Panasonic knows how to make one of the best beard trimmers around—a prime example being the ER-SB40. The name of this Panasonic beard trimmer presents a complex soup of seemingly useless letters and numbers, but the device itself is simple in concept: a supremely capable tool perfect for short beards and stubble. Consistency is the holy grail of facial fuzz maintenance, and here, it's a rather easy affair thanks to Panasonic's hypoallergenic, razor-sharp blades that keep irritation and skin burn to a minimum. Still, there are plenty of beard trimmers that do a similar job and cost a fair amount less—think the Philips OneBlade Pro 360, Philips 9000 Prestige or even Panasonic's own Multishape—than this top-tier trimmer, so what sets it apart? We've been testing out the Panasonic ER-SB40 to find out. Bigger is Best? First of all, this Panasonic beard trimmer is a mighty addition to any bathroom, both in capabilities and physical size. It's a huge gadget to hold in your hand, store in your cabinet, and take with you on your travels—so keep that in mind when planning your summer holiday grooming tools. Because of this heft, it can be a little unwieldy to maneuver around your jawline, with the blocky blade head taking up a fair chunk of jawline on its own. I didn't mind its weight after a few shaves, but the initial testing required some nimble wrist work to ensure I didn't slice through the longer hairs on my chin accidentally. The reason for its chonkiness comes from the powerful motor that powers the Japanese steel blades. These blades shift at 9,800 motions per minute, which equates to a decimation of unwanted beard hairs in reasonably short order and surprisingly few nicks and pulls. Though fair warning, the longer the hair you're trimming, the more at risk you are of this occurring. All of which points you towards maintaining a shorter beard if you can, which is a bit of a stinger when you're spending this much money and losing out on some versatility. The motor requires a fair amount of oomph to keep going, so it's best used as a corded monster, but you can use this via battery power, which lasts a full hour of trimming and only needs one hour to get back up to full charge. The LED display notifies you of your battery level, but I'd love it to be less vague than its current iteration, which just denotes when the battery is “full,” “mid," or “low,” which isn't the most useful info when I'm rushing to squeeze in a quick shave before heading out to work. Heaps of Customization Where the Panasonic truly sings is with the adjustable cutting length, which can be switched up on the fly for experimentation mid-shave. I like to keep my chin hair slightly longer and taper off the cheeks higher up towards my ears, so swiftly increasing the length as I shaved with the haptic dial wheel is the sort of low-effort grooming I enjoy. The wheel extends the guiding come between 0.5 to 10mm in .5mm-increments, resulting in 20 options total, which should more than contend with all but the mightiest of chest-length beards. Anything longer and you'll have to trim by eye, which is doable but certainly harder. My own beard is a mid-length beard with longer strands on the chin, so the Panasonic is a dream for maintaining the shorter sides and assisting in growing the pointer edges I desire from my chin. As we mentioned, it's a big old device, so travelling requires a bit more packing planning, but should you take it on your trip, it does come with a travel pouch and has a nifty travel lock to stop it buzzing and draining your juice before you've even arrived. Panasonic ER-SB40 verdict This is an admittedly focused trimmer for shorter beards, so length settings won't stretch to the Viking beards that many might require, and that is a missed step if you're planning on growing your beard out and you're investing in a trimmer for the long run. However, if it's stubble and shorter beards that need a tidy-up, this is easily one of the best devices around. The option to use it plugged into the wall for supreme power or away from the wall with the hour-long battery cannot be understated in its usefulness, and the premium weight and materials are a comforting presence as you shave. This article originally appeared on British GQ.