Dyson V7 Trigger review
Test score
verdict: Another fantastic Dyson
Like the regular Dyson V7 cordless vac, the V7 Trigger is an excellent vacuum cleaner and is fully deserving of our Best Buy recommendation. The turbo battery life is very short, but that’s probably because the cleaning power is so strong. This is a superb handheld that justifies its high price.
- Great at cleaning all surfaces
- Picks up pet hair and fibres
- Short battery life on the turbo setting
Shark WV200UK review
Test score
verdict: Almost great
It’s only average on carpets and it has a perilously small capacity, but overall this Shark is a really solid handheld that narrowly misses out on Best Buy status. It’s especially useful for cleaning upholstery and has a superb filtration system that doesn’t let much fine dust escape.
- Cleans well on hard floors
- Brilliant at cleaning upholstery
- Good at retaining allergens
- Short battery life
- Tiny dust capacity
Shark WV251UK review
Test score
verdict: Almost great
It leaves a bit to be desired when it comes to cleaning spills from carpets, and its dust capacity is tiny, but overall this Shark is a very decent handheld that isn’t far away from being a Best Buy. It’s great at cleaning upholstery and has excellent allergen retention.
- Cleans well on hard floors
- Brilliant at cleaning upholstery
- Good at retaining allergens
- Short battery life
- Tiny dust capacity
Gtech Multi MK2 K9 review
Test score
verdict: Handy for pet hair
This is a good handheld vacuum cleaner that can handle general cleaning as well as picking up pet hair. It’s too noisy and it doesn’t retain fine dust particles well enough, though, so it just misses out on being a Best Buy.
- Great at cleaning pet hair and upholstery
- Works well on both carpets and hard floors
- Comes with lots of features and accessories
- Poor allergen retention
- Noisy
Worx Cube Vac WX030 review
Test score
verdict: Very decent
Worx’s Cube Vac is good for general cleaning in a variety of areas and is a thoughtfully designed and innovative handheld. Its only major flaw is allergen retention. Overall it’s a solid handheld that is reasonably priced and isn’t far away from being a Best Buy.
- Good at general cleaning on all surfaces
- Extendable hose is useful
- Poor allergen retention
Black & Decker Flexi PD1420LP review
Test score
verdict: A decent option
It’s a few years old, but the Black & Decker Flexi PD1420LP is still a decent handheld vacuum cleaner. It misses out on being a Best Buy because it’s unsuitable for allergy sufferers, but it’s difficult to fault it otherwise.
- Awesome on hard floors
- Good on carpet
- Easy to use in the car
- Not suitable for allergy sufferers
Vax OnePWR Cordless Hand Vac review
Test score
verdict: Not bad, unless you have pets
It’s good at cleaning spills from hard floors and the battery life is really impressive, but there isn’t too much more to shout about with Vax’s OnePWR Hand Vac. The only thing it’s really bad at is picking up pet hair, but it’s a rather middle-of-the-road model when it comes to most other cleaning tasks.
- Great for cleaning hard floors
- Superb battery life
- Awful at cleaning pet hair
- Poor allergen retention
- Noisy
- Batteries and charger sold separately
Hoover H-HANDY 700 Pets HH710TPT review
Test score
verdict: Low on battery life
The Hoover H-Handy 700 Pets HH710TPT is a basic handheld vac that will do a decent job of cleaning up most everyday dust and excels at removing pet hair. But battery life is short and its design and limited selection of accessories means that it’s not great at reaching awkward areas. It’s also not the easiest vac to maintain.
- Great at cleaning pet hair and upholstery
- Works well on both carpets and hard floors
- Comfortably light
- Poor allergen retention
- Awkward and unhygienic to maintain
Shark Cordless HandVac CH950UKT review
Test score
verdict: Good but not great
Shark’s HandVac CH950UKT is OK for everyday cleaning tasks, but struggles a little on carpets and isn’t the most convenient model to maintain. It’s noisy, too, and barely retains allergens at all. Shark currently has two other handheld vacs in its range – both are more expensive, but also score better than this model, too.
- Great at cleaning pet hair and upholstery
- Works well on hard floors
- Fairly light
- Only average at cleaning carpets
- Awkward and unhygienic to maintain
- Noisy
- Very bad at retaining allergens
Black & Decker Dustbuster BHHV320B review
Test score
verdict: A little too basic
It’s a basic vac that can handle simple cleaning tasks. It sucks up dust and debris from carpets and hard floors well, but anything beyond that, it will disappoint. It isn’t cut out for cleaning sofas, pet hair, or tricky areas such as on top of high furniture.
- Good for general cleaning on carpets and hard floors
- Terrible at cleaning pet hair and upholstery
- Poor allergen retention
- Not very versatile
- Battery can’t be replaced
Black & Decker Pivot PV1820L review
Test score
verdict: A solid handheld vacuum
It’s several years old, but the Black & Decker Pivot PV1820L is still a solid option. The fact that it is poor at picking up pet hair and leaks the allergens it sucks up back out means that this model won’t be suitable for some, so it doesn’t earn a top score.
- Good on carpets
- Good on hard floors
- Easy to use
- Rubbish at pet hair
- Not suitable for allergy sufferers
Vax Gator H85-GA-B10 review
Test score
verdict: A good handheld cleaner
It’s a few years old, but this Vax is still a good choice for cleaning spills on either carpets or hard surfaces. Unfortunately, it isn’t really suitable for sucking up hair or fibres, which is why it doesn’t get a very high score.
- It’s a brilliant and quiet handheld cleaner for hard surfaces and also carpets.
- It can’t cope very well with hairs and fibres
- So it’s best avoided if this is a priority in your home.
Roidmi Nano P1 Pro review
Test score
verdict: Looks great but doesn’t clean well
Unique design aside, it’s hard to know who would benefit from owning the Roidmi Nano P1 Pro. Maybe if you only have laminate floors and no pets in your home. But even then, this handheld vac is a pain to use and maintain. There are much better options available at this price.
- Not bad at cleaning laminate floor and upholstery
- Light
- Quiet
- Not great at cleaning carpets
- Very bad at removing pet hair
- Battery not replaceable
- Awkward to use and clean
- Only average allergen retention
- No usable accessories
Black & Decker Dustbuster DVJ325BF review
Test score
verdict: Not as good as some more recent models
This Black & Decker is easy to use and removes large debris very well. But it’s very noisy and struggles so much with pet hair that we don’t rate it that highly overall. There are better, newer options.
- This handheld is easy to use and sucks up large debris well.
- It’s very noisy
- Poor for sucking up pet hair and struggles a bit with smaller particles of debris.
Black & Decker Dustbuster Flexi PD1820L review
Test score
verdict: Not up to scratch
It’s great for cleaning laminate floors and the tube design does make it handy for cleaning trickier spots, but overall this is a lacklustre handheld vac that should be avoided. It’s poor at lifting pet hair and its allergen retention is awful.
- Great for cleaning hard floors
- Thoughtful and versatile design
- Awful for allergy sufferers
- Bad at lifting pet hair
- Disappointing battery life
- Battery not replaceable
- Noisy
Beldray BEL0944SL Revo review
Test score
verdict: Poor on carpets
It’s good for cleaning your sofas and for removing pet hair, but there isn’t much else to praise this Beldray handheld vacuum for. It doesn’t clean spills on carpets properly and its allergen retention is disappointing. You can do worse with handheld vacuums at this price, but you can also do better if you pay just a little more.
- Cleans pet hair and upholstery well
- Long battery life
- Poor at cleaning carpets
- Ineffective allergen retention
- Tiny capacity
Bush Handheld Cordless Vacuum Cleaner 308/4102 review
Test score
verdict: Cheap and not so cheerful
It’s generally pretty terrible, but for cleaning up spills on areas with hard floors it’s a handy machine. It’s definitely worth spending a little more to get a handheld vacuum cleaner that does a better overall job than this one. It’s awful at picking up pet hair and cleaning upholstery, and it lets a lot of fine dust particles escape back into the air.
- Cleans hard floors well
- Terrible at cleaning pet hair and upholstery
- Bad allergen retention
- Takes a very long time to charge
Black & Decker NVC115W review
Test score
verdict: Very poor show
The Black & Decker NVC115W has the dubious honour of being our first ever Don’t Buy handheld vacuum cleaner. Among its many failings is its appalling performance at picking up pet hair and fibre. The non-user replaceable battery is a big red flag, too. There are much better handhelds available for not much more money.
- Okay at cleaning carpets
- Light
- Affordable
- Very bad at picking up pet hair and fibres
- Poor at cleaning upholstery
- Barely retains allergens
- You can’t replace the battery yourself
- No accessories
