“The Parasonic takes multiple laps and didnt seem to get a close shave in typical spots you mentioned”

65% of 17 verified owners recommend the Panasonic Arc 5 ES-LV97, based on real owner verdicts aggregated from Reddit, enthusiast forums, and YouTube.
The headline score reflects owners (Reddit, enthusiast forums), independent lab tests, blogs with no affiliate links, and YouTube owner-comments when they line up with owners. YouTube is shown for perspective but kept out here — hover the i for why.
Synthesized from what Panasonic Arc 5 ES-LV97 owners say — not a spec sheet.
Retailers' own star averages, for comparison — separate from our vetted owner-verdict score above.
“The Parasonic takes multiple laps and didnt seem to get a close shave in typical spots you mentioned”
“The shaver works well but I have an issue with the cleaning station and I do not understand why it smells like mildew (shaver and the station as well) given the station clean and dries.”
“Great Shaver. My head is as smooth as a peanut.”
“One of the worst razors ever after only two months it was clear i would either go deaf or get White Finger”
“Just got the Arc 5 yesterday and it's amazing.”
“Great Close Smooth Shave, Tends to miss too many whiskers, Best pop up Trimmer I have used.”
“yesterday something felt really off”
“I've always used and enjoyed the Panasonic shavers”
“It is absolutely brilliant.”
“Same thing happen to me this am. Light showed low on cleaning fluid. Cleaned it out and put new cleaning solution in and got the red light along with the blue dry light.”
“it was an awesomely comfortable and pleasant shave!”
“BUT, after only a few years the shaver died. I took it back to the store and they said the battery had died and nothing they could do and this was the same response from Panasonic. Not what you would expect for a $500+ shaver and a major company.”
“Mine stopped working after cleaning it. The lights still come on but the button doesn't do anything.”
“It’s been amazing so far with much closer shave and very smooth feeling.”
“Right now it won't stop drying...more than 90mins now.”
“the shave is much closer with the arc 5 the two outer blades cut super close which make a big difference for me compared to series 9”
“After using it I'm excited to say it's the first time shaving without my neck getting irritated.”
“I’ve had both for years and yes the Panasonic is better and cuts more”
“I've been pleased and impressed with it.”
“for 5 years it was cheap enough (about $120 if i recall) and has done good job”
“Love my Arc5, it's amazing.”
“My old arc5 battery just died after 11-12 years(still on original head/blade)”
“previously I was using my dad's Panasonic arc 5 and it was way better”
“Great value.”
Practical notes owners raise — setup, quirks, and issues to watch for. They don't say whether the person likes the product, so they're not counted in the score, but they inform the pros, cons, and who it's for.
“Just experienced this myself with an es lv97. Evidently it didn't think there was enough cleaning solution. Once I added water to raise the level to the internal marker, it started working correctly again.”
“Yes the blade replacement is at least in my case about 25% of the cost, but you only need to replace them every 2 years. Thats not too bad”
“I use mine to sometimes clean up after the Arc5. You can hear it cut hairs the Arc5 misses and even gets hairs a blade misses too.”
“I fixed mine this afternoon. Up inside unit there are 3 silver pins that read minerals in the water. I cleaned them with some alcohol and made some new cleaning solution and it worked. I think the build up of minerals stops it from detecting the water.”
“easier to remove the head on the small ones. I prefer the heft of the bigger one personally.”
“The Arc 5 is a foil type razor. It's not really suited for longer stubble.”
“No, I've just been cleaning mine manually.”