It’s bulkier and feels more fragile than the Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro+, but it has a few advantages aside from its cheaper price tag. Its dustbin is even bigger and won’t need emptying as often. It also uses cheaper filters, resulting in lower costs of ownership. The crevice tool also focuses the Flex’s airflow, offsetting the weaker suction to some degree.
Peer into the mechanism and pull out anything you see there. I’ve personally been on the vacuum beat since 2017, first for the Good Housekeeping Institute and now for Wirecutter. We looked for vacs we could comfortably hold for 10 to 20 minutes without straining our wrists and forearms. The Black+Decker 16V Max Lithium DustBuster Hand Vacuum CHV1410L is our budget pick. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Store the handheld vacuum by inserting the nozzle into the ION Charging Dock. You will know it is fully inserted when the blue power button light turns on. Snap on the Motorbar cleaning head to make short work of hard-to-reach areas like baseboards and stairs—it reaches up to 50 feet. Snag it at a savings shark robotic vacuums of $100 for a limited time on Dyson’s website—it’s the cleaning and organizing deal you never knew you needed. The WandVac is light and easy to use, making it a fantastic choice for high-up cleaning of blinds and curtains. It’s also a good option if you need a portable vacuum for cleaning your car.
The strong suction makes up for the Pivot’s 10 minutes of no-fade run time, which is below average and just enough to tidy up the interior of a three-row minivan or SUV. The pivoting nozzle makes getting into crevices, such as in between car seats, a lot easier than with a traditional Dustbuster. We especially like the all-in-one design, with no attachments to lose. When you need to clean a small mess quickly, the Bissell AeroSlim Cordless Handheld Vacuum comes in, well, handy. The cordless vacuum, which weighs under 2 pounds, is one of the most lightweight and portable options on this list.
Both run on batteries that are easily replaceable and interchangeable with other Ryobi and Worx products, respectively. The main downside, as with most Dustbuster-style models, is that the CHV1410L can’t clean upholstery very effectively. Debris tends to cling to fabric, and the CHV1410L has neither the suction nor the right tools to offset that clinginess. Also, because the CHV1410L has no hose or pivoting nozzle, it’s a hassle to clean the kinds of odd angles that our main pick excels at.
Sophie writes about all things appliance-related and is currently the Home Editor at TechRadar’s sister site, Top Ten Reviews. When she’s not testing coffee machines and appliances, Sophie is thinking of eating delicious food, and asking people what they’re having for dinner. We noticed a few comments from owners about the handle getting hot during extended use. The Shark WandVac WV200UK – which has a fantastic star-rating of 4.6 out of 5 (79% of all reviews were five-star) from more than 4,000 customer reviews – is currently 50% off.
This is not a surprise given that the vacuum has no brushroll. Some handhelds have a built-in brushroll or even a motorized brushroll tool which really helps to pull up ground-in pet hair and debris. In our pet hair test shark canister vacuum the W1 performed fairly well but it is quite likely that had the hair been more ground into the carpet, pickup would have suffered. This small but mighty hand vacuum is typical of Shark’s dedication to people-pleasing.