I remember the day in college in which I aced a presentation, one of those long-ass presentations that you spend a month putting together, and the professor complimented me and my partner on the strength of our presentation. We’d worn suits, as required, and showed up early to blow everyone’s socks off. And then also in front of the class he told us he was knocking us down an entire letter grade to a B because of our beards.the Trimmer’s rotating head – Credit: Matt JancerNot because our beards existed, but because they weren’t well enough trimmed. It sounded like a bullshit reason to lose a whole letter grade to me, but here I am recounting the story 16 years later, so it made an impression. You may not care if your beard is well trimmed or not, but people will judge you by it regardless. That’s why, if you don’t already, you need to think about a trimmer to tackle the edges of your beard, one that isn’t just that sloppy pop-out trimmer they put on shavers. I’m thinking of something like the Philips Norelco OneBlade 360 Beard Trimmer.the tear-down on the philips norelco oneblade 360 beard trimmerThe OneBlade 360 is a precise instrument. It does one thing very well, and it’s not a replacement for a regular shaver or beard trimmer. But used in concert with one or the other, it can expand your ability to edge and shape your beard with a nimbleness and accuracy other trimmers can’t match. It’s an added tool, not a replacement, for people who really care about their beards.(opens in a new window)Philips NorelcoOneBlade 360 Beard Trimmer(opens in a new window)Available at AmazonBuy Now(opens in a new window)Available at WalmartBuy Now(opens in a new window)the good and the badWhat Kept Me BuzzingExceptionally smooth and gentleVery nimbleHead rotates on two axes to contour to faceGrippy rubber is easy to use with wet handsAdequate runtimeThe BurnAdjustable comb for maintaining beard length is an afterthoughtWhy does Philips Norelco keep including a USB-A charging cable??how I tested the philips norelco oneblade 360 beard trimmerSo many things I test require contrived testing conditions. Did you know I once spent a whole day testing vacuums by dumping sawdust, beard hair, dog fur, and potting soil on my floor, vacuuming it up, and then emptying it again, nine times over? But this beard stuff just keeps growing out of my face.I used the OneBlade 360 the same way I shave and trim my beard every morning, whether I’m testing a shaver for you fine folks or just shaving for my own sake. Once I got out of the shower I used the Philips Norelco to trim the edges of my beard, where I want straight lines across my cheeks and a distinct border between my beard’s fade and my neck. Shaving after a warm shower, I’ve found, is better because your pores are opened up, which in turn causes the beard whiskers to stand up straighter for easier cutting and a closer shave.using the philips norelco oneblade 360 beard trimmerjust look at how smooth that head is – Credit: Matt JancerHere’s what excited me most about the Philips Norelco OneBlade 360 Beard Trimmer. It wasn’t its wide array of accessories, which it didn’t have, and it wasn’t its versatility, because it didn’t have much. No, the OneBlade 360 does one thing particularly well. Very well. Better than any beard shaper I’ve ever used, and over the last 20 years I’ve used almost all of them.Smoooooth ShaveOrdinarily with a beard trimmer, you’re dragging the slim edge of it across your face. That’s what I do daily with the Braun Series 9 Pro All-in-One Beard Trimmer, when I’m not using its adjustable comb to trim the length of the whiskers itself. That trimmer tightens up the edges of my beard to keep me looking neat and put together, but next to the OneBlade 360 it seems primitive, club-swinging, knuckle-dragging in comparison.With the OneBlade 360 you place the flat side against your skin, like a shaver. It was much gentler on my skin, almost silky smooth. That meant less irritation. But because the head is flatter and smaller than a typical electric shaver’s head, it was easier to navigate around the edges I wanted to define on my beard, and easier to see past the slim handle than on a typical shaver.The head rotates on two axes. Not too much, but enough to keep the head planted flat against my skin, even as I dragged it over cheekbones and around the curve of my throat. It handled my day-old stubble just fine, although if you haven’t shaved the smooth parts of your face or neck in a few days, I’d expect it to struggle a bit more. But if you’re trimming every day, the buttery smooth head took care of stubble in just one pass, maybe two, and no more.no jack-of-all-tradesthe adjustable five-length comb – credit: matt JancerThe trade-off is that the OneBlade 360 is a one-trick pony. It’s great at edging, but for maintaining the length of your beard whiskers—because if you don’t, the whiskers will grow at different speeds and look scraggly—you should still use something else. There are just a bunch of varieties of the OneBlade 360 with the same basic trimmer, just with different attachments.The one I tested came with a five-length adjustable comb that snaps over the cutting head. You can use it to trim your whiskers’ lengths, but the motor doesn’t have the power to tackle thick, heavy beards, not that its five settings are enough for medium-to-long beards. It’s almost an afterthought. It doesn’t come close to the capability of an all-in-one beard trimmer like the Braun Series 9 Pro.Battery Runtime and ChargingThe OneBlade 360 runs for up to 45 minutes on a charge. That’s more than enough several days’ worth of beard trimming. I’ve never spent more than five minutes shaping a beard in the morning, not counting trimming it for length and shaving the smooth parts of my neck and cheeks. The nickel-metal hydride battery didn’t charge nearly as fast as a lithium-ion battery, but with such a small capacity it really didn’t make much of a difference; not nearly as much of a difference as on a bigger shaver or beard trimmerWhat annoyed me about the charging, actually, was Philips Norelco’s insistence on charging it not through a normal, two-pronged plug for a wall outlet, but a USB-A cable. This is a trend that just won’t die. It’s not convenient to go find an adapter to plug into my computer—because what laptop these days comes with anything but USB-C ports?—and then plug the shaver’s USB-A cable into it. Just give me a normal charger, Philips Norelco.alternatives worth looking at(opens in a new window)BraunSeries 9 Pro All-in-One Trimmer(opens in a new window)Available at AmazonBuy Now(opens in a new window)It’s a different type of beast, more of a general-purpose trimmer for beard and body, but I’m awfully fond of the Braun Series 9 Pro All-in-One Trimmer. It does a better job at maintaining an even length of beard whiskers than the Philips Norelco OneBlade 360, particularly longer and thicker beards, although the OneBlade 360 is more nimble and smoother for shaping the edges of a beard. Honestly, if you really want the best tools for shaping and maintaining your beard, you’d buy both, because they each excel in different use cases.Check out my Braun Series 9 review here.(opens in a new window)Philips NorelcoAll-in-One 9000 Series 23-Piece Trimmer(opens in a new window)$84.96 (reg. $99.99) at AmazonBuy Now(opens in a new window)I’m not gonna sugar coat it. The Philips Norelco All-in-One 9000 Series 23-Piece Trimmer kind of pissed me off. It’s not nearly as good as the Braun Series 9 Pro All-in-One Trimmer. The combs that snap onto the shaving head are more finicky, and yet more fragile. I don’t see them lasting as many years as the Braun’s, which go on and come off more smoothly. And Philips Norelco’s reliance on a USB-A cable for charging strikes again here. But at $85, it’s half the price of the Braun Series 9 Pro. And the stainless steel body is very, very nice, much nicer than the Braun’s plastic.should i shave my whole face with it?Please don’t. You’ll regret it. The shaving head is so small that it’d be like trying to cut your front lawn with Stuart Little’s lawnmower. Someone who’s mostly clean shaven will need a proper electric shaver. Even if you grow a mustache, you’ll need something larger than the OneBlade 360 for most of your face. If you have a beard, the OneBlade 360 could handle your neck and cheeks just fine. It’s more of a tool to add to your arsenal, rather than a replacement. Just remember it’s more for edging your beard rather than covering a lot of ground.can it replace an all-in-one trimmer?Philips Norelco OneBlade 360 Beard Trimmer – Credit: Matt JancerAt its core I wouldn’t expect it to replace something like a Braun Series 9 Pro All-in-One Beard Trimmer, which is a full-body trimmer that edges and trims beard length, even very long and thick beards. The OneBlade 360 has an attachment for trimming beard length, but that’s not its forte.Its real purpose is shaping the edges around beards. Lightweight and nimble, it excels at that job, and its unique cutting head was so smooth and non-irritating against my face. It blew ordinary beard trimmers, including the Braun Series 9 Pro, out of the water when it came to cutting gently right up against bare skin.the bottom (well-shaped) lineYou have to ask yourself what your primary purpose is in buying a beard trimmer. Do you want one that can do it all, from body hair trimming to maintaining the length of a well kept beard and shaping it, too? Look elsewhere. Buy the Braun Series 9. But if you just want a nimble tool to shape and outline your beard, the Braun OneBlade 360 is the king at that. Far from a jack-of-all-trades, it’s an expert at this one, a very important element of keeping a nice beard.(opens in a new window)Philips NorelcoOneBlade 360 Beard Trimmer(opens in a new window)Available at AmazonBuy Now(opens in a new window)Available at WalmartBuy Now(opens in a new window)The post Banish That Neck Beard With the Nimblest Beard Trimmer I’ve Ever Used appeared first on VICE.