H85-GA-B10 10.8 V Gator Handheld Cordless Vacuum Cleaner

Love this item. Initially bought it to hoover up spiders! (Sorry I’m so scared of them) but it’s so handy for other things around the home. Recently bought another one for my daughter who has a baby and you need to keep the floors spotless as she’s now crawling! So easy to charge, and avoids getting the big hoover out!

So, I’ve had this hoover a little while now, and the initial reason for purchase was as a car hoover, as I was after one that would charge independently and not have to be plugged into the car’s cigarette lighter. Whilst this is only recommended for indoor use, I figured a car is essentially indoors, right? So from reading the instructions, it states to initially charge the hoover for 24 hours. I was going to go ahead with this but after 6 hours the hoover light went off and the hoover was fully charged. Once the hoover was fully charged, I thought I would give it a go. I had recently taken my dog to the vets and this created a lot of hair which was left in my car as a result, which I thought would be perfect to give the hoover a go. On hair, this hoover performs well, but not amazingly, which you cant expect from a handheld hoover thats battery powered - you cant expect it to work as well as a hoover pulled into the mains! The hoover is really good for stones and other dirt and can hoover hair thats not ingrained into fabrics and the extendable nozzle is great for hard to reach spaces. Overall, its a decent handheld vacuum, with good suction and good features. It’s easy to take apart to clean and the extendable nozzle creates more concentrated suction for hard to reach places. It’s a name and brand you know with VAX. It also doesn’t have ridiculous charging times like some handheld hoovers and lasts around 30 minutes

An excellent little machine. I have mine in my sewing room and it eats up threads without clogging up as there is no roller. Powerful, easy to empty and clean and you can get replacement filters if you need them although they last years.

This is an easy to use vacuum cleaner of good size and heft. It sucks, quite well, and can be opened to empty out the dust. It does take a while to recharge the battery, but since it's only used occasionally that's not a huge issue. I use it to clean work surfaces at home, and also from the carpet/sofa when I can't be bothered to pull the big vacuum out.

It's ok in a pinch. It doesn't seem to last very long. In fact, it seems to take longer to charge than what use we get out of it.

I reviewed my first Vax Gator five years ago. But the best recommendation I can give it, is the old one is now showing it's age and I have bought the exact same model again. The only things you need to know about the Vax Gator is that it is brilliant. It is powerful, is easy to empty and easy to clean. The built-in crevice tool is no gimmick, it is genuinely useful around the kitchen, as it allows you to direct the suction a little further under the microwave and toaster etc, than you would be able to without the tool. Because I am replacing an old Gator, I can tell you that if you keep them on charge permanently, the batteries will last for four years with full performance, then start to deteriorate quite quickly after that. Mine is now five years old and after starting at full power, the suction drops off within about 20 seconds and the vacuum then runs at a noticeably slower speed for about 10 minutes before it begins to slow to a stop. The suction is still useable, but nowhere near its brand new performance. I will still use the old Gator until the poor thing finally throws in the towel. For all you fellow electronic engineers out there, I did consider replacing the battery in the old Gator, but it proved not economically viable. The power source is an integral part of the unit and consist of 9 'C-cell' sized batteries, soldered in a circle around the motor. I took one look, reassembled the Gator and backed away slowly. Truth is, I honestly don't mind paying for another new unit, as these Vax Gators are built like tanks, last a minimum of four years, are sensibly priced and work extremely well. I used to think it was a bit on the heavy side, but now that I have seen what is inside the shell, they are built extremely well. There is only one criticism I have and it is for Vax, not the Gator product, and that is why do they not make a wall bracket for the Gator? Other than that, if you are looking for a really good kitchen clean-up vacuum, the Vax Gator is absolutely brilliant.

TLDR: Low suction even on full charge, battery runs low quickly, Doesn't hold charge when stored I went for a brand name and not a cheap model to hopefully get something good as although it was for occasional use when I needed it I needed it for be good but unfortunately its woefully underpowered, I think I can probably suck harder through a straw than this thing sucks when fully charged. I would use it and keen thinking the battery was about to die as the suction was so weak but it would keep going for another 7-10 minutes before actually running out of life. So the combination of poor suction meaning you have to go over the same area time and time again along with the short battery life means that unless you are literally just trying to clean up some crumbs from a hard surface, the vacuum is more trouble than its worth. I've persisted with this i've had it around 5 years and keep forgetting how bad it is when I come to using it, the battery doesn't stay charged either so after a few months of no use next time I go to use the the battery is run out and it needs a charge.