Philips Norelco QT4070 Vacuum Beard, Stubble and Mustache Trimmer Pro

The Philips Norelco QT4070 Vacuum Beard, Stubble and Mustache Trimmer Pro is a fairly good beard trimmer with multiple extra functions and the ability to trim a wide range of beard lengths.

In terms of features (or as some might think of them, gimmicks), the QT4070 is fully-loaded and jam-packed. There are a ton of things on this trimmer aside from the actual beard trimming capabilities. Some help make the experience better, and some aren’t necessary, but if you like gadgets, this is definitely cool from that perspective. Of course, you want it to cut your hair, too, so we’ll dive right in and have a look at the product.

Starting from the top, you’ll notice that when the comb guide is attached, you use a zoom wheel located on the front of the unit to change between settings. This particular Philips Norelco has a very wide range of length settings, so we’re pleased about that. At least with all of the accessories, they still made room for a very important part of the trimmer, which of course is making sure that it is usable and accessible to as many people as possible. With more lengths comes the ability for more people to use it, and it also allows you to get the absolute perfect length, not to mention is helpful if you fade your beard at all or have different lengths (goatee vs. stubble on the rest of your face).

You can get a .5mm shave for very close stubble if you remove the comb guide, but when the guide is attached, you get 1mm increments from 1mm all the way to 18mm, for a total of 19 lengths if you include the bare blades. One of the features of this trimmer is the display, part of which shows you the length setting you have selected, so there’s no guess work or straining your eyes to see the tiny numbers when you’re setting the guide.

The blades are maintenance free stay-sharp blades that seem to do the job they were meant to do. There are no glaring errors or major pulling when trimming, so as a beard trimmer, this would do the job alright if we just stopped here. You’d probably find it as a middle of the pack bargain buy if it just cut your hair and didn’t try anything else.

On the subject of the blade, you’ll notice that Philips Norelco includes two guide combs to use with the blade. One is the normal comb and the other is the ‘contour comb’. More than a few people have reported that the normal comb is a bad choice for them, particularly because it bends slightly and does not give you an even beard length. Additionally, it has sharp ends. If you can, try it out with the contour comb first, as you may find that is the more comfortable and consistent guide.

NOTE: Philips used to only include one guide comb that contributed to many negative reviews. This has since been changed, so keep that in mind as you are doing your research!

The major draw and appeal of this trimmer is the fact that it’s one of the few units that actually has a vacuum built in to suck up the freshly cut hairs, leaving no mess behind (on you or in the sink). When turned on, this product has a vacuum by the blade that sucks in cut hairs and traps them in a small compartment. When you are finished using it, you simply snap the front flap open and empty the hair into the trash.

In use, the vacuum is just OK. It doesn’t suck up 100% of the cut hairs, so you may find a few loose ones in your beard and in the sink, although it will be far fewer than you would have without the vacuum. Additionally, some users claim that it gets less efficient over time. That might be expected, as any wear and tear is normal, but for a key feature, one might expect it to continue to perform well, even after extended use. However, the vacuum feature is more of a fun feature than a perfect tool, so you must go into this purchase with the right expectations. It’s nice, but it’s not a catch all (pun intended, I think).

Without a doubt, the vacuum cuts down on the amount of beard trimmings you’ll have to clean up, so it’s basically good, just not great.

Yet another fun feature is the Turbo Power Button that boosts the cutting and fan speed to get through thicker hairs with ease. It’s a decent feature, but you may find that it’s unnecessary. Even with moderately coarse facial hair in the form of a goatee, we’ve found that you can get a pretty decent trim without using it. If you’re cleaning up after a month in the bush, however, it might be useful to get through the really rough patches and will help to increase the amount of hair the vacuum picks up. Just be aware that this may also limit battery life if used extensively.

The previously mentioned display will also show you battery life left in 1/4 chunks (i.e., a full battery is 4 bars). This is nice to see, because at least you’ll know to charge it when it’s getting low so you don’t get the nasty surprise of no juice when you’re about to shave.

However, with the Philips Norelco QT4070 Vacuum Beard, Stubble and Mustache Trimmer Pro, you really won’t get a nasty surprise, even if the battery is drained. That’s because you can actually use this while it’s plugged in. The plug in is quite small and non-intrusive and being able to use it while charging is a great feature that allows you to charge in a situation like this where the charge ran out, or if you prefer the constant and consistent power of using the power from the wall socket rather than the battery.

The trimmer comes with a 2 year warranty, which is handy, particularly for something like this that has a number of extra features not normally found in a beard trimmer.

While this Philips Norelco model has many features, most of which you can live without, they all function moderately well, and none of them really take away from the beard trimming experience. This is a good choice for most people, particularly if you want to avoid trimmings decorating your shirt and sink.