Wahl USA Stainless Steel Lithium-Ion Cordless Beard Trimmer for Men

Why it's worth it

The 9818A is a stainless-steel trimmer that swaps between a T-blade head, a rotary ear-and-nose head, and a fine detail head, with nine guide combs in the case. Wahl rates it at 3.5 hours per charge, and the blades sharpen themselves as they cut.

Charging is the thing you'll stop thinking about. If you trim a couple of times a week for a few minutes, a 3.5-hour battery means you'll plug it in a handful of times a year. There's a one-minute quick charge that buys three minutes of use, which is exactly enough to finish a neckline after you discover the battery is flat.

The self-sharpening blades are the quiet money-saver. Most trimmers need new blades eventually, and on a cheap tool that recurring cost is what makes it expensive. Wahl's blades hone against each other as they run, which stretches the replacement interval a long way. Long-time owners say it cuts about as well as it did when they unboxed it, which is not a common thing to hear.

From our review of 7 cordless beard trimmers, by Sarah Wright, Editorial Associate

What we like

• +Charging is the thing you'll stop thinking about
• +The self-sharpening blades are the quiet money-saver
• +The three heads cover more ground than the spec list suggests

What to know

• –It's a chunky thing. The stainless body feels solid and it isn't tiring to hold, but it's wider than the Andis or the OneBlade,…
• –There's no published IPX rating, so rinse the head and keep the body dry