Great value!

I did a TON of research before buying a new stick vac after my beloved Eureka finally kicked the bucket. The only problem was that every review I read about every stick vac had equal numbers of pros and cons. So I decided I would just start trying them out until I found one that I liked, and return the rest. Rest assured--you are getting an accurate review!

This Bissell stick vac is a really great value. I bought it at Kohls for $25. Despite the annoyance, I did not vacuum the house (1200 square feet, all hardwoods) for TWO weeks! I really wanted to test the product's performance--and let me tell you, it did a bang up job. I have two cats that shed terribly. On top of that, I have long hair and shed quite a bit myself. :)

This stick vac is actually not as powerful (meaning: amps) as my old Eureka, and yet it was able to pick up bits of cat food that my Eureka always dropped. To really test its durability, I vacuumed the entire house without emptying the dust cup. When I was finished, I shook the thing violently to see if any dirt, hair or dust fell out--it did not. That was impressive.

Remember--this is a stick vac...not a regular vacuum. It does great on hardwoods, tile, etc. It did a very good job on a lightweight cleaning of my area rug as well. It does not have a rotating brush head, so it isn't going to do an amazing job on carpets...just quick pick-ups. The suction is better than I would expect for the low amps, but it's not going to suck the dirt out from places you didn't know existed. On the upside though, it is very quiet compared to others I have tried (Dirt Devil, and my old Eureka). The other cool thing is that it has a cord and even when you separate it and use it as a hand-vac, you have the power that a Dust Buster just can't give you. You can take it into the garage and give a quick vac to the inside of you car too...pretty cool.

If I could suggest improvements, I would add a bumper to the front to protect furniture. I would increase the cord length, although, it's really not bad...20' would still be a nice bonus.

The only possible cons that mildly irritate me are that 1) it cannot stand up on it's own (although, you can lean it in a closet or hang it up) and 2) emptying the dust cup is a messy experience if you are not careful (although, the dust cup area opens easily so you don't have to break a nail trying to pry the thing open).

I would definitely recommend this product to anyone. It's a great value and does a good job when used as intended.