Braun Series 9 All-in-One Beard & Body Grooming Kit for Men, Cordless Trimmer, Hair Clippers & Shaver for Face, Hair & Body with Gillette Labs Razor, AIO 9530

Why it's worth it

The Series 9 AIO 9530 pairs a 40-step precision wheel with AutoSense, which reads how dense the hair is under the blade and adds power where a normal motor would bog down. It shows up as a full grooming kit rather than a single trimmer.

AutoSense is the one thing here you can't get from the others. Beards aren't uniform. The patch under the chin is usually denser than the cheeks, and a fixed-torque motor slows down right there, leaving a strip that sits a touch longer than everything around it. Braun's motor adjusts as blade resistance changes, and PowerBoost lets you force the issue on the stubborn spots.

The length control matches the Panasonic's: 40 settings in half-millimeter steps, on a wheel that locks. The lock matters more than it sounds. A guard that creeps one step while you're working is how you end up with a cheek line that's slightly off and no idea why, and it's the most common way a good trimmer produces a bad result.

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

What we like

• +AutoSense is the one thing here you can't get from the others
• +The length control matches the Panasonic's: 40 settings in half-millimeter steps, on a wheel that locks
• +The kit is the other half of the pitch
• +It's also fully waterproof, which the Panasonic isn't

What to know

• –It's the most expensive option here by some margin, and PowerBoost is loud enough that you'll notice — a low grind rather than…
• –This listing is newer and has a shorter track record than the Panasonic or the Wahl, and a small but real group of owners report…