Panasonic Nose & Ear Hair Trimmer ER-GN30-K

Bottom line

Reviewers say the Panasonic ER-GN30-K nose and ear hair trimmer can mow through even thick nose hair with no tugging or yanking. It's easy to use and easy to clean. The only real downside is what appears to be a quality control problem: Some of these trimmers only work for a few months, if that.

Performance

A low hum in your nose. Hundreds of user reviewers say that the Panasonic ER-GN30-K runs quietly and smoothly, even if you're using it to trim your ear hair -- the sound is just a low hum. Yet as one BestBuy.com user reports, "It is powerful enough to keep cutting even with thicker hair ... the blades stay sharp and never tug."

"It doesn't nick at all, but does trim well," writes another user, this time at Walmart.com. Better yet, the ER-GN30-K works well at multiple angles. The blades last for about three years and replacements cost at least as much the trimmer itself, so it makes sense to buy a new unit instead of replacing the blades.

Ease of use

Striving for quality. Although the Panasonic ER-GN30-K's performance is beyond reproach, quality control isn't up to par. Users report a significant number of lemons that stopped working within three months or less of purchase.

Here's one example from Amazon.com: "I purchased this product and only got to use it once. I washed it out, and put it away. When I tried to use it a second time, the blades wouldn't spin. Device just got really warm."

As long as you don't get a lemon, though, reviewers say the ER-GN30-K is easy to use. A flow-through water cleaning system "works great," and it's approved for wet/dry use. It runs on a single AA battery.