Everyone could use one of these little suckers

I bought this vacuum to use in a commercial store that has floor tile and no carpeting, but it would make a great second vac in a home to compliment a traditional upright. So many people love their uprights for quick floor cleaning, but their upright isn't handy at all for above the floor cleaning, so they get a little dustbuster to compliment it. This vac will do a much better job of above the floor cleaning than a dustbuster for not much more money. A dustbuster isn't going to catch the fine dust, and it isn't going to have as much power or flexibility.

The commercial version of the "Mighty Mite" is very light weight, and can be used by dragging it around like a conventional canister, or you can fasten the strap on your shoulders and go. My employees have all opted for the shoulder strap mode because they can vacuum and go, and I like it that way, too. The only problem is that the cord is only about 20 feet long, and with the vac on the shoulder strap, you move so quickly you find yourself at the end of your range before you know it because you just keep moving and sucking any dirt in sight, and there is nothing to slow you down.

Suction is exceptional in this little vacuum. The 10 Amp motor makes it as powerful as any canister out there, which is very impressive for its small size and light weight. The bags are big, unlike some other small canisters out there like the Sears "Magic Blue". Furthermore, there isn't a vacuum out there with bags that are easier to change. You just open one end, pull the bag out, and drop a new one in. The bags aren't expensive, either, and are available for $1-2 each, depending on grade.

This vacuum is a suction only canister, meaning it has no power head with a beater bar for cleaning carpets. It does come with a very nice bare floor tool, which can also be used as a suction only tool on rugs in a pinch. It has a very nice variable length metal wand, and an excellent dusting brush, along with an upholstery nozzle and a crevice tool. The tools can be placed in the body of the vacuum, or on a tool caddy on the wand, depending on which you find more convenient.

With no beater bar, this wouldn't be a good choice for a primary vacuum in a home with wall-to-wall carpets, but it would make a great vac for homes or apartments with bare floors, or for commercial stores without carpeting. I think it's best use is as a second vacuum in a home to compliment an upright. Use it to replace dusting, which tends to put a lot of dust in the air, and to clean drapes, walls, shelves, cobwebs, and whatever.

When it comes to bags, there are three bags available. The cheapest bags are just normal vacuum bags - they catch the big stuff, but let the little stuff through. Traditional bags only catch dirt particles bigger than 30 microns. After I had used the vacuum with the bag that came with it for just a few minutes, I opened it up and found fine dust all over the inside of the bag compartment that had gone through the bag. That means that visible dust went through the bag and would soon be settling on counters, etc, and for me, once I suck the dust up, I never want to see it again because I don't like dusting. Thus a better bag is clearly called for. Using the optional HEPA filter with the base bag would be a bad idea because, while it would collect the fine dust, it would plug quickly and get very expensive at $20 each.

Two better bags are the DVC "Microlined" bag, and the genuine Eureka "Filteraire" bag. The microlined bag claims 99.7% efficiency at 5 microns, and some filtration down to .1 microns, while the genuine Eureka "Filteraire" bags claim they will catch 99% of pollen, 98% of bacteria, and 95% of yeast and fungi. It's hard to compare the specifications directly, but I believe that the two bags are about the same. In fact, the design of the bags is quite similar, and I believe that they may be nearly identical. For what it's worth, the sizes some microparticles are:
Cotton Dust: 15-30 microns
Dust Mites: 10-30 microns
Pollen: 7 to 15 microns
Yeast: 4-6 microns
Paper dust: 4-6 microns
Fungus: most 1-4 microns, some up to 15 microns
Fine chalk, drywall dust: 1-4 microns
Bacteria: .5-4 microns, 98% are over 1 micron
Anthrax: 1 micron long by 4 microns wide
Dust Mite Droppings: .5-1.5 microns
Tobacco Smoke .4 microns
Smallpox - .2 microns
Asbestos - .1-10 microns
Lead dust - .05-5 microns

Note that all these items will pass right through a basic vacuum bag, at least until the bag built up a coating of dirt. Better bags will retain most pollen, yeast, paper dust, fungus, drywall dust, chalk, and bacteria, and even a good portion or lead dust and asbestos, and thus they will be a great help for people with allergies, and will significantly reduce the amount of dust which settles out after vacuuming. If you do vacuum up much small dust, like drywall, any bag will clog quickly, however.

To improve filtration further, you can add an optional HEPA filter for about $20, which will add 2 lbs to the weight of the vacuum. If you have asbestos or lead dust, you should definitely do this, and it may help with allergies, too, because it will also catch things like Dust Mite droppings.

The commercial version comes with a heavy duty power cord, and a powerful 10 Amp motor, a telescoping metal wand, a deluxe bare floor and carpet tool with a metal sole, and a red body. It took me awhile to figure the "Mighty Mite" product line out, but there are essentially two different families, one can be fitted with a HEPA filter, the other has a blower port. Most versions weigh under 10 lbs, but the ones with a HEPA filter are two pounds heavier. The ones which can be sealed for allergy users are the 3683, 3685, and 3686. The 3685 and 3686 come with the HEPA filter already installed, but the 3683 and 3686 have the nice telescoping metal wand and better tools. Other than the 3683 and the 3686, all other version come with two plastic wands, and since the telescoping metal wand is so nice, the only two I really recommend are the 3683 and 3686. With the 3686 you get the HEPA filter standard, but you don't get the strap. You could add the HEPA to the 3683 if you want, or you could add the strap to the 3686, they just aren't included.

Among the models with a blower port, the 3670, and 3681 have 9 Amp motors which aren't as powerful, while the limited edition 3684 has a 12 Amp motor, the most powerful in the line, but it's a pound heavier and doesn't have the nice telescoping wand. There are also bagless versions (3690,3695), but I can't comment on them. Most bagless vacs have less suction than the bagged version and are a pain to dump, and in a small portable canister, I think a bagged version would probably be a better choice.

All in all, the Sanitaire version of the "Mighty Mite" is an outstanding value, providing maximum suction in a tiny, very portable size. Eureka claims the "Mighty Mite" series is the best selling canister of all time, and I can see why. It would make a handy vacuum in any home, and with the "Filteraire" bags, no fine dust will get in the motor, so it should last a long time. I love the commercial version with its powerful motor, heavier cord, and better tools. I definitely recommend this vacuum. In fact, I plan to buy several more.

Edit - I now own about 6 of these, used in retail stores. Durability and performance in 18 months has been excellent. Of the various versions, I recommend the 3683, and then adding the HEPA if you need it.