Over the past few months I've been testing two very different shavers from Braun – the high-end Series 9, and the budget Series 3. Despite sharing the same design heritage, they could not be more different. The Series 9 is intimidating: its shiny chrome looks part BMW grille, part cyborg. The pastel-coloured, rubber coated Series 3 is far more fun.

The 9 has five different shaving elements crammed into its enormous pivoting head. Braun assures me this is built for the "modern businessman" who tends to shave only Monday to Thursday, skipping the boring task over the weekend. This means the Monday shave is tougher than it once was, and the company has upped the blades in response. I'm even lazier, but the machine tackled a 14-day holiday beard comfortably and quickly.

The unit comes with its own docking station that gives it an alcohol bath to clean the elements and flush out any hair. But at around $500, the Series 9 is something I could never bring myself to purchase.

The Series 3, however, is just $99, and is a lot more versatile, too. The cute little unit is smaller and more comfortable in the hand. The main shaving head is far smaller, and takes longer to cut through a three-day growth, but not by much. Included in the box is a separate beard trimming head that can be snapped on for, I assume, the "modern hipster businessman".

A single charge gives either model over two weeks' worth of shaves, making it easy to charge once and throw in a suitcase.

Both devices can be used wet or dry. Using an electric shaver in the shower is still something of a novelty for me. You can even use these with shaving cream for a smoother, more comfortable finish.