Self-cleaning feature is great, but cost adds up

This shaver is a 3 rotary-head shaver with a unique feature: It comes with a base that allows it to clean itself. I've had mine for about 7 months now, and it's been reliable, giving a moderate to high-quality shave with minimal skin irritation. Specifics are below:

1. Quality of shave: The quality of shave is similar to what you get with any very good rotary shaver, which is to say that it's not as close as a blade, but unless you have someone with a microscope, people won't notice the difference. Overall, I think that it cuts my beard pretty short - as short as any electric that I've used, and maybe shorter than all of them. The blades cut very quickly and efficiently, so you don't have to go over the same place many times. As a result, my shave-time is faster than with my previous Norelco and than with foil shavers that I've used before. Some foils won't cut longer hairs very well, but this rotary shaver (like other high-end rotaries) has no problem. It is plenty powerful - I have a moderate to rough beard, and it has no problem. Overall, I'd say that quality of shave is comparable to or better than a high-end Norelco that I owned before.

2. Duration of charge: The shaver has a display that tells you the number of minutes of shaving time remaining. It starts at 60 minutes for a full charge and goes down from there. I've found that it is a bit optimistic, dropping about 4-5 minutes for every 2-4 minute shave that I do. After about a week of shaving, my time usually reads at about 30 minutes left. Based on that experience, you could certainly safely take the shaver for a week vacation without charging, and it would probably stretch to 2 weeks (if you wanted to take your chances).

3. Cleaning - Automatic: This is definitely the major plus of the shaver. It comes with a stand that both charges and cleans the shaver. The stand is about the size of a large soup can (or large jar of pasta sauce). It holds cleaning fluid in its base. You have to keep the stand in an open-air area (not in a cabinet or under a counter), so make sure that you have counter space. To clean and charge the shaver, you just place the shaver in the stand and press a button. It takes about 2 seconds to get the cycle started, and it's very easy. Just push the button and walk away. You then hear a grinding/gurgling noise that goes on for several minutes, and your shaver is cleaned. The charging takes a bit longer. Indicator lights on the side tell you when cleaning and charging are finished. The cleaning fluid smells a little like cleaning/rubbing alcohol, although the smell is not overpowering (you can definitely smell it more during cleaning). I've checked the inside of the shaver after cleaning, and it is very clean. And I do mean VERY clean - it shines, and I notice a cleaner shave afterward. That's very nice. They tell you to clean it every day, but I've found that once a week is plenty. Also, they tell you that you will use more cleaning fluid if you clean the shaver more often, but I haven't found this to have a big impact. Basically, you run out of cleaning fluid about every 3-5 weeks no matter how often you clean, and then you have to buy new fluid and a new filter for the cleaner/base.

4. Cleaning fluid - Well, it's rare to find something great that comes cheap, and the same is true for this stuff. First, you can't use water for cleaning. You have to use the Remington cleaning fluid (which also comes with a filter that is needed to keep the stubble out of the cleaning area), and it costs about 5 bucks a bottle. You will use a full bottle to fill the cleaning base (about a bottle a month). It can be hard to find the fluid, so try to keep some on-hand so that you're prepared. Once the fluid runs low, you can't clean the shaver any more - you get a light indicating that the fluid is low, and it won't do anything when you push the button. Wal-Mart often has some of the cleaning fluid in stock, or you can get it at Remington's website. It's basically an alcohol-based cleaner.

5. Cleaning - Manual: The box didn't give any hints about whether the shaver could be cleaned manually with water, and the manual only gives very sparse information. I did find a place where it says that the top part of the shaver is waterproof, but I'm not sure how far down that extends. I have cleaned my shaver manually with water a couple of times, and it was pretty easy to do. You just flip the top off and wash it. It doesn't get as clean as with the automatic cleaning process, but if you're out of town for a few weeks, it will do. The entire shaver is NOT waterproof, so you can't take it in the shower.

6. Power: This is a rechargeable shaver, and I talked about the rechargeable power earlier. I did want to note that you can charge the shaver directly from the power cord, without the charging/cleaning base. Just disconnect the cord from the base and plug it directly into the bottom of the shaver. The box wasn't very clear about that alternative method of charging. It charges quickly. I haven't tried to shave with the cord attached, although theoretically that would work. It charges so quickly that you wouldn't usually have to worry about using the cord during shaving.

7. Ergonomics: This is NOT a light shaver, but it's not all that heavy either. Depending on your perspective, it feels either sturdy and solid, or it is slightly heavy to hold. The only reason that I noticed the weight is that it's slightly heavier than my Norelco used to be. That's no problem, and after a few days, I didn't even notice it. It fits nicely in your hand and is easy to use. My only ergonomic gripe is that the back of the shaver is curved, so when you sit it down, it rolls over sometimes (don't put it on the edge of the counter).

8. Irritation/Feel: I noticed a very slight amount of facial irritation when I first used it, probably because my face was getting used to the newness of the shaver (and possibly because the shave was pretty close). That was no big deal (I didn't break out or turn red or anything), and it went away in about a week. It cuts the whiskers cleanly and doesn't pull on them like some foil electrics do. If you have long whiskers, this shaver will definitely pull less than a foil.

9. Bells and whistles: Supposedly the titanium cuts more cleanly and lasts longer. I don't know about that for sure, but I haven't noticed any special titanium effect yet. It comes with a pretty nice travel case that holds both the shaver and cord. You can't travel with the stand/cleaner because the fluid would leak everywhere (see my note on manual cleaning and charging directly from the cord, above).

10. Reliability and quality: so far, so good. No problems for the past 7 months.

Overall, this is a very good quality shaver whose main unique advantage is the self-cleaning feature. If you don't want to spend any time on cleaning but you want a meticulously clean shaver, this shaver is for you. However, expect to spend about 60 bucks a year for the cleaning fluid and filters.