We bought this vacuum when we lost our usual cleaning service to lockdown. I'm getting old enough that I can feel most of my joints when I move, and wanted something lightweight and easy to use--which my shopvac wasn't. I can't say how pleased I am with this vacuum! I think the most important thing about it overall is that whoever designed it actually used it--it's full of small, thoughtful features that make it a joy to use. But to start with the big things: --Suction power is great. The height of the brush roller on the front end is adjustable, from bare floor to high carpet, and between the brush and the vacuum this things does a great job deep-cleaning carpets, from tight/short-pile Persian rugs to handmade braided rugs to 20-year-old medium pile wall-to-wall. The front of the floor sweep is less than three inches high, so you can get under furniture/toe-kicks/etc. The brush depth adjustment is a big flat knob there on top of the front of the sweep, is easy to adjust, with solid, positive click-stop feedback at each of the half-dozen positions. --On stairs, it's a champ, mainly because it's incredibly light-weight, with a well-designed and carefully-placed handle that makes it easy to move from tread to tread. --Hair. We don't have pets, but we do have a couple of people in the household with very long hair, and a fanatic quilter who sheds bits of thread more than any dog I've ever had, and it does a good job picking up after them. Like any vacuum with a brush roller, if you turn the thing over and pull/cut out whatever gets wrapped around the spindle every few uses, you'll probably prolong belt/brush/motor life, as well as preserve its efficiency. Other things I like: --Emptying the dirt. Like most uprights these days, this machine uses a clear plastic cannister with a foam filter to protect the motor and keep fine dust from recirculating--no bags. To empty the cannister, you push one button conveniently placed at the top of the cannister and pull it off by a large handle. Hold it over (or, better, in) the trash, push a button at the bottom, and the bottom flips out of the way, dumping the contents. The foam filter at the top of the cannister is easy enough to remove and wash. I don't know how long the filter will last, but the material is not the flimsy foam rubber that you see, say, in cheap window air conditioner filters, but a slightly coarser, harder material that I've seen stand up to repeated cleanings in other applications. To my mind, the great thing about these cannisters is that if you accidentally scoop up loose change, you can usually see it sitting on top of the pile and fish it out. --Special tools. I love the way these work. There are three tools included with the basic unit (at the next price point up you get another tool, I think a slightly fancier surface sweep). They are conveniently placed around the body/handle of the upright--nothing to move out of the way to get at them. They're securely attached but easy to pop off, ditto for attaching to the vacuum. They attach to a hose that connects the motor/blower unit to the floor/brush sweep, usually draped over a hook on the back of the upright handle. You detach the hose (a simple pull) from the back of the floor sweep and there it is, ready to suck. You can attach tools directly to the hose or, if you want more reach, the handle of the upright comes off (again, you just push a button), adding about two feet more of reach, and a comfortable, sturdy handle. The hose goes into the top of the handle and the tool goes on the other end. With these, it's easy to get all the way under sofas, behind cabinets, etc., and control the population of dust bunnies. We have a lot of Victorian era furniture, and the brush attachment does a great job of getting the dust out of all the gingerbread. --The small touches. Take the power cord, for instance. It's a generous length, and there's a small plastic clip just below the handle on the back, which I believe is intended to hold the nearer length of the cord off the floor so you don't run over it all the time--thank you to the designer who put >that< in! To store, it coils between two prongs placed about two feet apart on the back of the upright, which isn't special but what is special is that the top prong rotates: to free the cord for use, rotate the top prong 180 degrees and the whole coil drops free. Love it! The controls (the handle release that allows the upright section to pivot back from the floor sweep, and the on-off switch) are both easy to get at with your foot, easy to tell apart, and separated well enough that you're not likely to mash one when you're going for the other. --Assembly, shipping: Easy to put together in under ten minutes, with clear instructions if you're the kind of person who reads instructions. It came in a sturdy carton, all materials recyclable, and despite the potential delays caused by the pandemic, it arrived (in perfect condition) in two days. All in all, I can't remember the last time I was so happy with a small household appliance. If its durability is on par with the rest of the quality I see here, I'm hoping it will last a long time. But even if it doesn't, the thing was such a bargain compared to everything else on the market that I won't feel abused even if it only lasts a year or two. Great job, Eureka!
