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OPINION

Like most folks, I have more stuff squirrelled away in my bathroom drawers and cabinet than I use. A recent inspection found a cologne someone gave me that I don’t like, a prescription drug that expired five years ago, three different toe nail clippers…two of which are better suited to cut flowers, and blades that don’t fit any razor I own.

There’s more, but I can’t make sense of some items…so I’d rather not say. Quite frankly, I’m surprised I don’t have a leftover bottle of my dad’s Old Spice after shave.

Recent years have given us a plethora of men’s grooming products…trimmers for ears, noses and other manscaping areas. Some companies have tried to combine manly tools…to give us more room for old colognes and stuff your spouse uses that outgrew her bathroom cabinet.

(DON THOMPSON / iNFOnews.ca)

Last year, Panasonic - a company I have no previous animus toward - came up with what it calls the MultiShape grooming system. It just might be an idea whose time hasn’t come.

It is a clunky rechargeable battery handle that you can attach more optional accessories than perhaps any one man might need. You can have a beard-hair-body trimmer, a shaver, a nose- and ear-hair trimmer, a detail trimmer (god knows what that is), a spinning facial brush, a dedicated hair clipper, a foot callus buffer, and a toothbrush…yes, a toothbrush.

Never mind that I don’t know a single woman who would use the same tool to brush her teeth as grind away calluses. This solid black, industrial looking set looks like something Black + Decker or DeWalt might manufacture.

You can spend $200 US to get most of these handy-dandy tools…which I equate to a few bottles of fine wine that are sure to satisfy me more. You can spend another $90 for specialty attachments…again, another very fine bottle of wine.

The battery handle alone weighs nearly a half pound and is no more sleek than a Ford Edsel. I’ve read reviews from actual users that are more harsh. “Using a half pound, seven-inch long tool to trim ear hair just doesn’t seem right,” wrote one customer. Another said the trimmer “pulled hair a bit”. I’m thinking cutting toenails with this thing might be much like using a weed whacker.

Customers say getting a close shave takes multiple passes…something I’m not going to do. As far as haircuts…I can’t imagine anyone with a sense of style using this tool. Perhaps you could use it to trim your dog.

It is, perhaps, the toothbrush attachment that troubles me most about Panasonic’s version of a Swiss Army Knife. I use a Philips Sonicare 4100, which has more revolutions and a two-minute timer. Panasonic’s toothbrush has neither. Replacement brush-heads are almost twice the price of the better Sonicare.

Maybe there’s a niche market for Panasonic’s MultiShape system…you know a guy who hangs out in his home workshop too much. Otherwise, this thing might be like a shot heard around the immediate vicinity.

— Don Thompson, an American awaiting Canadian citizenship, lives in Vernon and in Florida. In a career that spans more than 40 years, Don has been a working journalist, a speechwriter and the CEO of an advertising and public relations firm. A passionate and compassionate man, he loves the written word as much as fine dinners with great wines.

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