My primary vacuum is a bit large and there are often times when I need to vacuum up just a little… and the big vac would just be a real pain to take out for the job. I end up spraying and wiping up with a paper towel when a mini-vac would be perfect for the job.
There are a lot of choices on the market, most with Chinese brand names. I’d like to keep it between $30~$50 $50~$80. Something well made but not crazy expensive. I’ve seen a number of ones made by Chinese brands, but it’s hard to know if they’re any good… because of review padding.
My wife bought the Shark CH951, It does was it supposed to do. (suck)
The runtime isn’t the longest , I considerate it for quick small pick-up tasks before I break out the upright.
For 30-50 you wont get anything long lasting or powerfull, i already tried, they either die in months or barely suck. i ended up getting milwaukee 18v wet dry 2,5 gal vacuum, i already have Milwaukee tools and batteries, it was around $100. pretty much every power tool brand sell vacuums that use their batteries. so if you own power tools and batteries get their vacuum. but it will be at least 100, some brands are more expensive, but they are worth it.
I do have hardwood floors and yes, I’ve got a mini dustpan and brush (a cool setup from MUJI that is really nice). While it comes in handy, it’s not always convenient or adequate, especially in getting to corners or underneath furniture.
I looked around for a while…
A friend of mine has one by IRIS Living (Intertek, Inc.) It’s actually pretty decent. It has only 4 out of 5 stars from 1,045 reviews on Amazon. But I stumbled upon this one by VICSONIC. It has a more powerful motor (100w) plus an LED display. Two power modes: high (13KPa) and low (8KPa)… which is pretty good. The IRIS Living has 2 modes, 12KPa and 9KPa. With the current store coupon, VICSONIC came to $55 after tax. LINK . Choice of 2 colors - black or white.
I wanted to get a “wand” style vac. They store so nicely, versus those with a wide body like the Bissell linked above.
It has an OK build quality. Parts fitting together are friction fit and not as solid as I’d like. I prefer button-release click positions.
Charging was a weird experience. The first time I plugged it in, the LED panel was abuzz with all kinds of animations. One is a ridiculous “rising and falling” static of lines scrolling across. It’s just visual noise—doesn’t tell you anything. The other is the battery bar icon, which shows the blocks rolling from low up to high and then goes blank and repeats. Lastly, the blue light behind the button “breathes.” But it’s a bit silly, because the light is so faint. In any case, I was looking at this thing and wondering what the real battery status was. Would it just continue with this “dance of LED symbols” until it’s fully charged? Within about 10 minutes I checked back and then I saw it—the battery level scroll had progressed. It wasn’t starting from blank, but instead from the first block. And then in a little more time, 2 blocks. So you could see the charge progress going on. The manual did not describe this in any way.
Anyway, I think it was about 4 hours later and the vacuum battery was fully charged.
Suction strength is very good. You do feel a difference between low and high. However, low is a little stronger and noisier than I’d like. High mode is VERY loud. What vacuums like this need are 3 modes, so your lowest can pick up loose dust without being too noisy. Exhaust ports are on the left and right sides and blow a lot of air. I guess that’s a good sign of it working well… but frankly, I’d rather have just one exhaust port and it facing forward on an upward angle.
This uses a Hepa style paper filter insert. It’s very sturdy and according to the product info, it can be washed and reused. They also throw in an extra.
Overall, I’d say the discounted purchase price was fair. I would not pay full price for this one, though.