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The best stick vacuums to buy in 2022, including Black Friday deals
These expert-tested cordless vacuum cleaners laugh in the face of dust.
Stick vacuums are cordless vacuum cleaners that, err, look like sticks. They're designed to be lightweight, easily manoeuvrable and gentle on your back, with no tiresome cord to keep plugging in.
They all run on rechargeable batteries, but some are more powerful than others, with a longer battery life and a more generous range of included tools.
A number of these models are on sale in time for Black Friday – but we still recommend you consider your personal needs before you buy. Tech features can be tempting, sure, but a simpler, more affordable model may suffice if your home is smaller and you don't have pets. You can check out our picks below– 0r perhaps you'd like to try a robot vacuum instead?
What is the best stick vacuum?
There are many stick vacs vying for your cash, so our expert testers put 52 to the test to find the best. Scroll down for our ten best cordless vacuum cleaners for carpet, hard floors, pet hair, cars and more.
If it's a sneak peek that you're after, our experts crowned the Shark Anti Hair Wrap IZ320UKT the best stick vacuum you can buy.
Are stick vacuums worth it?
Stick vacuums are the modern, convenient choice, and that's what we favour here at Digital Spy. Traditional uprights or cylinders (we're looking at you, Henry) feel heavy and bulky to lug about in comparison, and many sticks can convert into handhelds for use in cars and awkward spaces.
Slim sticks are compact for easy storage – some fold down and others can be wall-mounted – with small dust canisters that are simple and mess-free to empty. Their batteries usually recharge within a few hours, and their suction power is getting stronger by the day, in line with exciting new tech developments.
Not quite sold? Sticks also tend to come with an array of useful tools for versatility – think an upholstery tool for ridding your sofa of biscuit crumbs, or a crevice tool for cleaning every nook and cranny.
How to choose a stick vacuum
Stick vacuums vary in price quite dramatically, with the models on our round-up costing between £99 and £849. Before you splash out on a top-of-the-range vac, consider how important the following features are to you:
Weight: Unless you're particularly strong, prolonged use of sticks over 3kg will make your arms ache, especially after carrying them up stairs. Bottom-heavy vacs will feel most gentle on your muscles.
Battery level indicator: OK, so this may be standard for most tech, but not all sticks offer it yet. Look for a vac that will count down your remaining juice in minutes and seconds, meaning it shouldn't die on you suddenly, moments before guests arrive. There are a handful on our list, including the Samsung and Dyson models.
Sensory tech: This is pretty cool – the floorhead senses whether you're vacuuming carpet or hard flooring, before auto-adjusting the power for efficient battery usage.
Smart tech: Some sticks can connect to your phone, allowing you to monitor its battery life and usage that way.
Headlights: Perfectionists, listen up – LED lights built into the floorhead illuminate dark spaces, such as underneath furniture, to help you banish every speck of dust.
How we test
Our expert testers tried 52 stick vacuums on carpet, laminate and floorboards. Firstly, they laid down a set volume of dust, before weighing how much each model had collected after a set number of sweeps.
Next, they ground pet hair collected from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home (oh yes, they're committed) into carpet and noted how well each stick lifted it without tangling. They ran the same test with small residue, such as crumbs.
Our team then tried each stick inside a car and noted how well it tackled crevices. They put it to work on stairs to gauge how easily it manoeuvred and also considered its ease of use, the clarity of its instructions, any innovative features and its overall design.
Ready to shop our trusted top 10?
It's hardly a secret that a piece of tech with stand-out battery life really gets us going. Particularly when that piece of tech is a stick vac, and you've got a whole house to clean and a life to get busy living.Enter this Shark, which delighted our testers by running for 37 minutes non-stop across a mix of flooring and settings – the best result by far. It also comes with two batteries that can recharge simultaneously.It got its job done brilliantly, banishing pretty much every speck of dust from carpet, floorboards and laminate, and lifting pet hair in one sweep.The raft of handy tools (shout out to the crevice nozzle!) made getting into nooks and crannies a breeze, and it folds in half for smarter storage in small flats. Basically, it's an all-round champ.
Key specs
Capacity: 0.7 litres
Weight: 4.58kg
Running time: Up to 60 minutes
Recharging time: 4 hours
Included tools: Crevice tool, multi-surface tool, anti-allergen brush, pet tool, accessory bag
Hoover H-FREE 500 Pet HF522UPT
Your back will thank you for investing in this featherlight Hoover that's a steal for its relatively affordable price tag. It earned perfect scores in nearly all our pick-up tests, and the rotating brush in its floorhead picked out pet hairs with aplomb.
It features LED front lights to highlight dust, and the three included attachments can be stored on board.
The crevice tool is a bit stumpy, the turbo mode only offers six minutes of power, and it takes a sluggish six hours to recharge. But it stands up on its own at just 69cm high, and can be mounted on the wall to save floor space.
Overall, it feels like great value for money.
Key specs
Capacity: 0.45 litres
Weight: 2.2kg
Running time: Up to 40 minutes
Recharging time: 6 hours
Included tools: Crevice tool, 2-in-1 dusting and upholstery tool, mini turbo brush
Right, let's quickly run through this sleek Samsung's tech creds, shall we? Integrated two-litre cleaning station with charging function. Efficient air filtration system with multi-cyclone tech. Indicator to change dust bag. Loads of tools ft. QR codes linking to instruction videos. Wet cleaning ability. LED display showing battery percentage and power mode.
OK, we'll stop now. Because that's all well and good, but this stick is getting on for a grand, so its performance had better be mega, right? Right – and mega it was. It lifted almost all dust, biscuit crumbs and pet hair in a flash, and reached right into the corners on stairs.
It ran for over an hour on low, or 19 minutes on a mix of speeds. It's expensive, sure, but it's an innovative treat that actually makes hoovering fun.
Key specs
Capacity: 0.5 litres
Weight: 2.7kg
Running time: Up to 60 minutes
Recharging time: 3.5 hours
Included tools: Combination tool, crevice tool, flexible tool, jet dual brush, pet hair tool, sweeper, upholstery tool
Dyson V15 Detect Absolute vacuum
This popular Dyson is all about ease of use, with genuinely useful tools, extensive tech features including lasers to highlight debris, and an LCD screen that updates you on its remaining battery life.
It cleaned fantastically and pulled up pet hair without tangling, but its ultra-powerful suction proved both a blessing and a curse – it's so strong it makes it hard to glide the floorhead over long-pile carpet. (Tip: put it in eco mode for easier manoeuvring).
The lasers worked well on laminate, but they'd probably only make a difference to those with a visual impairment (either that or our house is so dirty that it's impossible to miss the dust).
The lack of a continuous power button means you have to keep your finger on the trigger all the time, causing it to ache, but it's a triumph in all other ways.
Key specs
Capacity: 0.76 litres
Weight: 3.1kg
Running time: Up to 60 minutes
Recharging time: 4.5 hours
Included tools: Hair screw tool, combination tool, crevice tool, soft dusting brush, wand clip
This mid-range Vax was at its best when cleaning dust and dirt from laminate and floorboards, but it gave a solid performance on carpet, too.
It grabbed every pet hair in two sweeps max, and its mini motorised pet tool proved ideal for freshening up cars and upholstery.
It can't stand up on its own and is quite cumbersome as a handheld, but our testers liked being able to check the remaining charge by pushing a button on the battery.
It doesn't have the longest run time, but it recharges faster than any other model on test, in just two and a half hours.
Key specs
Capacity: 0.6 litres
Weight: 3.1kg
Running time: Up to 40 minutes
Recharging time: 2.5 hours
Included tools: Crevice tool, dusting brush, mini motorised pet tool
Our testers raved about the boost mode on this smartly-built Vax – just one swipe left carpets (and hard flooring, to be fair) looking suitably shipshape.
This vacuum has been designed with pet owners in mind, – hence the effective mini motorised pet tool – and it performed well as a handheld when collecting small stones and leaves from car floor mats.
It'll topple over unless leaned against a wall, but that's our only niggle of note. It's a foolproof choice for everyday family use.
Key specs
Capacity: 0.6 litres
Weight: 3.1kg
Running time: Up to 45 minutes
Recharging time: 3 hours
Included tools: Dusting brush, crevice tool, mini motorised pet tool
The V10 might not be Dyson's freshest launch, but it's that bit kinder on the bank balance while still delivering a first class performance on all types of flooring.
It excelled at lifting pet hair, removing ground-in fur in a single sweep, and our testers found it lightweight to carry and manoeuvre.
Its suction power is hard to fault, and although it only lasts for eight minutes in boost mode, it can run for up to an hour on auto. The 'point and shoot' canister takes seconds to empty, and the quick release mechanism makes changing heads easy.
One tip: angle the mini motorised tool slightly away from the floor, else it pushes crumbs away instead of sucking them up.
Key specs
Capacity: 0.76 litres
Weight: 2.68kg
Running time: Up to 60 minutes
Recharging time: 3.5 hours
Included tools: Direct drive cleaner head, soft roller cleaner head, mini motorised tool, mini soft dusting brush, combination and crevice tool
Cars don't stay clean and tidy for long, especially if kids are in the picture. Happily, this bargain Hoover stick converts into a handheld and comes with a long, flexible crevice tool that makes light work of awkward areas.
Our testers were delighted by its pick-up across all floor types, with the rotating brush removing all pet hairs in an instant.
It won't run for as long as pricier models on our list, but it delivers plenty of bang for your buck. If you're a sucker for some sweet tech, its WiFi connectivity function lets you monitor its filter condition and battery life from your phone. There's even a specific attachment for dusting radiators.
Key specs
Capacity: 0.7 litres
Weight: 2.75kg
Running time: Up to 35 minutes
Recharging time: 5 hours
Included tools: Crevice tool, 2-in-1 large dusting and furniture brush, mini turbo nozzle, radiator tool, deep cleaning brush
This – thethe third Dyson to make the cut –is one of its hero models. Its stand-out feature is its huge dust capacity, making it a top pick for anyone with a bigger home, or indeed anyone who just really hates emptying a canister.
Its battery lasted for 34 minutes across a range of surfaces and settings – the next best result after our winning Shark – and it sucked up more dust than our testers had laid from long pile carpet.
It made light work of pet hair, too. Talk about an overachiever.
Key specs
Capacity: 1.9 litres
Weight: 3.56kg
Running time: Up to 120 minutes
Recharging time: 4.5 hours
Included tools: Cleaner head, combination tool, hair screw tool, dusting brush
This Miele model claims to boast the power of a full-size vac, whether used as an upright, a stick or a handheld (yes, it's 3-in-1).
It aced every pick-up challenge our testers threw at it and left them floored – ahem – by its remarkable 17-minute battery life on full power.
Being able to shift the motor and canister towards the brush head made cleaning floors more comfortable, especially as it's quite a weighty bit of kit, but its silicone wheels sometimes pulled dirt across our carpet.
Really, though, there's not much to complain about here – it's another good'un.
Key specs
Capacity: 0.5 litres
Weight: 3.64kg
Running time: Up to 60 minutes
Recharging time: 4 hours
Included tools: Motorised rotary brush with headlights, crevice nozzle, dusting brush, upholstery nozzle
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