Conversely, our small and dainty octogenarian tester – with hands slightly smaller than a Barbie doll – said she couldn’t reach the trigger if she held the cleaner in her right hand. The brush tool was a real favourite, being large enough to clean a good-sized area and with bristles soft enough for a variety of tasks. For me, it’s impossible to reach if I have the cleaner in my left hand, and the lever digs into the top of my finger. The other thing you’ll notice on lifting the Freedom from the ground is the sloppy fitting between cleaner and tube, and tube and floor-head. On shorter-pile wool carpets, passing over the same area time and time again, it did pick up the majority of hairs.

A continuous power mode provides an extra boost for larger vacuuming tasks with no risk of aching fingers from holding the trigger.

It’s a lithium battery pack, so putting it on charge even if it’s only half depleted won’t affect the long-term performance of the battery. An affordable cordless cleaner, but difficult to handle and delivers poor cleaning results across the board. The Hoover FD22L Freedom Lite comes with a lithium battery that’s capable of lasting up to 20 minutes. If you’re on a budget and you want a cordless vacuum cleaner to tackle small, lightly soiled, areas.

Both are a decent size, and with the airflow condensed into a smaller area, both provide reasonable suction. Although this happened less frequently with the Hoover than on the Vax, it was often enough to suggest that this cleaner is far from pet-friendly. Glide effortlessly around your home and enjoy the benefits of a powerful cyclonic clean for up to 25 minutes at once. The low suction power and lethargic brush bar didn’t really stand much of a chance with pet hair embedded into a nylon test carpet. Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest.The main body offers up the same angular design of the Vax, so it’s no surprise to discover it’s seriously uncomfortable in the hand. Since the floor-head appears to have some stick-down when the tube is more vertical at the end of the backstroke, pushing forward to overcome that creates some alarming flex.

Its 20-minute battery life will struggle to clean any home bigger than a small apartment, while it’s lack of attachments, and raw suction power, also make it unsuitable.In addition a handheld pole provides an extra-long reach for ceilings corners so you don't miss a spot.