KIRBY AVALIR

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Clayton, your 505 is beautiful!! You better be prepared to hold onto that ole girl for dear life, I bet a anxious distributor would be really tempted to offer to buy that off you for a huge sum of money.

Rob
 
Unfortunately...

The 505 pictured is not mine. I wanted to show the resemblance of the Avalir to the 505, so I grabbed the only non-copyrighted image of a 505 off of Google images I could find. I WISH it was mine! Maybe someday I'll have a 505 that nice. I guess I should have specified that the machine wasn't mine.
 
AVALIR---Bet the salesman will bew calling on me soon.The handle is unique.Has more handles on the handle!The grip above the bag and the other above the motor.Very good-two ways to grip it making it more comfortable to carry.The new Floor care attachment just may well be more useful than the carpet only previous one.Glad Kirby stuck with their Tried and proven design.Glad they didn't "tinker" with it coming up with something that won't really work afterall.I am an avid Kirby fan-grew up with them.So the design of it gets my approval.Will take Kirby as an upright over most others-esp the bagless plastivacs.Will see how long it takes for the old Sentria 2 stock to be sold out.
 
Yeah, I'll admit to being a little disappointed that there isn't a completely new model, especially with all the anticipation and hype in the run up to the launch. I think those patents that surfaced some time ago may have contributed to this... it's easy to forget that a patent is often just a way for a manufacturer to "bagsie" an idea or concept, while not necessarily committing to actually putting it into production any time soon, if at all.

That said, the G series always was and still is a good vacuum. For all its downsides (and every cleaner has them), it does have a good track record for durability and reliability. It's fully repairable in the event something goes wrong, and it definitely cleans well. A long running design doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing, because it gives a product the opportunity to evolve, work out any bugs and gain refinements. These are all attributes we tend to criticise other brands for NOT having, and looking at it that way I'm going to cut Kirby a little slack. Had they instead launched a plastic "me too" product with a bagless cyclone on the front and a half-assed set of tools on board, then we'd really have something to complain about.

I do like what they've done with the Avalir. The colour, handle design and bag graphics look great, a vast improvement on the Sentria which I disliked from day one. Really pleased to see the improvements to the shampooer, and look forward to seeing how it performs on hard floors. Once these start filtering through to the used market, at a sensible price, I might have to pick one up because this is the first new Kirby that has really caught my eye for a long time.
 
Don't get me wrong ...

I'm also glad they didn't depart from the classic Kirby design model.

However ... COLOR please (black is not a color).

Someone also mentioned this earlier and I have to concur: I do not like the "dip" in the rubber furniture protection band across the front; it looks like it's sagging.
 
I think it's beautiful

Different brands become collectible for different reasons. IMHO, this one is desirable simply because it holds true to Kirby's basic design principle of the vertical impeller fan behind the brushroll and it's a design that works very well. I think there's added beauty in the fact this machine has the same basic fan and brushroll configuration as the 2C and the 519 and the HII and many others. These elements are part of Kirby's heritage and what made the Kirby an iconic design in the same way that the Hoover Convertible became an icon for that brand.
 
Beauty is only skin deep, so

Have they managed to make it a little less noisy. At least in Consumer Reports ratings, the Sentria was "excellent" in carpet, bare floors, tool suction, and pet hair tests. It was "very good" for filtration. It was only "fair" for ease of use and noise.

Did they do anything to make it less noisy or easier to push? Please not that full size vacuums like Kirby will never get "excellent" scores for "ease of use" unless they're driven by a game controller.
 
Consumer Reports.......

They're either too objective about things that could be selling points of a machine, or too subjective about minor details. They always pick and choose a handful of brands and models to go into the testing group instead of being more comprehensive or inclusive of brands. The magazine is great for lining a birdcage or training a puppy. I don't read it unless I manage to get a look at it for free.
 
I, too, take Consumer Reports ratings with a grain of salt. They've placed the Sentria only close to the top, not only for their test results in the various categories, but also for price. They pit efficiency against price to look for consumer "best buys." Truth is, what's best for others is not what's best for me. That is for me to decide. I surmise they put plastic and a cheaper price against years of proven performance and quality.

What seems like a deviation from that theory is that for several times, they've rated the Miele Twist above the Kirby. I have a Miele Cat and Dog, and I rarely use it because that thing is a beast--heavier than any Kirby I have, more expensive to maintain, harder to push, and equipped with limited attachments.

Unless I miss my guess, Consumer Reports will downgrade the Avalir for the same reasons it has downgraded the Sentrias I and II. For my part, I think the new Avalir is a neat upgrade to the model line. I like what I've seen so far, and I have to have one. Consumer Reports can go pound salt.
 
Hi spiraclean.

Those patents you speak about, I saw them back in 2009 or 10, and that was when the early fears began. Those fears reapeared as we took the factory tour and Kirby top brass was very tight lipped. As I stated in another post, my immagination has run riot ever since I got home from the convention! I'm happy to know my beloved Kirby is well, a Kirby!

As for the patents, have you any idea where I can locate them? If possible post them for us, as I recall, they were rather frightening, and looked nothing like the Kirby I know. Praise Kirby for rejecting them, they were rather awfull!
Alex Taber.
 
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