Numatic HVB160 Cordless Henry Cylinder Vacuum Cleaner with 2 x 36 V Batteries for Longer Run Time, 9 Litre, Red/Black

Product Information

Roidmi started in 2015 in China and is still little-known in the UK, although its models are sold by big names like Harrods. It markets itself on innovation, and this combined vacuum and steam mop is a perfect example.

When it comes to ground-breaking technology and trusted market leaders, our selection of Dyson cordless vacuums is the one you want to look out for. Using cyclone technology with high torque cleaner heads and Dynamic Load Sensor technology that intelligently adapts suction to clean your carpets and hard floors. These vacuums come with a powerful direct-drive cleaner head that removes ground-in dirt from your carpet for a thorough clean. It comes with a great range of attachments: a crevice tool, a multi surface dusting tool, a dedicated pet tool and an accessory bag. My favourite bit was the hinge in the middle, which allows you to bend the vacuum under sofas, cupboards and other harder to reach places, and also folds completely in half for storage. One battery lasts 60 minutes meaning I could comfortably vacuum my entire flat in one go, though if you have a bigger house you might consider investing in the double battery version. The second factor is weight, as some of the heavier cordless vacuum cleaners make hoovering your sitting room seem like an upper-body workout. Swap it out for the hard floor cleaning attachment and you get similarly impressive results for a longer run time. Actually the range of attachments was one of the things I like the most. Mine came with hard and soft motorised heads for carpet and hard floors, a Pet Pro motorised head with rubber bristles, which really worked, and various crevice and brush tools. In its defence, the HX2 is extremely powerful and definitely punches above its 322W rating. I’d say its suction power was equivalent to the Dyson Gen5 Detect at the top of this list.It performed exceptionally well on hard floors and carpets alike, and it has a handy illuminated floor head and hardy brush mode that made light work of leeching dust and debris from my rugs. At 3.1kg, it’s a touch heavier than some of the other models on this list, but still plenty light enough to use for cleaning surfaces and corners as a handheld device. Like previous models, the Gen5 Detect has three power modes: ‘Auto,’ which intelligently adapts to different floor types, ‘Eco,’ which saves power, and ‘Boost,’ for intensive cleaning. It also races ahead of competitors when it comes to battery life, with a maximum run time of 70 minutes. The battery is removable – spares are available to buy from Dyson should you wish to double your run time. The digital display is useful but not obvious. You need to refer to instructions to understand the messages. On the other hand, the app is extremely useful. It easily connects via Bluetooth and tells you battery level, standby time, how big an area you’ve cleaned and time spent cleaning. A lovely bit of German engineering, the AEG is like a Mercedes in a world of Vauxhalls, although that is certainly reflected in the price. I loved the motorised Brush Roll Clean feature for intense carpet cleaning. Used in high power mode, it worked almost as well as the much more powerful Dyson, although you only get about 10 minutes out of it in this setting. (A second battery is available separately.) It makes the vacuum much harder to push around, but that’s a sign of its intensity.

So, this vacuum cleaner’s full name is: ‘Shark Stratos Anti Hair Wrap Plus Pet Pro Cordless Vacuum (Single Battery)’. Slightly wordy, but don’t be put off. Shark is the favourite brand of celebrity cleanfluencer Mrs Hinch. So, if you want a home as clean as hers, it appears this Shark is the way to get it. This cordless vacuum cleaner has lots to offer – I was hugely impressed with its 45 minute battery life (and the fact that it comes with an extra battery to double runtime), powerful suction, easy-empty bin and extra features. Put simply, it rivals more expensive models for a far better price.It’s noticeably heavier than previous models. Though only 0.5kg heavier than the V15, that weight is all in the top which makes it cumbersome as a handheld - unfortunate given the upgrade Dyson has made on immersing the handheld inside the regular vacuum. While still not as powerful as their mains-powered counterparts (especially the most powerful cylinder vacuum cleaners), new technology such as long-lasting lithium-ion batteries means that the best cordless vacuum cleaners from brands like Shark, Dyson and Vax now offer enough cleaning power for most homes, in a much lighter, more manoeuvrable and affordable format. Cordless vacuums use less electricity than traditional vacuum cleaners, since they have smaller motors and only draw power when they’re recharging. That becomes more and more appealing as the cost of energy rises. (Admittedly robot vacuum cleaners use even less, but those remain a niche proposition.) If you need a vacuum for pet hair removal, especially from sofas and beds, a light and handy cordless makes a lot of sense.

verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ There’s quite a big range in battery life. While some last under 10 minutes on the maximum setting, others go for much longer. The Dyson Gen5 Detect, for example, will function for just over an hour on the lowest setting, without losing power as the battery life diminishes. And, for what it’s worth, the lowest setting on the best devices was more than enough: I didn’t really find the need to use any on the max setting. I was surprised how much the weight distribution affected the ease of use. With the dust bin at the bottom of the vacuum, manoeuvring was light and easy. It also stood up on its own, a rarity among cordless vacuums. Fitted to the top, it felt bulky and awkward, which unfortunately extended to the handheld mode. This is not a light machine. The third is battery life: the vacuum cleaner you choose will need to last long enough to get round your home on one charge, otherwise it will take just as much effort to clean with as a corded model. Don’t expect to get much more than quarter of an hour’s use when cleaning carpets. Always use less energy-intensive hard floor modes where possible to extend the run-time. The Roidmi X30 VX looks good in silver and has all the features you’d expect in a luxury vacuum cleaner: an LED display, up to 80 minutes run time, a dark-detecting LED light and an easy-empty dust container. It also has a few features you won’t have come across before, including a 200rpm (revolutions per minute) steam mop head. As someone who lives in a tiny flat, the idea of having two otherwise bulky appliances in one is attractive.

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You’ll also get useful lights on the handheld section of the machine, to tell you how long you’ve got left. If you’re worried about the battery life, unless you have a huge home which you want to clean in one go, you should be fine. Never did I run out of battery, albeit in a small three-bed flat. Do they have good dust capacity? However, the biggest draw is convenience – a cordless vacuum cleaner allows you to clean little and often rather than doing one weekly deep clean, and to easily spot-clean dust or spillages without the faff of dust bags and cables. It comes with a great range of attachments including an upholstery nozzle, crevice nozzle, dusting brush and floorhead with light. An extra battery is also included, which doubles the cleaning time to an incredibly impressive 120 minutes. What’s not so impressive is the four hours it takes to recharge.