Introduction

Front

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Side

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Handle

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Hose

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Cleaning Tools

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Controls

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Dirt Container

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Underside

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Overall Cleaning

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Despite not doing as well on hardwood debris pickup and high-pile dirt cleaning, we were still happy with the {{product.name}}'s results.

Long Carpet

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While the {{product.name}} wasn't very productive on high carpet dirt cleanup, users should take note of its height adjustment settings. The powerbrush height adjustment settings can be very helpful to the user, but they can also serve to confuse at times. For our long carpet test, as the manual instructed us to do, we used the vacuum's "High" setting and the results were poor. It garnered only 11.4% of the dirt from our high carpet, so we changed the setting to "Medium" and the number increased to 33.5%. The only issue here was that the lowered powerbrush was working hard to get through the carpet's long tassels and the motor emitted a burning smell afterward. Though the "Medium" setting produced better numbers, we would advise keep the vacuum on "High" if you choose to use it on long carpet.

Short Carpet

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The {{product.name}} did a much better job on short carpet and the "Medium" height ended up being the perfect setting. The vacuum pulled in 74.2% of dirt and had no issue moving back and forth on the carpet.

Wood Floor

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With a sterling 96.1% of dirt sucked up, the {{product.name}} did some of its best best cleaning on the hardwood surface.

Pet Hair

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Pet owners take note, as the {{product.name}} did well on pair hair pickup as it left no visible residue behind.

Debris Pickup

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Given its struggles with dirt pickup on high carpet, the {{product.name}} did surprisingly well on debris cleanup on the same surface. It brought in 84% of debris on high-pile, which was one of the better totals we've seen from a vacuum. The vacuum wasn't as great on hardwood, though, as it only pulled in 44% of debris and didn't pick up a single dime or penny, even with with height set on "Low".

Dirt Holder Capacity

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The {{product.name}}'s replaceable bag held 0.82 gallons of cork, which is good because customers hate replacing vacuum cleaner bags.

Handling

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With good swiveling capabilities, the {{product.name}} is very easy to handle and glides well on both short and high carpet.

Cleaner Controls

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Some of the {{product.name}}'s best features are its cleaner controls. You can adjust height with the slide-down power button on the handle from "Floor" to "Carpet". There is also a foot pedal on the bottom right of the base that allows users to switch between "High", "Medium", "Low" and "Extra Low" powerbrush heights. To the right of the height adjustment setting is the "Belt Reset" button, which is to be pressed if something gets caught in the powerbrush or there's something blocking the belt from turning.

There is also a dirt sensor on the bottom right of the base that indicates via a green (no dirt) or red light (a lot of dirt) how much dirt is present.

Cleaning Tools Use

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No cleaning tools came with the {{product.name}}.

Power Cord

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The {{product.name}}'s power cord wraps around the back of the vacuum and is 26.5 feet long.

Hose Use

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There is no hose on the {{product.name}}.

Dirt Holder

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The {{product.name}}'s Type Z removable dust bag is located at the front of the machine, and after removing the front cover can be a real pain to remove. It was difficult to pull the bag from the nozzle without ripping the bag or the cardboard base at the top that connects to vacuum's body.

Filter

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Located on the back just beneath the cord holders, you can get to the {{product.name}}'s HEPA filter with a single click and it can be cleaned with ease too, as it pops right out of slot.

Weight

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The {{product.name}} weighs only 12.66 pounds, which is lightweight for a vacuum that provides good performance.

Noise

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Dealing with 75.73 decibels, which is average, won't blow out your ear drums. It's noisy enough where you'll know it's on even if it's on the other side of the house, though.

Energy Use

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The {{product.name}} is on the low end when it comes to energy usage as it used only 912 watts, compared to 1200+ for most other vacuums with similar performance.

Electrolux Nimble EL8602A 3-in-1 Comparison

In comparing a pair of $99 vacuums, the {{product.name}} whips the Presto in just about every category.

The Presto's best performance came on hardwood flooring with 90% of dirt picked up, but the {{product.name}} beats it even in that test with 96.1% of dirt sucked up. The {{product.name}} had issues on high-pile carpet with just 11.4% of dirt picked up, but did well on low carpet with 74.2%. The Presto, on the other hand, only picked up 2% and 8% of dirt on high-pile and short-pile carpet, respectively.

The {{product.name}} is not only easier to push around than the Presto, it has height adjustment controls that give users flexibility when vacuuming on different types of surfaces.

The Presto has an edge in noisiness with about 70 decibels to the {{product.name}}'s 75.73, but given its poor performance and the fact that the Presto dies after 5 minutes and 30 seconds of use, customers likely won't mind.

Panasonic MC-UL815 Jet Turn Comparison

The Electrolux ($399 MSRP) was one of the better vacuums that we've tested, so we wanted to see how it stacked up against the {{product.name}}. For $300 less at $99 MSRP, the {{product.name}} was very close to the Electrolux.

The Electrolux did marginally better on high carpet performance with 20.4% of dirt sucked up to 11.5% for the {{product.name}}, but the two were neck and neck in short carpet and hardwood. The Electrolux sucked up 75.7% of dirt on short carpet and 98.1% on hardwood, numbers that are close to the {{product.name}}'s 74.2% and 96.1%, respectively.

Both have swivel capabilities that make life easier on the user, but the {{product.name}} is lighter than the Electrolux. The Electrolux, however, has a dirt container that's easy to remove, a hose, and cleaning tools that help give it a big edge over the {{product.name}} in usability.

The {{product.name}} is noisier at 75.7 decibels to the Electrolux's 73.7, but it's also much more power efficient with only 912 watts used to the Electrolux's 1300+ watts.

Comp 3

In the battle of the overachieving, under-priced vacuums, both machines offer good value for customers. The Jet Turn is $199 MSRP and the {{product.name}} is $99.

The Jet Turn was more consistent in cleaning performance, as it didn't dip below 53% in any area while the {{product.name}} bottomed out at 11.5% of dirt picked up on high carpet. But the {{product.name}} was great on high carpet debris with 84% picked up.

The {{product.name}} gets the edge in users controls, as users can choose from "Extra Low" to "High" for carpet height. The Jet Turn, however, has a retractable power cord, user-friendly dirt holder, and three cleaning tools. The {{product.name}} loses points the difficulty involved in removing its bags.

The Jet Turn is a tad louder than the {{product.name}} as it edges it in decibels 77-75. The Jet Turn is also less power efficient with 1112 watts to the {{product.name}}'s 912.

Overall Verdict

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The {{product.name}} should be on any bargain hunter's list at $99 MSRP given its performance and lightweight design. The vacuum also includes users control settings that adjust the vacuum's powerbrush height based on the length of carpet. It was strong in most of our lab tests as well, only struggling on high carpet dirt pickup while excelling on hardwood and short carpet.

The {{product.name}} isn't without its flaws, though. It is a bag vacuum that makes it extremely difficult for the user to remove the bag without ripping it. It also doesn't balance well while left unattended and often falls down without being touched, which can be an annoyance. Despite some of its inadequacies, the {{product.name}} is an excellent buy for customers not willing to pay $300-400 for a vacuum and who have wall-to-wall carpeting.

Usability