Hair clippers aren’t exactly cool tech gadgets, and for the most part they’re all nearly identical. So why would we be interested in yet another one of these do-it-yourself buzz-cut machines? Our guest blogger explains…

On the risk of becoming known as the body-hair trimming blog, we nonetheless agreed to review Philips’ new Hair Clipper. While the name itself lacks originality, the product introduces a new and completely original twist to the DIY haircut market.

Featuring a 180 degree pivoting cutter head with an integrated, adjustable-height comb, the cordless rechargeable Hair Clipper is ideally suited to travelers looking to clean up their do, quickly and easily.

So how does this baby perform? To find out, we gave our test unit to Charles Leech, an avid gadget geek and the undisputed frequent-flyer king of all my acquaintances. If these qualifications weren’t sufficient to grant him the reviewer’s hat, he also has the perfect hair style for the job: a buzz cut.

"Compared to full salon haircuts, having a buzz cut at the barber is inexpensive: $10 to $25 depending on the neighbourhood. In spite of this relativity, it still can be a bit galling to fork out money for a very quick operation that, in your heart, you’re pretty sure you could do at home in 10 minutes with the right equipment. The Philips Hair Clipper not only purports to be a customized tool for people like me who always ask for a "number 2 all over", but also has a cool, sexy graphite carbon fibre grey and neon orange-accent look. The design of this appliance is immediately attractive – beautifully packaged and it hits all the right super-cool modern funky design cues.

The end result is solid, and I’m a big fan. The device offers a rotated handle-blade arrangement, which allows you to shift the orientation of the blades as you’re swiveling your hand around the angles of your head. This works very well indeed, and represents a great improvement over more conventional head-razors. The unit seems solid and well-made, with a reassuring sense of quality. It took care of my hair in no time, and gave me a very even, clean, professional looking buzz cut (you can easily adjust the length of the buzz without having to attach different guides, which I also love, as detachable guides always get lost and are a huge pain in the ass).

However the fine details of the buzz-cut haircut (the stray ends right behind the ear, for example) still require some assistance, as even with the most acrobatic hand contortions, it’s still impossible to see what you’re doing without a complex multi-layered mirror arrangement. I think that once every 3 or 4 buzz-cuts, I’ll still need to get my wife involved . . . but in the meantime, this is a brilliant solution that not only will stop my trips to the neighbourhood barber, but also satisfy my cool gadget carbon fibre appliance lust at the same time. Well done, Philips!"

– Charles Leech

So there you have it. The Philips Hair Clipper goes for $79.99 MSRP at most major retailers, but here’s a link to save you some time – in case you’re dying to add this baby to your holiday wish list.