Remington F5 review
Sixty published minutes - the same as Braun's flagship - from two cutting elements instead of five. It does not pretend to be more than it is, and that is worth something.
By Sawyer V. · Published
We have not tested any of this. Everything below is compiled from published manufacturer specifications, and the arithmetic is printed so you can check it. This page carries affiliate links: if you buy through one we earn a commission at no extra cost to you, and it does not change the order of the picks. Full disclosure.
The short version
Buy it if you want a working foil shaver and nothing else. Two flexing foils, an interceptor trimmer between them, a pop-up detail trimmer and a published 60 minutes of cordless runtime - the same figure Braun publishes on its flagship. Two cutting elements against five is the real gap, and it means more passes over the same skin. And Remington publishes no waterproof rating at all, so treat it as a dry shaver.
| # | Pick | Lasts | Score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Remington F5 Power Series The cheapest foil that is not a false economy | 1,300 shaves* | 6.2/10 | $47.59 - view on Amazon |
Prices last verified September 24, 2026. They move constantly; the figure on Amazon when you click is the real one.
What it is
Remington's mainstream budget foil shaver: two flexing foils with an interceptor trimmer between them, a pop-up detail trimmer, and a published 60 minutes of cordless runtime from a 120-minute charge.
| Specification | Published |
|---|---|
| Cutting elements | 2 flexing foils |
| Interceptor trimmer | Yes, between the foils |
| Pop-up detail trimmer | Yes |
| Runtime | 60 min |
| Charge time | 120 min |
| Waterproof | Not published |
| Head replacement interval | Not published |
| Warranty | Not published |
The figure that surprises people
Sixty published minutes is the same runtime Braun publishes on the Series 9 PRO+ and fifteen minutes more than Panasonic publishes on the Arc5.
That is worth stating plainly because runtime is the figure most people compare first, and in this category it simply does not track price - which is the whole finding of that page. If you have been assuming a cheap shaver means a weak battery, it does not.
The interceptor is a genuine design answer
The weakness of a two-foil shaver is flat-lying hair - growth that has been pressed down and does not stand up into a foil's perforations.
Remington's answer is a cutter mounted between the two foils that catches those hairs before they reach either one. It is not a marketing flourish; it is a reasonable engineering response to the specific limitation of the format, and it is why the F5 is not simply a cheaper, worse Braun.
The two blanks
No waterproof rating. Not showerproof, not rinseable, nothing. On a device with a sealed battery and charging contacts, an absent rating is the one specification you should not read optimistically. Treat it as dry-only and brush the head out rather than rinsing it.
No head replacement interval. Like most of this category apart from Braun. That leaves the three-year running cost unknowable at purchase, which is a real argument for checking the replacement foil price before buying the body - this page covers what to watch for.
The 120-minute charge is the third weak figure, and unlike the other two it is at least published. Two hours for an hour of use, against Braun's published five minutes for a single shave.
Who should buy it
- Anyone who wants a second shaver. A travel or gym-bag shaver that does not matter if it is lost. This is a genuinely good use for it.
- Anyone shaving two or three times a week. Fewer shaves means less cumulative irritation, so the element count matters proportionally less.
- Anyone testing whether electric suits them at all. Before spending flagship money, find out if you get on with a foil at a fraction of the outlay.
- Anyone with average, straight-growing beard density. Two elements is enough tool.
Who should not
- Anyone whose skin gets irritated. Buy the element count. That roundup is the right page.
- Anyone who wants to shave in the shower. No published rating.
- Anyone with dense or coarse growth. More passes on thick hair is the worst combination this category offers.
- Anyone who charges at the last minute. Two hours, no quick charge.
The verdict
An honest budget shaver that publishes what it is. It matches the flagship on the figure everyone compares and loses on the figure that actually matters, and Remington does not pretend otherwise.
For an occasional, travel or second shaver it is enough tool. The budget roundup puts it against the F4 - which publishes a four-year warranty and no element count, the exact opposite trade - and that comparison is the useful one at this end of the market.
Every pick, with the working
Each entry shows the published specifications, the axis scores they produce and what you give up. The order is the computed order, not a commercial one, and the arithmetic is open underneath every score.
Our pickThe cheapest foil that is not a false economy
Remington F5 Power Series
Two flexing foils, an interceptor trimmer between them, a pop-up detail trimmer and 60 minutes of cordless runtime from a two-hour charge. It is a fraction of the Braun's outlay and it does not pretend to match it — but for an occasional or travel shaver it is enough tool.
- Runtime
- 60 min
- Charge time
- 120 min
- Cutting elements
- 2
- Waterproof
- Not published
- Made in
- Not published
- Refill
- Proprietary to the maker
- Warranty
- Not published
- Assumed service life
- 1,300 uses
The arithmetic: 260 uses a year x 5 years of assumed service life = 1300 uses.
What it gets right
- Published 60 minutes of cordless runtime
- Twin flexing foils with an intercepting trimmer for longer hairs
- Pop-up detail trimmer included
- Costs a fraction of the premium foils here
Flaws
- Two-hour charge time, the slowest here
- Not designed for wet use with lather in the way the Braun and Panasonic units are
- Replacement foils and cutters are proprietary and worth checking the price of before you buy
The working behind the 6.2
- How long it lasts: not scored
- Not scored. This is a durable item, not a consumable, so how long it lasts is an assumption about service life rather than something the pack size tells us.
- Ease of switching: 7.5
- 60 minutes of published runtime (+), pop-up trimmer (+), but a 2-hour charge and no published waterproof rating make it a worse daily tool than anything above it (--).
- Refill economics: 4.0
- Only this maker's refill fits, so the ongoing price is set by the maker rather than by a market. This is where the real cost of ownership hides.
- What the maker publishes: 6.0
- 3 of 5 specifications a buyer would expect are published: runtimeMin, chargeMin, cuttingElements. Not published: waterproof, headReplacementMonths. 3 / 5 x 10 = 6.0.
Axes with no published input are dropped and the remaining weights re-normalized, so a product is not punished for a category where an axis does not apply. Specifications compiled 3 September 2026 from Remington F5 Power Series published specifications.
Prices last verified September 24, 2026. They move constantly; the figure on Amazon when you click is the real one.
If this is not the one
The alternatives named above, in one place. Each links to its own page, where the published specifications and the scoring are set out in full.
Remington F4 Style Series Foil Shaver (F4010)
A published 4-year limited warranty and USB charging, at the cost of an unpublished element count.
Braun Series 7 (360° Flex)
The step up: 360-degree flex head, five-minute quick charge and full waterproofing.
Braun Series 9 PRO+
Five published elements and an 18-month head interval - what the money actually buys.
Philips Norelco OneBlade 360
A different tool entirely, if you keep stubble rather than shaving bare.
Prices last verified September 24, 2026. They move constantly; the figure on Amazon when you click is the real one.
Questions people actually ask
Is the Remington F5 a false economy?
No. It publishes its element count, its runtime and its charge time, which is more honesty than several more expensive shavers manage. What it does not do is pretend to match them - two elements is two elements, and Remington says so.
How much does the element count matter?
More than the runtime does. Each cutting element catches hair on a pass, so two elements means more passes for the same result - and passes are what irritate skin. On average growth you will manage; on a dense neck you will feel it.
Can I use it in the shower?
Remington publishes no waterproof rating for the F5 - not showerproof, not rinseable, nothing. An absent rating on a device with a sealed battery should be read as no. The wet and dry page covers what each claim means.
What is the interceptor trimmer?
A cutter sitting between the two foils that catches longer, flat-lying hairs before they reach a foil. It is a sensible design answer to the main weakness of a two-element shaver, and it is why this is not simply a worse Braun.
How long does the charge take?
A published 120 minutes for 60 minutes of use. That is the weakest figure on the sheet - Braun publishes a five-minute charge for a full shave - and it is the one that bites on the morning you forgot to dock it.