Vax LiFE unplugged

[vintagehoover]

...or, the Hoover Platinum Collection Cordless Stick Vac!

Great to see this in the UK - it's more market-adaptable than the Platinum Collection upright/canister/carpet washer, and there's a suitable 'niche' for it in the current Vax range.

Definitely on the pricey side at £199.99, but comes with a full 6 year guarantee like other Vax products! Nice competition for the Hoover Freejet and Freejet 3in1...

Does anyone here have the Hoover version? Thoughts? Impressions? What's the runtime on this thing - I can only find references to the constant battery power?

http://www.vaxlife.co.uk/

 

[samotronic]

HandHeld

Hey. I don't have the stick model, but I do have the US Hoover cordless Platinum handheld which uses the same battery.

It was pricier than I wanted to spend, but I have been very pleased with it (8 to 10 months). As to run time, it's so hard to say because you only use a handheld in short bursts as opposed to a floor vac. But it is comparable to other cordless handheld vacs that I have had (not better, but comparable) and when charging, it reaches full charge very quickly. With the removable battery, if you happened to have more than one, you can interchange them.

I definitely do not regret my purchase of the hand held version.

Chris

 

[vintagehoover]

Thanks, Chris!

I certainly hope to try the Vax LiFE out - when I get the chance to do so, I'll share my thoughts (and pictures!) with the forum.

So far, the main negative that I can see is the price; at £199.99, it has to be the most expensive stick-vac on the market, but if it lives up to the hype, it might be worth it. I just wish it was multi-cyclonic.

 

[kenmore81]

Jack...

That is expensive,more expensive than here in the U.S. Here its $149.99-$199.99USD. 91-122.00 GBP. for the stick and about $100.00 or 62.00GBP.Still Id like to have a set one of these days.I did see the stick vac in action at a resturant and it seemed to pick up the street sand and bits of food pretty easily. Not to shabby for a stick vac except for the price =)

 

[kenmore81]

Also

I looked a the website,but it doesn't say if your version has the "embeded dirt-finder".Does it?Ours does,I wonder if that is exclusive to Hoover,seeing Hoover in the UK is still a seperate company IIRC.
And the vax multifunction I would LOVE to have. I always wanted one when they were introduced here at Sears. Or at least the carpet washing tool for my old carpet cleaner i used to have.

http://www.vax.co.uk/shop/catalogue/multifunction

 

[vintagehoover]

Hi Kenny, I've just looked at the Hoover US microsite for the Platinum Collection, and I can't find any reference to the Hoover version having the Embedded Dirt Finder (only the Cyclonic Bagless Upright)...it doesn't mention it in the video, or in the list of features. It does mention a battery-life indicator though; is this what you were thinking of?

At £200, it is pretty pricey for a stick-vac, especially when their brilliant Mach Air lightweight upright can be found as low as £120 now (with trade-in). But in terms of performance and features, it sounds pretty much unrivalled, so perhaps that's their justification for the premium price. Also, it's likely that the price will be considerably reduced after the 'newness factor' has worn off - especially with the approaching January sales.

The Vax multifunction cleaner is one of history's 'iconic' vacuum cleaners. It was one of the best-selling cleaners of the 1980s, and continues to be a staple of the Vax range to this day!

http://www.hoover.com/linx/rechargeable-cordless-lithium-ion-stick-vac.aspx

 

[kenmore81]

You are right Jack I think I was actualy thinking of the Platnum upright and windtunnel power nozzle. Ill check out the display at wall-mart next time i go just to be sure tho because i could swear it has it lol.

 

[xraytech]

Jack,

I do believe the battery life for this is 2 hours.

 

[vintagehoover]

I've been reading through the reviews of the Hoover version on Amazon.com: out of 100 reviews, 84 people gave it either a 4 or 5-star rating. Only 16 people rated it 3 stars or lower, which seems pretty good to me!

Sam - 2 hours sounds more like the charging time; most of the reviews on Amazon.com seem to suggest that runtime is more like 15 mins, depending on whether you use the powered brush-roll, or suction alone. If a manufacturer was capable of producing a compact, lightweight battery with 2hrs constant power output, I'm sure we'd be doing most of our cleaning that way! Just think - you could have an hour at twice the power, or 30 mins at 3 times the power!

 

[vintagehoover]

A few nice detail shots from the Vax press pack...

I have to say, I think it is a very elegantly-designed cleaner!

 

[vintagehoover]

LiFE lithium-ion battery...

 

[vintagehoover]

Floor-type selector...

 

[vintagehoover]

Note the Vax logo!

 

[vintagehoover]

...

 

[samotronic]

what say you.....

Hey Jack. Happy New Year, and as I type this in the afternoon here in Eastern Standard time on 12/31/09, it is probably already 2010 over there. Never did master the time difference. Happy New Year, regardless of the exact hour that it turns over.

Anyhow, did you ultimately give this a thumbs up? It seemed that you were pleased with it. I need something for quick kitchen and bathroom floor pickups, particularly of animal hair. Since I already have the hand vac version of this, I could swap batteries. Makes sense to me and unless you have suddenly decided that you hate it, I am looking to buy the US Hoover version of it. Any thoughts? Chris

 

[vintagehoover]

Happy New Year, Chris!

There's another 33 mins to go until 2010 for me, so not long left of this decade! Hope you're enjoying the final day of 2009?

I am impressed with the LiFE - actually, it's easier to recommend it to you that it would be to someone in the UK, since you get a MUCH better deal on it! I do feel it's slightly overpriced here, but having said that, it IS the best rechargable stick-vac you can get, and I guess for some people, that will be worth the premium cost.

As long as buyers aren't considering it as a replacement for a full-size, corded cleaner, I have no reservations about recommending it. It picks up most surface litter with ease, and actually brings the pile up a little - which you might not expect from a rechargable cleaner! It won't deep-clean, but it's powerful enough to do a decent job of making everything LOOK clean.

Because it gets almost everything in a single pass - and what it misses in the first pass, it WILL get with the second! - you can get a lot done within the time limit imposed by the battery.

One of the most appealing aspects of the cleaner is the light weight - it's really nice to be able to just grab it for quick clean-ups.

As for durability and longevity, we'll have to see - I've only had it for a month or so, and I couldn't speculate about how the motor, battery etc will hold up in the long-term. The 6 year guarantee on the machine, and 2 year guarantee on the battery and charger, are reassuring.

Hope this helps - feel free to ask more questions, I'll do my best to help if I can!

 

[samotronic]

Great Advice

This was great advice. My justification for the $$ was that it would save me dragging out the big vacs. But who was I kidding, as I never mind dragging those out and will continue. But anyhow, definitely top of the line for quick picks ups on floors, and for the first time,.... carpet. Decent for steps, too. Glad I got it as I think this line is just about done in the US. They are focusing on the T line here now.

 

[samotronic]

btw

Though this is pricey for US standards, It is decent and surprisingly quiet if you have pets around and need to make quick, but thorough pick ups.