25 November 2008 16:00 GMT / By Stuart Miles
If you are after that adventurous look or in the process of trimming that Mo for Movember then Philips believes it has the answer with the QG3190 grooming kit, but does it? We get shaving to find out.Like the Remington 7 in 1 offering we've reviewed recently, the Philips Grooming kit isn't really about getting a close shave: it's about beard and stubble management.
So in the box you get a number of tips and combs that fit on to a central slim motor unit. A switch on the front controls the on/off status, while a simple clip mechanism holds the different blades in place. Black with grey rubber grips, it's not too large and is comfortable in the hand.
The tips in question include a mini shaver, precision trimmer, fine detailing blade, nose, ear and eyebrow trimmer plus beard, mo and hair combs. In total you get nine different options giving you plenty of choice to experiment with hair on your face and around your body.
So are all those tips and combs any good? We started with the mini shaver and let’s just say that it's the least helpful in the box. While we are sure Philips aren't expecting you to shave your whole face day-in day-out with this one, it's not really helpful.
The most frightening is of course the nose, ear and butt (I mean eyebrow) trimmer. Tube-like in shape you shove it in the relevant holes, bellybutton included no doubt, and it does its best to take away unwanted hair. Not being a hairy man myself I found little point for this, but we are sure the older generation, you know who you are, would really benefit from a clean nasal passage.
The regular trimmers are good for styling, although be careful, while it tidied up our mo (we are growing for Movember) over-use caused irritation.
As for the combs, you get three in the box: hair, beard and eyebrow for those bushy moments. On the back of the main unit there is a gauge system and like other Philips shavers we've reviewed, the numbers are arbitrary.
Finally the whole system comes with a rather cheap looking grey plastic stand so you can keep everything tidy. It's supposed to double up as a charging stand, however it seems the person building the charger didn't talk to the person building the stand. You can't use the two together. In fact it's probably easier if you forget the stand, it's nothing more than a tidy rather than a charging unit.
Verdict
While it might not say it on the packaging, the included tips and combs suggest the Philips grooming kit is for the older man.
Some of the tips are useless, though the range of combs, as well as that nose, ear, and bellybutton trimmer, are sure to come in handy.
So is this enough for the bearded to invest? If you really need some serious micro-management and are fast losing the battle against your hair from all holes on your body then this will help that fight, otherwise it might be a lot of faff for no real benefit.
Happy to grow a beard? Why not grow a mo for Movember? Help raise money and awareness for The Prostate Cancer Charity here in the UK.
Currently around 30,000 men a year are diagnosed with Prostate Cancer and around 10,000 men a year die from the disease. That's over 1 every hour.
Score
Review Recap
- Made by
- Philips
- Price as reviewed
- £30
- Latest price
- Compare prices
- The good
- Lots of options, nose trimmer useful for all kinds of things
- The bad
- Charger doesn't fit the docking station, mini-shaver is pretty pointless
- Quick verdict
- While it might not say it on the packaging, the included tips and combs suggest the Philips grooming kit is for the older man
- Score
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