Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Edit: So it finally happened. The roller's bearings went to all hell after less than a year and while it still functions great, it makes a horrifically loud noise since it doesn't spin smoothly. Not the end of the world, but apparently customer service for Bissell thinks that the roller is a "Customer serviceable part that is not covered under the warranty". Apparently having to remove ten screws and pry out a roller and belt is "customer serviceable". I don't know what is worse, that you'll need to throw down about $25 a year in a new roller, and the PITA it will be to replace it; or the fact that Bissell doesn't cover that component under any warranty. For that alone, it's losing another star. There is a lot to love about this vacuum. But for every ten things Bissell got right, there is one thing they did so disastrously wrong. While still an amazing value, and I wholeheartedly recommend it, it's still very much worth mentioning it's flaws and why I decided to keep this over any Dyson or other model vacuum I've tried. Pros: - Great suction (at a cost, and for the most part, see cons). Between the roller and the ability for this thing to hold in what it pulls up, it does a wonderful job of digging up everything out of the carpet with ease. - Fantastic maneuverability. You don't need some fancy ball gimmick. This can make very easy turns and leans back far enough to get some under the table action with ease. - Easy maintenance. Detaching and cleaning the canister is a breeze, and unlike Dyson canisters, doesn't pop open accidentally and make a mess everywhere on the way to the garbage. Cons: - Knob to select hose or brush suction. This has to be by far the most asinine design decision of all vacuums created in the last 20 years. The fact that it doesn't auto switch is profoundly annoying. You will, worth repeating WILL, forget to swap between one or the other and have to re-vacuum half a room when you realize you haven't been sucking anything up. This was such a profoundly bad idea that I can't grasp not only how much of an imbecile the person who thought this up was, but the entire QA team who said "yes, we should keep this". - Belt for the roller is practically in the middle of the roller. I get it, central tension rather than off centered means less torque required to spin the brush. But it constantly creates a non-vacuumed line in the middle of all your vacuumed lines, and causes you to have to repeatedly pass over the same areas to get coverage. Having to replace belts more frequently (which really is such an infrequent thing as it is, who the hell keeps track) would have been so much more worth it than to have this nuisance. - Provided attachments are very lackluster. The crevice tool uses a rubberized tip that does not glide smoothly in any crevice. This was such a bad idea. The light gimmick on it was a nice idea, but unless you vacuum with the lights off it's largely irrelevant (no stars or cons for this, just worth mentioning). The pet hair roller is nice, although incredibly loud. This would have been a much better accessories lineup if it came with a simple non-overengineered crevice tool and what surprises me to no end, if it actually included a dusting/upholstery tool. The fact that it doesn't come with this little guy is just a sign of being really really stingy and cheap on the companies part. - Abysmal on hard floors. Like, stupendously awful. I can't iterate without swearing how bad this thing is at hardwood floors. Rollers on or off, set to any height. It just can't pick anything up. This is hands down the worst vacuum on the planet at hard floors. Luckily, the only rooms I have hard floors are the kitchen, bathroom and main entryway/hallway. I'll just Swiffer those areas. But if your home has a lot of hardwood areas, you might want to reconsider this guy. - It has these little rubber nibs (teeth? side sweepers?) on the sides of the vacuum. I assume they are to pull things out of edges by moulding in rooms? They don't do s%*t. Really, really dumb "feature". Cons aside, for a carpeted home, this is the greatest vacuum for the value you get. The money you save buying this, get yourself a couple attachments that aren't bad. It will plow through cleaning carpets with ease. Just don't expect good results in the kitchen.