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- Panasonic ES-LS9A: What do you get for the money?
- How I tested the Panasonic ES-LS9A
- Panasonic ES-LS9A: How well does it shave?
- Panasonic ES-LS9A: How easy is it to use?
- Panasonic ES-LS9A: How good is the battery life?
- Panasonic ES-LS9A: How easy is it to clean?
- Panasonic ES-LS9A: How portable is it?
- Panasonic ES-LS9A: Is it good value?
- Should you buy the Panasonic ES-LS9A?
- Exceptionally close shave
- Excellent cleaning and charging station
- Flexible head makes shaving remarkably easy and quick
- Very expensive
- Big and loud
- Replacement blades aren't cheap
For years, Panasonic has been making some of the best foil shavers around, and I’ve recently been very impressed by the range-topping Series 900+ (ES-LS9A).
This model builds on the company’s familiar formula, which can be found in its flagship Series 900s palm-sized shaver, by adding a sixth cutting blade, a more sophisticated flexible head and a powerful linear motor capable of 84,000 cross-cutting actions per minute.
That might sound like a case of adding another blade simply for the sake of it, but after several weeks of testing, I’m convinced Panasonic has made meaningful improvements. Most importantly, the LS9A tackles one of the biggest problems with foil shavers: longer facial hair.
But at £500, it’s also one of the most expensive electric shavers I’ve tested. The price puts it directly against the likes of the brand new Braun Nevo, while making smaller and cheaper alternatives such as the Laifen P3 look considerably more appealing…. and more portable.
Panasonic ES-LS9A: What do you get for the money?
The ES-LS9A makes a strong first impression. The packaging feels suitably premium and the shaver itself has a substantial, reassuring feel in the hand.
It isn’t quite as luxurious as the stainless-steel Braun Nevo, though. Panasonic uses a predominantly plastic body, and at this price I’d have preferred something that felt a little more substantial. It’s also fairly large and heavy, at 172 x 72 x 59mm and 220g, although its bulky stature does make it easy to grip securely.
The real star of the shaving show is the six-blade head. It combines two thick-stubble blades, two lifting blades and two finishing blades, working alongside Panasonic’s powerful, 14,000cpm (cycles per minute) linear motor.
The shaver also comes with a travel case, pop-up trimmer and the automatic cleaning and charging station. It’s an impressive package, although the size means it’s nowhere near as travel-friendly as the palm-sized Laifen P3 or even Panasonic’s own Series 900s.
How I tested the Panasonic ES-LS9A
I used the Panasonic ES-LS9A as my primary electric shaver over several weeks, deliberately testing it on both daily stubble and several days of longer facial hair.
During use, I assessed the closeness and comfort of the shave (when using it both wet and dry), used the pop-up trimmer for beard and sideburn detailing, and measured battery life by running the shaver continuously from a full charge until the battery was exhausted.
I also used the automatic cleaning and charging station throughout my testing.
I compared the overall performance of the ES-LS9A with other shavers I’ve reviewed recently, including the Braun Nevo, Philips i9000 Prestige Ultra, Laifen P3 and Manscaped Chairman Plus.
Panasonic ES-LS9A: How well does it shave?
This is where the ES-LS9A earns its keep. For my first proper test, I deliberately let my facial hair grow out for several days to see whether the six-blade system could deal with longer stubble.
It didn’t struggle in the slightest. The head glided over the skin, cutting through longer hairs without snagging, pulling or any of the uncomfortable catching I’ve experienced with cheaper foil shavers.
After a few passes, the hair was almost completely gone, and just a few more passes left my skin beautifully smooth. Once again, there were no nicks, pulling or irritation. A remarkably comfortable shave, particularly for my first use.
Panasonic’s 22D Flexible Shaver Head is partly responsible for this. The head itself moves in ten directions while the six individual blades can move independently in 12 directions, allowing the cutting elements to hug the contours of the face.
I found this particularly useful around the cheeks and jaw, while locking the head in place via a little button on the rear made it much easier to tackle the area beneath the nose and above the top lip.
Put simply, the ES-LS9A can reach even the trickiest spots, and the result is one of the closest shaves I’ve experienced. It’s up there with the Braun Nevo in terms of how fast I had the job done. And unlike the Laifen P3 or Manscaped Chairman Plus, I didn’t have to carefully work around longer hairs before going against the grain.
It’s still an all-or-nothing shaver, though. If you like maintaining a few day’s worth of stubble, you’ll need a separate trimmer. Thankfully, the built-in pop-up shaping tool is useful for lining sideburns and beard edges, although the enormous foil head makes it slightly tricky to see exactly where this small trimmer is positioned.
Panasonic ES-LS9A: How easy is it to use?
Despite all the technology inside, the ES-LS9A is remarkably straightforward. According to Panasonic, the beard sensor monitors your facial hair up to 220 times per second and adjusts the motor accordingly, increasing power over denser growth and reducing it where your beard is thinner.
The user doesn’t have to do anything to adjust these settings, and although I couldn’t hear the motor making those automatic adjustments during use, the fact that the shaver never seemed to run out of steam or start painfully pulling at hairs while attacking longer stubble suggests it was doing its job.
The digital display is also clear and easy to read, providing battery information and cleaning reminders without the need for a third-party app.
It is noisy, though. I measured around 75dB using the Decibel X smartphone app, and the high-pitched whine is particularly noticeable when shaving around the jaw and ears. The Braun Nevo is considerably more pleasant if you value a quiet morning shave.
Panasonic ES-LS9A: How good is the battery life?
Panasonic quotes 50 minutes of cordless use from a full charge, with a one-hour charging time and a three-minute quick-charge function.
My own rundown test produced 46 minutes before the battery died, which is close to the official figure. That’s not class-leading compared with some of the other shavers I’ve tested, but it still gave me enough capacity for several days of regular shaving without worrying about a recharge.
The charging and cleaning station also tops up the battery automatically, so provided you have somewhere convenient to plug it in, battery anxiety isn’t really an issue.That said, the unit comes with a two-prong shaver plug, not a USB or USB-C cable, so you’ll need to find space in the bathroom for the rather large cleaning dock.
Another minor annoyance is that my review unit arrived completely flat and needed at least an hour before it was ready for its first use. That’s unusual for an electric shaver, where there’s normally enough charge for a shave or two straight from the box.
Panasonic ES-LS9A: How easy is it to clean?
Drop the shaver in the cleaning dock upside down and the system removes hair and debris from the head while cleaning and lubricating the blades before charging the shaver. It does a far better job than simply rinsing the head under a tap and leaves the whole thing feeling fresh and ready for the next shave.
The clever bit is the detergent system. Rather than using proprietary plastic cleaning cartridges like the Braun Nevo and Philips i9000 Prestige Ultra, Panasonic uses a removable, reusable tray.
You add generic cleaning fluid and dilute it with water, meaning you can either buy Panasonic’s own detergent sachets or use a suitable alternative, the likes of which can be found cheaply and in plentiful supply on Amazon, for example.
It’s worth doing some online shopping around, as Panasonic’s official three-pack of WES4L03 detergent currently costs £10. Replacement WES9600 blades are also costly at £80. A foil head replacement indicator will light up every 18 months, based on one three-minute shave per day.
There are a couple of other downsides to Panasonic’s cleaning system: the cleaning tray can slosh if you overfill it or move the dock suddenly. I managed to spill cleaning fluid all over my bedside table, so it’s not something you really want to casually pick up and move around.
In addition to this, the cleaning and drying process takes a good 15-minutes and intermittently turns the shaving head on and off, which is noisy. Heed my advice: don’t run a cleaning cycle while trying to fall asleep… unless you enjoy jump-scares.
Panasonic ES-LS9A: How portable is it?
Due to its size, this isn’t the shaver I’d choose for travelling. The 220g body isn’t particularly heavy, but it is considerably larger than the Laifen P3, while the protective travel case that’s included in this pack adds further bulk.
The Braun Nevo has a similarly chunky travel proposition, but its PowerCase at least provides additional battery capacity while you’re away.
The ES-LS9A’s saving grace is that the cleaning station also charges the shaver using the same lead, meaning there’s no second charger to pack. The downside, as previously mentioned, is that both the station and the shaver itself use a two-pin bathroom plug, rather than a much simpler USB-C set-up, which meant I needed to purchase an adaptor to use it in a standard UK socket.
Panasonic ES-LS9A: Is it good value?
There’s no getting around the fact that you can buy a very good electric shaver for considerably less than the ES-LS9A’s £500 asking price.
The Laifen P3 (around £155) is smaller, cheaper and more travel-friendly, while the Philips i9000 Prestige Ultra (around £350) offers a similarly premium experience with a more compact design.
But the Panasonic’s six-blade head genuinely earns its place in the pantheon of great foil shavers. It’s considerably better at dealing with longer stubble than the Manscaped Chairman Plus and at least as impressive as the Braun Nevo when it comes to speed and closeness.
If you shave every day and want the closest possible electric shave, the price is easier to justify. For everyone else, it’s probably overkill.
Should you buy the Panasonic ES-LS9A?
If shaving performance is your only concern, absolutely. The ES-LS9A is one of the best electric shavers I’ve tested.
It cuts through several days of growth with remarkable ease, leaves an exceptionally close finish and somehow manages to do all of this without causing the irritation I’ve experienced with other foil shavers.
It’s not perfect. The body is bulky, the motor is noisy and the £500 price tag is difficult to swallow. The cleaning station also adds additional bulk to smaller bathrooms.
But Panasonic has taken something that was already very good in its previous flagship generation and made it noticeably better. The sixth blade isn’t just a gimmick: combined with the flexible head and powerful linear motor, it makes the ES-LS9A an exceptionally effective shaving machine.
If you want the closest shave possible and have the budget to match, this is one of the few premium electric shavers I’d happily recommend spending the money on.
