construction. No frills. Cuts well. Simple to use.
Only things I wish it had are a battery meter and a quick charge mode. A red light to indicate charging that never shuts off doesn't quite cut it. 8+ hours for a full charge? It is 2011, right?