Regardless of your stance on male grooming, owning one of the best beard trimmers is a necessity for Australian bearded folk, because only a beard trimmer can help you to craft some attractive facial fuzz. Whether your personal stance is for a bushy hipster flex or a more sculpted number, maintaining your beard will take time and require patience, but the best beard trimmers can help make the process so much easier.
Beard trimmers can also be used to cut hair elsewhere, of course – although you might want a pair of the best hair clippers if you’re looking for the smoothest, chromiest dome in town.
If you're looking for regular beard management or the occasional trim, then what is the ideal beard trimmer? Ultimately, it's going to be the one that fits most tidily into your budget. And a reminder – never pay full price as there are always solid deals to be found. But you'll also want to consider the lengths it can cut to, battery life and whether it offers any extra features that will be beneficial to you.
If you're looking to fully upgrade your grooming routine, then you might want to check out the best body groomer for all-over hair removal, or, if you want to remove your facial hair completely then you'll want the best electric shaver.
But for now, we're talking about perfecting the perfect stubble. These are the best beard trimmers in Australia.
The best beard trimmers you can buy today:
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Although it doesn't have a fricken' laser like some other Philips beard trimmers, the BT9000 Prestige is the classiest-looking we've ever clapped eyes on. That's thanks to its steel body, steel blades and heavy-duty rubber grip. Heck, even the battery life indicator is neatly integrated into the base of the trimmer.
Thankfully, the BT9000 Prestige isn't just a looker, because in our review we found it offers an equally classy shave. There's a robust steel dial that quickly adjusts the blade length from 0.4mm to 5mm, or throw on a plastic guard and cover the 5.4mm to 10mm lengths.
Designed primarily with neater beard-scaping in mind, it will whip away whiskers without any snags or pulls. That steel cutting head is brilliantly contoured, thanks to “anti-friction skin follower” technology, and it manages to get into the awkward or hard-to-reach areas where many rivals fall down.
We found the battery life to be excellent too, and the 'power sensor adaptor' automatically adjusts the speed of the motor depending on how hard it works, allowing it to plough through longer sections without getting bogged down like some cheaper beard trimmers we've tried.
Although we wouldn't recommend submerging it in a bubble bath, it is supposedly 100-percent waterproof and performed perfectly well when we tested it in the shower. The flip-back shaving head also makes rinsing out any fine hairs really easy, as there's no fiddling around trying to clip a cheap plastic head back on.
Yes, it's pricey for a beard trimmer, but it feels premium and like it's built to last. Keep on top of blade maintenance (oiling them after cleaning) and this is one trimmer you won't be throwing in the bin after a few months of heavy use.
Read our full Philips BT9000 prestige review
The Philips OneBlade is an odd-looking thing, with what appears to be a large Mach 3-style blade instead of the familiar cutting comb (although with the Pro models you get a cutting comb too).
The main selling point here is the absence of razor burn: if you’ve found other trimmers leave your face a fiery red, you will find the OneBlade considerably more gentle. You'll want to stand near the sink, use it in the shower, or keep a cordless vac nearby, mind: the way the head vibrates sends cut stubble all over the place.
The dual-sided blade is designed to cut more precisely than a comb and we find they last about 6 weeks to 3 months before needing to be replaced. That's somewhat less than Philips' claim of 4 months, but the replacement heads aren't especially pricey or hard to find.
The battery runs for 90 minutes on a one-hour charge and it can handle beards up to 10mm via its adjustable comb head. I'd say it is suited to shorter trims on the whole – it's most ideal for those who favour neither beards nor a smooth visage: it does perma-stubble brilliantly.
There are a number of versions of the OneBlade available at Amazon and elsewhere, and particularly if you suffer from facial irritation, they are all excellent.
The hardware of the non-'Pro' versions does have more of a tendency to wear out, however. That's because rather than having an integral, adjustable comb for different lengths, they use interchangeable combs.
Read our full Philips OneBlade Pro review
The Remington B5 borrows the rotary dial set-up of rivals, which makes adjusting the length of the built-in comb really easy. It also boasts one of the best spread of lengths we've seen in a single comb mechanism, covering 0.4 to 18mm.
When set to its shortest setting, the Remington B5 does a good job of slicing whiskers down to a fairly even and on-trend perma-stubble, but the large comb does make it difficult to reach tricky spots, like the neck or just underneath the jaw.
But for AU$60 (RRP), it feels like a good buy, although it doesn't come with the nose/ear trimmer attachments like rivals we've listed here. Bottom line: it's good for really thick beards but lacks the finesse for shorter or more lavish facial hair designs.
Read our full Remington B5 review
This Braun beard trimmer offers a huge range of lengths to choose from and acts as a great all-round trimmer, without breaking the bank. Similar to the Remington B5, it works on a precision dial system with 0.5mm increments. This, along with the short and long beard guide combs included give you a total arsenal of 39 different lengths.
The BT5260 comes equipped with Braun's clever AutoSensing technology, which adjusts the trimmer motor's power according to your beard's thickness - meaning it won't snag or pull at the hair.
It has been known to occasionally clog with a build-up of thinner hairs, but it's washable, so should be quick and easy to clean and can be used in the shower.
To cut precision lines on your neck or cheek, you can remove the comb and trim off excess stubble using the blade alone, and there's an additional detail-trimmer attachment for an even closer cut.
Braun promises life-long sharp blades, and even includes a free Gillette Fusion ProGlide manual razor with the BT5260.
The precision dial on the single comb is arguably the Hatteker's party trick, as it allows for a rapid change in hair length without the faff of continuously changing heads.
Aside from that, it's all the usual suspects here: a good array of combs for trimming all sorts of body hair, steel moving and standing blades for a painless shave, a washable body and USB charging for those who travel a lot.
Plus, this doesn't come from one of the fancy big brand names that chuck every conceivable piece of tech at their shavers, so it boasts a very reasonable price tag, too.
While a number of the models on our list are compact enough to fit in your travel wash bag, the Wahl Precision is a much cheaper yet still practical option for a travel trimmer.
Being battery powered, you don't need to worry about different adaptors or power sockets when travelling overseas. And battery charge also makes it perfect for camping.
It comes with a guide comb that locks into 6 different positions between 2mm and 12mm, and features three separate guide combs for cutting lengths of 1.6mm, 3.2mm and 4.8mm.
It might not boast the same power and precision as some of Wahl's more expensive models, but it's still a great addition if you don't fancy taking your everyday trimmer away with you.
How to choose the best beard trimmer for you
When shopping for a beard trimmer there are several things to consider. The first one is length: some trimmers are only suitable for short beards, while others come with a range of heads or guards that can be used for bushy beards.
Most trimmers can be used for body hair and the hair on the top of your head too. But if you want anything other than a clean skull (or a tiny bit of stubble), you'll again want a trimmer that's capable of longer length settings.
Charge time can matter if you’re constantly on the move, and sometimes these things take a few hours to fully juice up. Realistically, that shouldn't be a problem if you only trim once per week or less, but if you suffer from beard maintenance anxiety, you might favour a trimmer with an emergency 'quick charge' feature, giving a full trim after just a few minutes charging.
Watch out for consumables – while many trimmers have self-sharpening blades that last forever, some need oiling, and some even require regular replacement.
As with electric toothbrushes, our biggest tip is: never pay the RRP on higher-end beard trimmers. Grooming gadgets are regularly discounted, as reflected in our handy pricing widgets.
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