Functional, but mediocre performance
I bought this vacuum for my dorm room, and it worked alright on the low carpeting of my room. The suction in addition to the the rolling brush will get most of the dirt off, but you will need several passes. If the dirt or whatever you are trying to vacuum is too concentrated in one area, the vacuum will sweep it forward on the ground, and you'll have to keep passing over, slowly, it before it'll be sucked up.

When I brought this home, it also worked on my plush carpeting, but at a severely diminished level. It will require several slow passes to clean properly. However, it will still work.

It's small form-factor make it perfect for small areas, such as dorm rooms. However, for larger areas, or for places that you want to get *clean*, I would get a larger, real vacuum.

Euro-Pro SC620S Garment Steamer BISSELL 2080 BRUSH BELT Bissell 3950 Velocity Bagless Upright Deep Cleaner Dirt Devil Power Reach HEPA Hand Vac BISSELL MODEL 35301 BELTS Hoover F6207-900 SteamVac Lite Carpet Cleaner with Heated Cleaning 12" EUREKA "THE BOSS" - 1934EUR SHOP-VAC 906-75-0 FLOOR NOZZLE 2.5" X 8' SHOP-VAC Bissell 2100 Sweeper Sanitaire Upright Carpet Extractor (EUR6090) Category: Wet Dry Vacuums and Steamers

Incredible for Pet Owners, But Also Outstanding on Dirt!
I have a Katrina survivor dog that I adopted that can simply be described as a "hair machine." Minutes after vacuuming with my old vac, I'd still see "hair tumbleweeds" here and there. I knew I had to do something, so I ordered the Dyson DC-15. It arrived one day before I arrived at home, and my wife opened it and used it. "That new vacuum is amazing!," she said. I figured "amazing" meant "better than the old one." I took it into a carpeted room that she hadn't vacuumed yet, turned it on, and watched in amazement when after about 3 linear feet of movement produced a swirling hairball in the collector. At first I thought it must be residual hair from where she had used it earlier. This was NOT a section of the floor where I could even SEE any hair. The floor looked relatively clean when I started. So, I emptied the collector and started over. Same thing. Incredible! And not just hair, but dirt!

After about 3 weeks with this "Animal," I'm sold. Easy to empty, and every day it does it's thing -- never ceasing to amaze me. I use it daily, and the entire house smells cleaner than it did.

The attachments are nice -- I don't use the mini-turbine head, although I may later. The extension wand makes it easy to get under furniture with as little as 2" clearance (maybe even less). I have a kitchen island that weighs about 400 pounds that I used to have to move to clean underneath (it's on rollers). Now I just vacuum under it. The cool thing about the tools is that everything you need is on the vacuum... including the hose -- but unlike a lot of vacs (like my old Electrolux), you don't have to stop the vac, pull out a hose, attach it to the machine, and revert to upright later. The hose is already attached. You just pull the wand up, press a button, and you've got all you need to get under furniture. This part of the machine is truly a clever design.

This thing has tons of suction, too. Very impressive!

Here are the "cons" to the unit:
1) The hard plastic used on the collector seems like it might be easily broken -- although this hasn't happened yet. I'm not thinking "shatter" here, more like the latch might break. The jury's still out on this one.

2) The manual could have been better. I read. I don't appreciate the "diagram-only" approach to some of the instructions.

That's it, though... and the second one is minor.

Everything else is a "go" on this machine. Get one and you'll see what I mean.

Another thing... some of the reviews I've read complain about the "high pitched whine" or the color of the machine. The machine is pretty quiet. Much quieter than my old Electrolux, but it is A POWERFUL VACUUM and therefore will sound like a vacuum cleaner running! ;) And the color? Where do you keep this thing, in a display case? My advice? If you don't like the color, take it to a body shop and let 'em paint it for you -- but don't let the color cause you to miss what I consider to be one of the best deals going in the vacuum cleaner market.

Sanitaire Might Mite Commercial Vac (SC3683EUR) Dyson DC14 Full Access Refurbished Vacuum - 10 Yr Motor Warranty Electrolux Home Care C2132B Commercial Upright Vacuum 220 Volt (NOT USA COMPLIANT) Electrolux Vaccum Cannister 2200 Watt Bagless 5 Pack of 4010009H VACUUM CLEANER CLEAN BAG - HOOVER Dirt Devil M085610 D.DEVIL UPRIGHT VAC 12amp BAGGED BAG# 920047 Bissell ProHeat Attachment Hose Assembly Key # 7 and Key # 38 (alternate part# 215-3163) Bissell Little Green Formula 3-pk. BISSELL VAC ACCESSORIES ZING FILTER & BAG KIT Bissell ProHeat Clear View / 2X Steamer Heater

Great for hard floors
I do love this vacuum, especially for the price.
But I have a couple of tiny complaints:
1) the nozzle that's supposed to work on upholstery/carpet is too difficult to maneuver on carpeting for the power of the instrument. I also end up sucking up the throw rugs I am trying to vacuum!

2) the vacuum is very bulky (to be expected) but is not easy to pack up and store. The hose is supposed to wrap around the vacuum, I think, but it doesn't really stay in place. Also, the cord has nowhere to be stored. So I have to just lump it all together in one of my larger closets.

All in all, though, good item.

Dirt Devil M085590 Featherlite Bagged Upright Vacuum Cleaner Shop-Vac 405-00-10 Industrial 1.25-HP Indoor/Outdoor Vacuum Bissell 3990 Total Floors Velocity Bagless Upright Vacuum Cleaner Shark EP604 Retractor Convertible Lightweight Stick Vac Hoover S3590 Duros Power Nozzle Canister Vacuum Gray Sanitaire Upright Vacuum Cleaner, 18.5 lbs. (EUKSC9150A) Type 3 Bissell Vacuum Cleaner Replacement Filter Dirt Devil 083414 Extreme Power Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner Bissell Pet Odor and Soil Removal Formula - 128 oz. Hoover HOOVER 42272134 CLEAN WATER SOLUTION TANK

Vacuum is as vacuum does
So this model has a very simple and inexpensive design rugged but a trip down a flight of stairs may surely damage the product yet the unit is made to have cheap replacement parts. As with more expensive brands the parts are costly and not as economical to repair. I find that the motorized head is light weight durable and easy on the effort and as opposed to other more heavy attachment, this unit is easier to manuver around. The absents of a swivel hose both at wand and canister puts stress on the hose but tis cheap enough to replace.

Factory-Reconditioned Bissell 1715S Spotlifter Handheld Deep Cleaner Dirt Devil 083400X Swift Stick Convertible Stick/Handheld Vacuum Cleaner Shop-Vac 585-08-00 Quiet Plus Wet/Dry Vacuum 8-Gallon, 3.5-HP Rechargeable Broom Vac- Blue Eureka 099845-CV280A The Boss Attachment Kit HVR40110008 - Fluid Evacuator BISSELL SPOTBOT CARPET CLEANING HANDS FREE COMPACT Shop-Vac 960-14-00 14-Gallon Wet/Dry Pump Vacuum Bissell 1867 Steam Mop Bare Floor Steam Cleaner

A solid 4 stars, good for the money!
Overall I like this vac for the price. It is not comparable to it $200 counterparts, but for the $69 I paid for it, it was well worth the money. I think this vac is comparable to vacs in the $80 or less range.
PROS: I have a bad back so I love that it is so light and easy to move. Empting it is so easy, just press one little button and your done. I also like how they separated the filter area from the dust area so you don't have to shake out the filter each time you use it. It works great for places like the bathroom where there are bath mats; it goes right onto them without sucking up the corners or chewing up the rug. It is low profile so it goes under furniture and around items very easy. The cord retractor works great, I have never used a cord retractor that actually works all the way to the end, but this one does!
Cons: The vacuum head is a little cheap; it feels flimsy and has a hard time on carpet. The spinning head is moved by the suction, not by the motor, so it doesn't spin very well on carpet, you have to baby it a bit. It does have a hard time picking up small thing, you have to pick up the head and put it right over the object, then it will pick it up.
If your house has wall-to-wall plush carpet this vac is not for you. It has a very hard time rolling on thick carpet. If you have almost all hardwoods like me, it is great. I have 2 boys and a black lab so we put our vac to good use in our home.
If you are looking for a very nice sturdy vacuum that is quality made you are going to have to spend more money, but if you want something that will get you by for a few years while you are saving up for that Dyson, this is a good bet.

Super Vac Pretend Play Toy Vacuum Cleaner for Children Bissell 755A Lavender Essence Fiber Cleaning Formula 128 oz. Honeywell H31007 Bissell Style 7,9,10 Replacement Belt 220 Volt (NOT USA COMPLIANT) Electrolux Vaccum Cannister 2200 Watt Bagless AirForce 2 Dryer (1-Speed) AF2PG 110V (Oversized) 1058Z Brushroll Metal Upright Vacuum Dyson DC15 Animal Cyclone Upright Vacuum Cleaner Shop-Vac Super Performance Disc Filter #901-13-2 BISSELL 3102 FILTERS Hoover H3030 FloorMate SpinScrub 500 Floor Cleaner