12/23/2021 Update: The hose in the base split only weeks after my original 5 star review. I notice a few others have also experienced the same issue. It appears this part is under-designed for the normal stresses encountered during vacuuming. Below is my original review. Traditionally, there are notable differences between bulky bagged uprights, and messy bagless uprights. This Kenmore vac incorporates desirable features found in both, while eliminating some of their key deficiencies. It seems designed by people who actually vacuum--and read reviews. If the rating system allowed, we would rate this 4.5 out of 5. The vac has a base (floor nozzle, brushroller, and lights) that easily detaches to function as a powerful, relatively lightweight portable vac. It also has practical features other uprights at this price point (and higher) do not, and best meets our criteria for design, build quality, versatility, cleaning, and price—although it’s not for everyone (read on). Consumer Reports lists this vac as a “Best Buy.” We have used 2 of these vacs (two properties) over the past couple years w/o issue. CONS: 1) If you have high-pile carpet, you may want a vac with manual pile adjustment. This vac works best on low and medium pile, and hard floors. 2) If you have large areas to vac and time is more important—you may want a more traditional bagged vac with a wider floor nozzle. 3) Like most vacs at this price point it’s not self-propelled, no cord auto rewind, and doesn’t fold up (but does have design elements that help negate their absence). 4) The Attachments could be secured better as they tend to fall off when bumped. 5) The Handle could be smaller and more ergonomic. Works well for floor vacuuming, but with attachments can be a bit unwieldly and uncomfortable for smaller hands/wrists or for lengthy use. 6) The Hose is not long and with a smaller/lighter base, the vac is susceptible to tip-over when stretched beyond about 28 inches. To use attachments, you can either use your other hand on the vac, or detach the base and carry the canister to get areas best suited for attachments. Doing this after floor vacuuming (or before) is most efficient and reduces bending, vs. stop-n-go use of attachments. PROS: Vs. Bagless: No ugly muck container to look at, no muck clouds to breath or smell, and no contact from opening, emptying, and cleaning the muck container. Has 3-stage filtration: Cloth HEPA Bag, HEPA Filter, and Foam Filter (not for wet cleaning). Vs. Bagged Uprights: The many features and improvements over traditional bagged uprights, and competitive pricing, are attributed to adopting features that made Bagless vacs popular, w/added efficiencies using less electricity (10 amp vs. traditional 12 amp) without a drop off in air flow and cleaning ability. The primary trade-off is a floor nozzle/brushroll a couple inches narrower (10-inch vs 12-inch) and no manual pile adjustment. The question is whether you value these features more, or the following features not typically found on bagged uprights: 1) Lighter to push, pull, and carry; 2) Less Boxy for easier maneuvering, storage; 3) Swiveling, narrower Base easily changes direction and maneuvers around furniture and into difficult spaces; 4) Low-height Base fits completely under most furniture; 5) Base detaches easily to carry canister to clean stairs, furniture, woodwork, shades & drapes, ceiling fans & lights, etc. and many jobs a shop vac is often used for (except wet cleanup); 6) Less Noisy; 7) Cord is thin/lightweight, doesn’t kink/tangle like heavier ones, and leaves little if any mark on baseboards and furniture; 8) No-touch bag removal—push a button and the bag drops into the trash. Additional Features and Details: Solidly built yet relatively lightweight. Cord is 30ft with excellent cord management: quick release holder, a grooved notch just below top handle to secure cord up and out of the way while floor vacuuming, and a notch on the plug to secure it to the cord after winding. Attachments (tools): 5 tools included, all ride along w/vac except the Pet Handimate (for furniture and carpeted stairs). They all work w/handle alone or handle connected to the long wand. All vac connections have solid quick-release buttons, including the hose/canister interface. No extreme bending to turn vac or brushroller on/off, operate disconnects, or adjust air flow. Removing canister from base and replacing can be done from upright position also. Attachments could be stored a bit higher though. The brushroller can be turned off/on. A light tells you whether it’s on or off. When turned on, the brushroller will stop automatically when the vac is placed in the full upright position, then starts again when the handle lowers to a vacuuming position. Works well cleaning rugs with latex backing. (We don’t have any rugs w/o latex so can’t comment). The LED pathway lights are very good. Hard Rubber wheels roll easily and don’t attract debris. A bag sensor with 4 lights tells you how full the bag is and when to replace it (located on top of canister so easy to see). High quality cloth HEPA bags are a reasonable $3-4. The HEPA filters cost around $10 (but a new foam filter is also included). Also, the Guide states you can extend the life of the HEPA filter and Foam filter by cleaning with cold water—no soap or hot water, and must be fully dry before reuse. An intuitive, laminated, one page Quick-Start Guide (4-Step Assembly, 4-Step Operation) is accompanied by an Instructional Guide with many high-quality images along with supportive text, Part Numbers, etc. Logically organized and easy to understand, obviously not written by a foreigner. Suggestions (See Photos): 1) We attach a “bumper guard” (found on AMZ) around the base to better protect furniture and baseboards. Use scissors to trim extra length after applying, then trim material away from front of the pathway light; 2) We zip-tie the cord to the canister handle to better control it, especially when carrying for use w/attachments; 3) Kenmore may not recommend this, but we use a carbon filter in place of the simple foam filter to better capture vapors and odors (cut from a carbon filter sheet to match foam filter dimensions). We’ve done this on previous bagged vacs for years w/o issue.
