Best stick vacuums 2021 – Top 10 cordless vacuum cleaners
9 min read
Stick vacuums are cordless vacuum cleaners that, err, look like sticks. They’re designed to be lightweight, easily manoeuvrable and gentle on your back, with no tiresome cord to keep plugging in.
They all run on rechargeable batteries but some are more powerful than others, with a longer battery life and a more generous range of included tools. Consider your personal needs before you buy – techy features can be tempting, sure, but a simpler, more affordable model may suffice if your home is smaller and you don’t have pets.
What is the best stick vacuum?
There are many stick vacuums on the market, all vying for your cash, so our expert testers put 43 of the best to the test. Behold our top 10 picks for carpet, hard floors, pet hair, cars and more:
Why buy a stick vacuum?
Stick vacuums are the modern, convenient choice, and that’s what we favour here at Digital Spy. Traditional uprights or cylinders (we’re looking at you, Henry) feel heavy and bulky to lug about in comparison, and many sticks can convert into handhelds for use in cars and awkward spaces.
Slim sticks are compact for easy storage – some fold down and others can be wall-mounted – with small dust canisters that are simple and mess-free to empty. Their batteries usually recharge within a few hours, and their suction power is getting stronger by the day, in line with exciting new tech developments.
Not quite sold? Sticks also tend to come with an array of useful tools for versatility – think an upholstery tool for ridding your sofa of biscuit crumbs, or a crevice tool for cleaning every nook and cranny.
How to choose a stick vacuum
Stick vacuums vary in price quite dramatically, with the models on our round-up costing between £120 and £650. Before you splash out on a top-of-the-range vac, consider how important the following features are to you:
Weight: Unless you’re particularly strong, prolonged use of sticks over 3kg will make your arms ache, especially after carrying them up stairs. Bottom-heavy vacs will be gentlest on your muscles.
Battery level indicator: OK, so this may be standard for most tech, but not all sticks offer it yet. The Dyson V11, however, counts down your remaining juice in minutes and seconds, meaning it shouldn’t die on you suddenly, moments before guests arrive.
Sensory tech: This is pretty cool – the floorhead senses whether you’re vacuuming carpet or hard flooring, before auto-adjusting the power for efficient battery usage.
Smart tech: Some sticks can connect to your phone, allowing you to monitor its battery life and usage that way. Should a fitness incentive help, most of these apps also show you how many calories you’re burning while cleaning.
Headlights: Perfectionists, listen up – LED lights built into the floorhead illuminate dark spaces, such as underneath furniture, to help you banish every speck of dust.
How we test
Our expert testers tried 43 stick vacuums on carpet, laminate and floorboards. Firstly, they laid down a set volume of dust, before weighing how much each model had collected after a set number of sweeps.
Next, they ground pet hair collected from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home (yes, they’re committed) into carpet and noted how well each stick lifted it without tangling. They ran the same test with small residue, such as crumbs.
Our dedicated testing team then put each stick to work inside a car and noted how well it tackled crevices. They tried it out on stairs to gauge how easily it manoeuvred and also considered its ease of use, the clarity of its instructions, any innovative features and its overall design.
Ready to shop our trusted top 10?
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