I don’t have to recycle through vacuum cleaners quite often so always find it a surprise when I see just how many brands are out there. The range offered by Godfreys is wide and surprising, showing off just how nuanced vacuum cleaners are as a category and how it’s essential to shop around to find the one that best suits your living situation.
For anyone suffering from allergies, you’ll want a specific vacuum cleaner for example. You’ll ideally need one with a HEPA filter, which is why I’ve chosen to take a look at the Wertheim Evolution Stick Vacuum Cleaner. At $699, it’s an affordable, advanced stick cleaner that has a heap of smart features that negate the need for anything more premium.
Design
Truth be told, you won’t find much difference across modern stick vacuum models when it comes to design. What works, works. But different brands and models focus on the smaller details to distinguish products. For the Evolution, Wertheim clearly wanted to produce something incredibly lightweight and easy to use.
Even something so seemingly small as not needing to hold the power button down during operation works like a charm. This would be great for people with shoulder issues or some mobility issue that makes it tougher to constantly press a button down during vacuuming. I don’t have any such issue, but it’s just a thought I had when reflecting on my use.
One of the main features here is the choice to include a HEPA filter. All vacuum cleaners will dislodge dirt and allergens during use so having a HEPA filter to suck those up and prevent them from doing any damage in the air is a great feature to have.
The digital brushless motor that powers this thing isn’t as quiet as my Dyson but nowhere near as loud as some of the older models I have tested before. Given a Dyson is well over $1,000, I’d say this is a fair compromise and that Wertheim have done a great job at addressing one of the most common issues with stick vacuums.
I also judged this vacuum on how seamless it turns from a stick to a hand vacuum. It’s easy and quick to switch between the two, with a few simple hand gestures required. Once it’s back in stick mode, you can position it on the charging stand to save room and keep this juiced up.
Performance
A battery life of 50 minutes across two rechargeable lithium batteries is far less than what you’d expect from more expensive vacuum cleaners, of course. At this price point, it seems more than fair and will easily get you through an entire house clean on each charge.
What I am, however, finding a bit disappointing about this vacuum is the lack of suction power. Even with boost mode on, I find it can miss a lot of smaller specs of dust that my Dyson would then pick up easily. I feel like this is where the price is being kept low, by focusing on flawless design but compromising a bit when it comes to performance.
That said, this thing is still powerful enough to take care of pesky pet hair quite easily.
Verdict & Value
I’m a big of the continuous trigger mode so you don’t have to keep the power button depressed at all times. It’s also an added bonus that this vacuum cleaner comes with a HEPA filter, which many don’t. At this price, having a HEPA filter is very valuable and should see the Evolution move quite a few units as concerns about allergens becomes more prevalent.
I do wish it was more powerful, but it’s hard to complain about a stick vacuum cleaner at this very reasonable mid-range price point.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Pros: Effective HEPA filter; trigger design; very lightweight and easy to move around
Cons: Would have liked more suction power
Price: $699
You can buy the Wertheim Evolution from Godfreys in Australia.
