Braun PocketGo M60b Review: a cheap little travel shaver that does the basics and not much more

I’ve been using the Braun PocketGo M60b as a backup and travel shaver for a few weeks, and I’ll be straight: this is not a main shaver. It’s the kind of thing you throw in a bag, keep in the car, or leave at the office for emergencies. If you expect a barbershop-smooth face in two minutes, you’re going to be disappointed. If you want something that tidies up one day’s stubble and doesn’t cost much, it starts to make sense.

In my case, I used it mostly in three situations: quick clean-up before a video call, shaving in a hotel bathroom when I didn’t want to bring my full-size shaver, and fixing a slightly patchy wet shave. In all those cases, it did the job, but it was never fast or particularly close. You need to be patient and go over the same area several times, especially on the neck and jawline.

Compared to my usual mains-powered foil shaver, the Braun PocketGo feels weak and slower, but that’s kind of expected for something that runs on two AA batteries and fits in your pocket. Where it did surprise me a bit is how comfortable it is on the skin. Even when I had to go over the same spot again and again, I didn’t get much irritation, more just a bit of warmth and mild redness on the neck if I pushed my luck.

So overall, the first impression is pretty simple: as a daily main shaver, it’s a bad idea; as a cheap backup or travel shaver, it’s actually pretty solid. You just have to know what you’re buying and not expect it to replace a proper electric or a razor at home.

In terms of value, the Braun PocketGo M60b sits in that “cheap but useful” category. It’s usually priced well below a full-size electric shaver and often drops to around the cost of a couple of razor blade packs if you catch it on offer. For that money, you get a compact, washable, brand-name shaver that’s handy in a lot of real-life situations: travel, the office drawer, glovebox, gym bag, or as a backup when your main shaver dies.

If you compare it to more expensive Braun models, you obviously lose power, speed, closeness, and extra features like trimmers and flexing heads. But the actual shaving foil technology is not wildly different, and for simple daily stubble removal it can get pretty close to the results of mid-range shavers – it just takes longer and needs more passes. A few reviewers pointed out that the M60 uses basically the same type of foil as the pricier mobile models, just without the added bells and whistles.

The real question is what you expect from it. If you want a primary shaver, I’d say it’s poor value. You’ll get annoyed by the time it takes and the inconsistency on longer hairs, and you’ll probably end up buying a better shaver anyway. But if you already have a main shaver or you mostly wet shave and just want a cheap electric backup, then it starts to look like good value. It’s also handy for people who travel a lot and don’t want to deal with chargers and adapters.

So overall, I’d call the value pretty solid for a secondary tool, but mediocre if you try to make it your one and only shaver. For what it costs, it does enough to justify its place in a bag or drawer, as long as you’re clear on its limits.

Design-wise, the PocketGo M60b is clearly built around portability. It’s small (about 12 cm long, 3 cm thick), light (around 180 g including batteries), and the blue transparent shell gives it a slightly gadgety look. It doesn’t scream “premium”, but it doesn’t look like a toy either. In the hand, it’s decent: not too slippery, with enough grip from the shape rather than from rubber coatings or anything fancy.

The best design feature is the rotating protective cover. When you twist it, it slides over the foil to protect it and at the same time turns the shaver off and locks it. Twist it back and you’re ready to shave. In real life, this is very handy: you can just throw it in a bag without worrying about the foil getting damaged or it randomly turning on in your luggage. I’ve had other small shavers with removable caps that either crack or get lost; this one stays attached and just works.

The downside is the lack of a trimmer. There’s no pop-up sideburn trimmer or anything similar. That means it’s not good for shaping lines, cleaning a beard edge, or tackling slightly longer hairs around the ears or neckline. If you have two or three days of growth, the foil struggles because there’s nothing to trim down the longer hairs first. You end up going in circles, literally, trying to get everything through the foil holes.

Ergonomically, it’s fine for short sessions. The on/off action via the rotating cover is simple, and the head doesn’t flex much, but because the shaver is light and compact, you can angle it easily around the jaw and upper lip. For a suitcase or glovebox shaver, the design is honestly pretty solid. Just don’t expect the feel or versatility of a full-size Braun Series 5 or 7. It’s clearly a budget tool, but a reasonably well-thought-out one for what it is.

The PocketGo M60b runs on two AA batteries, which is both its strength and its weakness. The strength: you can find AA batteries anywhere, you don’t need a special charger or proprietary cable, and if it dies on a trip you just pop in a new pair and you’re back in business. The weakness: it’s not as powerful as a mains or rechargeable lithium shaver, and you can feel that when you hit thicker areas of growth.

In terms of battery life, it’s actually pretty good. The spec says about 60 minutes of shaving, and that feels roughly right. Using good alkaline AAs, I easily got a couple of weeks of light daily use. One Amazon reviewer mentioned using rechargeable Ni-MH AA 2700 mAh batteries and getting over a month of use, which sounds realistic if you’re only doing quick shaves. Just keep in mind that rechargeables usually have 1.2V instead of 1.5V, so the motor runs a bit slower. I tried both types and, yes, you can feel a small drop in speed with rechargeables, but it’s not dramatic for short stubble.

The main thing is power and speed. The motor is not aggressive. It does the job, but slowly. You can literally hear it struggle a bit if you push it onto denser areas. It doesn’t stall, but it doesn’t power through either. That’s why many people, including me, recommend using it every day or for minor touch-ups only. If you want to tackle a weekend’s worth of beard, you’ll end up annoyed and probably with a warm face from all the passes.

Overall, the battery setup makes sense for a travel shaver. No cables, no worrying about voltage in different countries, just grab a couple of AAs and go. I’d say use decent-quality rechargeables if you plan to use it often, and keep one spare charged pair around. Just don’t expect the punch of a proper rechargeable foil shaver. It’s more about convenience and long runtime than raw power.

On the comfort side, the Braun PocketGo M60b is actually better than I expected. Because the motor isn’t very aggressive and the foil is fairly smooth, it’s quite forgiving on the skin. I didn’t get any cuts or nicks, and even when pushing a bit harder on tricky spots, it mostly just felt warm rather than painful. For me, the cheeks and upper lip were no problem at all, even with daily use.

Where it’s less pleasant is when you’re trying to do more than it’s designed for. On the neck, especially if you have slightly longer or curly hairs, you need multiple passes from different angles to catch everything. That repeated rubbing can lead to mild irritation or that itchy, slightly burned feeling. One Amazon review basically said they had to go over and over the same area and ended up with razor burn. I can see how that happens if you’re chasing a super-close shave with this thing; it’s just not built for that level of performance.

In terms of noise and vibration, it’s pretty tame. It makes a light buzzing sound, nowhere near as loud as some big rotary shavers. Vibration in the hand is low, so it doesn’t feel like you’re holding a power tool. For a quick shave in a hotel room early in the morning, it’s discreet enough that you’re not waking the whole place up.

Bottom line: comfort is good as long as you stay within its limits – light stubble, short sessions, and realistic expectations. If you try to make it your main shaver and push it through 2–3 days of beard growth all the time, you’ll probably end up with red patches and some frustration. Used as a backup or travel tool, it’s gentle and easy to live with.

Durability on these small foil shavers can be hit and miss, especially with the foil. Some people on Amazon say their foil wore through quickly on other brands, which is actually why a few switched to this Braun. With the PocketGo M60b, my short-term experience is fine: no visible wear, no damage, and the mechanism still feels solid after a few weeks in bags and being thrown around a bit.

Looking at user feedback, there are two main patterns. A few people say the foil wears out after 5–6 months of daily use, which honestly is not shocking for a budget foil shaver. Others report more than a year of daily use with no major wear, especially when they lubricate the foil and cutter regularly. One reviewer mentioned using pure silicone oil every few days and said it really slowed down wear and kept the shave feeling smoother. That matches my general experience with foil shavers: a bit of lubrication and regular cleaning helps a lot.

Maintenance is simple. The head pops off easily, you brush out the hairs with the small included brush, and you can rinse it under the tap since it’s fully washable. Just don’t soak it in a sink for half an hour. The plastic body itself feels basic but not flimsy. The rotating cover still moves smoothly and hasn’t loosened up yet, which is important because if that breaks, the whole shaver becomes annoying to use and carry.

The only real concern is finding replacement foils and cutters. Some users mention that original Braun spare parts for this model are not always easy to find or not very cheap compared to the price of the whole shaver. A couple of people even said they just buy a new shaver instead of replacing the foil. It’s not very eco-friendly, but from a wallet point of view, sometimes a full new unit is only slightly more expensive than the replacement head. So durability is okay, but long-term maintenance depends a bit on whether you can be bothered to hunt down spares.

Let’s talk about what matters: how it actually shaves. In short, it’s okay for one day’s stubble, and pretty poor for anything more than that. On a normal weekday, after about 24 hours of growth, I could get a reasonably clean result on my cheeks and upper lip in around 3–5 minutes. The shave was not as close as a wet razor, but perfectly acceptable for work or going out, at least from a normal distance. If I ran my fingers against the grain, I could still feel a bit of roughness, but visually it looked fine.

Where it starts to struggle is on the neck and on anything over 1–2 days of growth. The foil needs the hair to be short and somewhat upright to catch it. If you’ve got flat-lying hairs or thicker growth, you’ll find yourself going over the same patch again and again. That’s when some people start to get irritation or razor burn. On my neck, if I tried to clear two days of growth with this, the skin started to feel a bit warm and sensitive before the hairs were properly gone. A couple of Amazon reviewers said the same: it shaves, but not close enough and takes too many passes.

The positive side is that it’s pretty gentle. One reviewer mentioned using it even twice a day without sore skin, and I had a similar experience as long as I wasn’t asking it to chew through heavy stubble. It’s definitely more of a tidy-up tool than a serious beard remover. It’s also good for catching odd missed hairs after a main shave, especially under the jaw or around the Adam’s apple.

So in practice, I’d rate the performance like this: daily light shaving – decent; emergency tidy-up – good enough; three days of growth – frustrating. If you accept that it’s a “maintenance” shaver and not a heavy-duty machine, you won’t be too annoyed. If you buy it expecting full-size Braun performance in a pocket format, you’ll probably say “meh” and leave it in a drawer.

Out of the box, the Braun PocketGo M60b is very basic. You get the shaver itself, a tiny cleaning brush that hides in the body, and usually a pair of AA batteries (often Duracell). That’s it. No pouch, no cap, no charger, nothing fancy. To be fair, for the price, I didn’t really expect more, but don’t imagine some premium kit. This is more “chuck it in your washbag” than “display it on the bathroom shelf”.

The shaver is a single-foil device with Braun’s so-called “Smart Foil”. In practice, it just means the foil has different shaped holes to catch hairs growing in different directions. There’s no pop-up trimmer, no second blade, no fancy flexing head. It’s a simple foil with a cutter underneath, powered by two AA batteries. It’s fully washable under running water, which is handy, but Braun still tells you not to dunk it fully in water for ages, so think rinse, not bath.

One thing I did like is the rotating cover. It twists around to protect the foil when you’re not shaving and also acts as an on/off lock so it doesn’t switch on by accident in your bag. It sounds like a gimmick, but if you’ve ever crushed a foil in a backpack, you’ll appreciate this bit. The cleaning brush clips into the bottom of the shaver, so you don’t lose it easily, although it’s quite small and a bit fiddly if you have big hands.

Overall, the presentation matches the price: very simple, slightly plasticky, but functional. No one is buying this as a gift to impress someone. It’s a practical little tool for people who care more about having a cheap, reliable backup than about nice packaging or tons of accessories.