Handheld Vacuum Review

Reviews differ on the popular Dirt Devil KONE

Perhaps because most experts say handheld vacuums are a luxury, rather than a necessity, there are fewer professional reviews for these smaller light-duty vacuums than for their more powerful full-size cousins (we cover upright vacuums and canister vacuums in separate reports). Consumer Reports and its U.K. and Australian counterparts, Which? and Choice magazines, all post comparative vacuum cleaner ratings based on the results of independent testing, but Which? magazine only covers one hand vacuum. Consumer Reports includes 10 models in its Oct. 2008 Ratings chart and five models in a special Mar. 2009 update. Choice magazine also does a 10-model review, though many of the models tested aren't available in the U.S.

Popular Mechanics is a very useful source in this category. Its short video review compares three popular handheld vacuums based on how well they perform at sucking up 32 ounces of pre-sifted flour and 12 ounces of wet kitty litter. A review from The Wall Street Journal does a less formal test of five hand vacs using a "holiday dirt mix" of wrapping paper bits, potato chip crumbs and other debris. Good Housekeeping evaluates three handheld vacuums on the ability to suck up a combination of oats, sugar and cat litter.

Owner-written reviews at Amazon.com, Epinions.com and Target.com fill in the sparse coverage by professional reviewers. Amazon.com has a good range of corded and cordless hand vacs, some of which get dozens or even hundreds of reviews. Epinions.com and Target.com both have considerably fewer reviews, but they are helpful for filling in details and providing an alternate perspective on some handheld vacuums.

The Dirt Devil KONE 0213 (*Est. $40), for instance, does quite well in user reviews at Amazon.com despite very poor performance in test-based professional reviews. The hand vac test video from Popular Mechanics shows the KONE blowing around more flour than it picks up and struggling to pick up any kitty litter at all. Other reviewers also report problems with emissions and with the KONE blowing debris around rather than picking it up. Based on its tests of the KONE, Consumer Reports reported some of these problems to the Consumer Products Safety Commission. As a result, some models were found to have an undersized filter. The issue has now been fixed. Recent reviews of the KONE are now better.

The most recent coverage indicates that the KONE is now a pretty good choice. Over 150 owner-written reviews on Amazon.com give it a good average rating of four stars out of five. Much of the positive feedback for the KONE has to do with its unusual design -- it looks more like a cone-shaped sculpture than a vacuum, and several reviews say it's attractive enough to leave out all the time. Reviews on Epinions.com are mostly in agreement with those on Amazon.com. Although few owners claim that the KONE is an especially powerful vacuum, most say it looks good and is effective enough for occasional spills and other light clean-ups. There are still quite a few one-star ratings that complain about the KONE's lack of battery power and ineffective suction, however, so we chose not to include this vacuum in the ConsumerSearch Best Reviewed section.