Remington MB-200 Titanium Mustache and Beard Trimmer, Black

(IMPORTANT NOTES: I use only setting "1" - I prefer a `scruff' look and generally do not grow a full beard, so please keep this in mind when reading my review. I have not used any of the longer settings)My review will consist of 3 parts - first, a review of the Remington's performance and, second, some tips & tricks I have figured out when using the Remington. Lastly, some final thoughts / comments.PERFORMANCEI have owned the Remington for about 3 months now and am generally pleased with its performance. The product is 100% analog - there are no digital displays and the length is adjusted via manual "zoom wheel." Some trimmers indicate length via a digital display screen.The trimmer has a total of 9 length settings. It can go as low as 1.5mm (that's the setting I use 100% of the time) and as long as 18mm (setting # 9). The zoom wheel is placed exactly where I happen to place my thumb during shaving. This hasn't presented much of a problem, at least not for me - but I can see where it might for some people. On setting 1 (1.5mm), the trimmer will give a *slightly* longer than 5-o'clock shadow look - more of a `scruff' look (if that makes sense), but it's pretty darn short (the way I like it). I tend to press the unit pretty firmly against my face on some parts. The guide comb seems to do an admirable job of preventing nicks / scrapes / and cuts - I have not experienced any problems of the sort.The unit itself is fairly ergonomic and easy to hold. It feels like a natural extension of my hand and fits snugly in my palm - almost like a fork or a spoon. I do not have any issues with the unit slipping in undesired positions, etc.The blade area is approximately 1.5 inches wide - which seems to be `just right.' (see my picture) It's not too narrow, and not too wide. It seems to hug my face accurately and efficiently trims facial hair. I have a fairly chiseled face - not sure if that matters.The length guide comb is removable - you simply just need to yank it off (see my picture). This serves two purposes. First, it enables the user to use the unit to trim facial `borders' at the edge of one's beard. Personally, I just stick to my foil shaver for that, so I cannot comment on how well the Remington might perform (never have used that feature). Secondly, the blades themselves can be flipped open to enable cleaning inside the trimmer's cavity where some hair might collect over time (see my picture).The unit comes with a standard plug-in wall charger and a cleaning brush. During charging, a green light remains lit. Unfortunately, the unit does not indicate remaining battery life. This would have been a nice feature, though really it is a minor gripe on my end. Some have complained about the unit's lack of battery life. For me this has not been an issue. I seem to be able to use the trimmer for several shavings before charging becomes an issue. As well, 100% of my shaving is done in my home and so it's just as easy for me to charge the unit - I do not travel with it. I don't necessarily disagree with other reviews that complain about battery life - it just hasn't been a problem for me.It also would have been nice to have some sort of cloth carrying pouch for the trimmer. In all fairness, most of these trimmers seem not to include this - so it's not a deal breaker in my book.TIPS & TRICKSLike any type of facial hair trimming product, your face will take time, perhaps several weeks, to `adjust' to the shaver's surface area. This is a known fact among the industry and, in fact, many regular / foil shavers will indicate this in the product's user guide.As far as usage, you may need to use a variety of angles and techniques on different parts of your face whilst trimming your facial hair. For me, on some parts of my face, I trim against the direction of the facial hair (left-hand side of my face), but on my right-hand side, I tend to use a combination of a `swirling' motion to trim my hair along with cutting crosswise. On my chin, I tend to use a quick, firm, and repeated upward motion. For whatever reason, these all seem to work well. I figured out these methods after having the trimmer for a few weeks and just seemed to fall into place over time. If you look closely, you will see that the hair on your face does not grow uniformly - some parts grow in different directions than other parts of your face.For those who prefer to maintain the scruff appearance, you will definitely need to trim your face more than once a day. I do so twice - once in the morning before work, and also shortly before I go to bed. I suppose this is not unique to the Remington, but just a general observation.FINAL THOUGHTS / COMMENTSGenerally speaking, I am satisfied with the product. I do not see myself running out and buying another brand - this one more than suffices. The unit is simple and 100% analog (to me that is a plus). Electronic components can wear over time or simply malfunction. I guess I tend to be a bit more `old school' in that regard (but feel free to disagree). The price point is also very affordable.

I had an MB300 for about a year (which is the exact same thing as the MB200 with the addition of a useless mini trimmer) but a piece of a metal spring inside the top of the unit where you open to empty trimmings rusted and broke, rendering it useless and unrepairable. I guess I managed to get enough water in there while in the bathroom on occasion for it to rust out. I really wish that spring was made out of stainless steel.I purchased this MB200 a month ago to replace my broken MB300 after reading several atrocious reviews on competing products, and after having several failures and returns of other models including Norelco. I have tried many beard trimmers over the years for both trimming stubble on my face and cutting my own hair, and this easily beats them all (I prefer the rechargeable ones with adjustable combs). Some of the competing products are made out of cheap plastic and the fins on the combs have broken (specifically Norelco), some have too little cutting power, on some the blades on some are not wide enough, and others are just designed by moron engineers.The MB200 has decent power, the cutting blade is reasonably wide, and the adjustment mechanism for the comb is well designed so you don't accidentally choose the wrong length or have it end up moving around on you and ending up with a shaved spot where you didn't mean to. I'm not unhappy with the choice of Ni-Cd batteries since they last a reasonable amount of time, and I'm guessing that Lithium-Ion would have put it at a price point that would be non-competitive. I do wish the batteries weren't soldered in so it would be easier to replace them. Seeing that this is the only decent rechargeable trimmer out there, I am going to purchase a couple more of these - one for my travel bag, and another as a spare. These days companies seem to revise well designed products, and forget everything they learned that was good about the previous designs. I hope Remington keeps the person/team around that designed this, keeps this model around for a long time to come, and hopefully makes it a little mode water resistant and upgrades that spring inside to stainless steel!