Vax Cordless Vacuum Reviews

The Rise of the Orange Tub

The 'orange tub' was developed in 1979 as a way of tackling accidental spillages in the home.  After its inception the orange tub vacuum cleaner was actually sold door-to-door, but with little success.

In 1982 Vax had its iconic orange tub in sale in high-street retailers and it quickly became the best selling vacuum cleaner in the UK.

James Dyson (founder of Dyson) was actually contracted by Vax in 1990 to produce an upright vacuum cleaner.  After 12 months James Dyson left Vax and built the vacuum independently.  Probably one of the best decisions of his life in hindsight, as he is now a multi-billionaire.

Cordless Vacuums

Vax are a relative newcomer to the cordless vacuum market.  Originally Vax only produced standard uprights, carpet washers (like the iconic orange tub), and air purifiers.  Since then Vax has expanded and now produces pressure washers and cordless vacuums.

One of the key points about Vax's cordless vacuum range is the number of products available.  The leaders in the cordless vacuum market tend to have a single model with different features available as sub-models.  Vax is different though, and have a wide range of cordless vacuums available.

Looking at Vax's offering you'll notice the range is trying to cater for every consumer in the market, and includes:

• Vax Blade

• Vax Air Cordless Switch

• Vax Arrow

• Vax Air Cordless Lift

• Vax Dynamo

To make things even more confusing, each of these models then has different submodels.  Fortunately we're here to try and make this confusion a little more clear.

Vax Blade

The Vax Blade is very similar to the Dyson cordless vacuum range (read our Dyson V8 review).  The high powered motor is contained at the top of the vacuum, with a long neck.  The neck can be removed to convert the Vax Blade into a powerful handheld vacuum.  This kind of design is very appealing, as many of us find ourselves shelling out for both an upright and a handheld to get full coverage.

Vax Air Cordless Switch

Onto the Air Cordless Switch.  This upright vacuum cleaner is a 2-in-1 vacuum takes a new approach to the handheld and upright problem.  The Air Cordless Switch is a standard upright, but the centre body of the vacuum completely detaches into a normal handheld vacuum.

This may seem great, but in our experience you're actually losing out as the upright doesn't get the power is need.

Vax Arrow

The Arrow is a standard entry-level upright only.  Designed for use on both hard floors and carpets, the Vax Arrow is a quiet cordless vacuum with great battery life (up to 75 mins).  This is closer to what we have seen from Vax's competitors.  The Vax Arrow has a good price-point and is one of the vacuums we will be reviewing more closely than some of the others.

Vax Air Cordless Lift

This is a solid offering from Vax. The Vax Air Cordless Lift is what you think of when you think of a traditional upright vacuum, with the advantage of it being cordless. The battery life isn't as long as other cordless vacuums but the vacuum itself is large and powerful. Of course this comes at the disadvantage of weight - the Air Cordless Lift is 5.1kg - a bit of a bruiser!