Panasonic ER240 Beard and Mustache Trimmer Review – Back to Basics
Panasonic ER240 Beard and Mustache Trimmer
The Panasonic ER240 is about as basic as you can get regarding beard and mustache trimmers. While it lacks any nice features, it does the job of cutting your facial hair and nothing else. However, the small size makes it easy to transport.
Pros
The small size makes it great to travel with
The double A batteries mean no charging time, and it can go in a carry-on without worries about lithium-ion batteries.
Simple to use and easy to set
Easy to clean
Cons
The Double A batteries mean you will have to keep replacing batteries
Double A batteries plus water means a possibility of nasty corrosion
Cutting power is lacking
Only 5 length settings
Blade gets clogged easily with longer beards
Today, we are looking at a compact trimmer that fits in your pocket or the palm of your hand.
The Panasonic ER240 is what you would get if you decided to pair down every feature that other trimmers had, and then shrunk it down to fit in your pocket.
It sacrifices some unique bells and whistles other trimmers have while attempting to make something simple that any guy could use in a pinch.
But how well does it do the job? Let’s take a look.
— Related: Best Beard Trimmers – Tested & Reviewed
Description and Features
Quality and Design
First off, I need to comment on the size of this trimmer.
The thing is so small I could keep it in my pocket. Only being partially hyperbolic, makes me think of something I would keep on my keychain.
The entire trimmer fits in my hand, and I could easily carry it around in my pocket. It’s also incredibly light for a beard trimmer, so you aren’t going to get any kind of wrist fatigue for using this regularly.
The small size makes it easy to pack for traveling. I could see this trimmer as something a guy could throw into a kitbag and just go wherever.
The entire thing is made of plastic as well (except for the stainless steel blades), so it is relatively light. However, unlike many plastic trimmers, it feels solid. If I were to drop the Panasonic ER240, it would be just fine and keep on kicking.
Ergonomics and Grip
When I say that the bells and whistles are cut out of this design, I do mean it.
It is just a straight brick of plastic with very little given way for comfort. It is completely smooth with no bends or shaping to make it fit in your hand better.
The only textured parts of the trimmer are the power button on the side, the adjustment points on the side for the shaving guide, and the battery compartment.
If your hands are even slightly wet, the Panasonic ER240 is liable to slip right through them. Be prepared to hold on extremely tight, or this trimmer will go all over the place.
Cutting Power
It might be me, but I found the Panasonic ER240’s power to be lacking.
I had to make multiple passes over my beard. 3 or 4 times usually did the trick, but even then, I kept finding stray hairs.
Be prepared to take your time with this trimmer. Make sure you take multiple passes and move slowly.
Also, I found that when I let my beard grow too long, it was very easy to clog up the guide, and the blades would just stop cutting. The only thing to do then is take off the guide and shake everything out.
So it is an easy trimmer to use, but not one you can just buzz quickly and then move on. Trimming with the Panasonic ER240 is a prolonged process.
Which leads us to…
Ease of Use
Without the features of other, more expensive beard trimmers, the Panasonic ER240 is pretty easy to use.
You just set the guide and hit the button. The switch on the side is easy to feel and hold, but has enough resistance that you won’t trip it easily. Unlike some other trimmers, you won’t accidentally turn it off if you hit the button while trimming.
It is the same thing with the settings on the guide. While there aren’t that many options for beard length, the guide is very sturdy. It won’t slip or move while you are trimming, and it takes some effort to change.
Same thing with the battery cover. It takes some effort to pop off, so you won’t open it accidentally.
Battery and Charging
Unlike almost every other beard trimmer on the market, the Panasonic ER240 runs on a pair of AA batteries (not included, by the way).
It has about 45 minutes of battery life, which is enough for several weeks’ worth of trims.
The upside to using conventional batteries is that you don’t have to worry about charge times. Without a lithium-ion battery, you don’t need to plug this guy in and let it charge for 8 hours before use.
It won’t clutter your sink area with random cords or hog up space at your one outlet next to your sink.
It can also go on a plane with no issues. Perfect to travel with.
The downside to using AA batteries is that you’ll keep having to buy new ones. While a large package of Duracell AA batteries will last you for about 2 months, you will still have to keep paying for them.
The cavity for the batteries is NOT waterproof either. So this is NOT a trimmer to bring into the shower with you, or to immerse in water. It will mess with the contacts and will cause an electrical short.
The last downside also depends on your water quality. If you have hard water (i.e., water that has many dissolved solids), or your water pH is a little off, you will have to fight with battery corrosion.
Wet battery contacts tend to get some nasty chemical build-up if you don’t keep them as dry as possible.
Cleaning and Maintenance
The small size means it is easy to clean in this case.
The blades can be wiped clean pretty easily, and the guide rinsed in almost a picosecond. The provided cleaning brush does a great job of removing all the whiskers that stick around after you finish your trim.
The blades are self-sharpening and don’t need to be oiled, either.
Just don’t immerse it in water, because, as I said before, the battery compartment is not waterproof.
Trimming Experiences
For this review, I have taken some extra time to trim often with the Panasonic ER240.
Overall, I used this trimmer for two weeks, trimming every other day and always making sure to trim with a freshly cleaned beard.
After about two weeks with this trimmer, I am not going to trade it in for something else any time soon.
The lack of settings combined with the low cutting power made it very awkward to use, especially compared to other trimmers I have used, such as the Panasonic ER-GB42 Beard Trimmer or the Remington Vacuum Beard and Stubble Trimmer.
The fact that it kept clogging and the need to take multiple passes just to get an even trim doubled the time I normally spend in my morning routine.
Overall, this is not going to replace any of my other trimmers; however, it will replace me having to take those more expensive trimmers with me when I go on vacation.
The Panasonic ER240 is just so great for traveling, and I cannot stress this enough. It takes very little space in a bag and can easily go on a plane without having to worry it is going to blow up.
Value for Money
As of the time of writing this review, you can find the Panasonic ER240 on Amazon for around 30 USD.
For those of us using the Pizza scale, that comes to about 3 pepperoni pizzas.
Is that a good price for this trimmer? Well, sort of.
It depends on how much you are going to spend on a trimmer. Nicer trimmers typically run around 50 USD or 60 USD. So this is a deal if you are looking for something in the budget category, but you are missing out on some other options that might make things easier.
Bare bones, it will give you what you need. However, I would recommend saving some extra cash to get something more robust.
Final Thoughts – Verdict (Whose It For?)
The Panasonic ER240 is a solid little device that lacks some of the more robust features of most high-dollar trimmers. However, it is inexpensive and does the job it was designed for.
There are two people I can see this trimmer being good for: new/inexperienced trimmers, or guys who travel regularly.
If you are a new young guy (or an old guy) getting into beard trimming, this might be a less expensive option to try out for shaping your beard.
If you are a guy who travels often, like to conventions, business meetings, or sales, then this option is a great choice for travel. It fits easily in your bag, and you don’t have to worry about lithium-ion batteries.
