Amazon Basics Upright
Vacuum Wars Stars 1.29
We found the Amazon Basics Upright lightweight at 8.4 pounds and capable of picking up fine debris on low- to medium-pile carpet, but its low price comes with significant compromises. In our studio tests, it scattered debris on hard floors, pushed medium-sized debris ahead of the floorhead on carpet, and delivered below-average carpet deep cleaning. Filtration was also very poor. With no brushroll shutoff or adjustable floorhead height, its usefulness is limited. For homes with mixed flooring, we preferred the Bissell CleanView Swivel Pet 2252 in our review. See additional info
Amazon Basics has entered the vacuum cleaner market with the Amazon Basics Upright. Their first offering is essentially a clone of one of the cheapest vacuums on the market, the Bissell PowerForce Helix 2112. We bought one and put it through a series of tests to see how it performed.
There are a few redeeming qualities with the Amazon Basics upright vacuum, and we do think that some people in some situations will be happy with this purchase.
But, we also believe that a lot of people will buy this vacuum because of its incredibly low price and not realize that it really won’t work for their home.
So in this review, we’ll talk about who this vacuum would be good for, who it will not be suitable for, and why.
Clone of Another Cheap Vacuum
As we mentioned, the Amazon Basics upright is a clone of one of the cheapest vacuums on the market, the Bissell PowerForce Helix.
It has almost identical components like the handle, the brushes, the hoses, the attachments, and the floor head design.
Really, the main thing that’s different is the dustbin design, where the Amazon Basics has a bigger capacity. They have the same basic motor, and they come with the same basic tool set, which is a small upholstery tool and a crevice tool.
The Good
Low Price
The first pro we’ll mention for the Amazon Basics is its price.
We believe it’s safe to say that their idea was to make the cheapest possible vacuum, and they may have succeeded in that goal.
Weight
Another pro for the Amazon Basics Upright is its weight.
At only 8.4 pounds, it is extremely light. For example, the average weight of over 400 upright vacuums that we have data for is 14 and a half pounds. So the Amazon Basics is not quite half that weight, but close.
While we think that the Amazon Basics’ first attempt at a vacuum was a miss, we do have some alternative suggestions depending on your needs.
Fine Debris Pickup on Low Pile Carpet
Another pro is its performance on specific surfaces.
It’s decent at pickup of fine dirt and debris on short to medium pile carpets. So if you have mostly low pile carpets in your home and you want to spend the least amount of money possible, the Amazon Basics upright might work for you.
However, that’s where the good stuff ends.
The Bad
Hard Floor Debris Pickup
The big negative thing for us is its function on hard floors.
Despite them saying that it can be used for some hard floors, we would argue that it really can’t. Just like the Power Force Helix from which it was cloned, it does not have a brush roll shut off switch or a squeegee on the bottom of the floor head.
So it basically scatters debris on hard floors, which is exactly the opposite of what you would want it to do.
Medium Debris Pickup on Carpet
It’s also not very efficient on carpets.
It doesn’t have an adjustable height, and the gates are pretty low, so it snow plows even medium-sized debris on carpets, which is significantly below average.
Carpet Deep Clean Test
On our carpet deep clean test, where we see how good it is at picking up deeply embedded dirt, it scored about the same as the Bissell Power Force Helix. This is about average for this price range but below average in general.
Filtration
Its filtration was basically non-existent, which is typical in this price range, but it is one of the reasons we don’t like to recommend cheap vacuums.
Alternative Suggestions
While we think that the Amazon Basics’ first attempt at a vacuum was a miss, we do have some alternative suggestions depending on your needs.
Bissell CleanView Swivel Pet
If your house has a mix of hard floors and carpets, the cheapest we can recommend is the Bissell CleanView Swivel Pet 2252. It’s slightly more expensive but offers way more value.
Bissell CleanView Swivel Pet 2252
The Bissell CleanView Swivel Pet 2252 impressed us as a budget upright, with strong pickup on carpets and hard floors and a perfect 100 in our carpet deep-cleaning test. Its two-axis swivel, five height settings, and Pet TurboEraser tool add useful flexibility, while a suction blockage indicator helps flag airflow problems. We found it easy to maneuver and capable of handling fine and heavy debris. The main tradeoffs are its lack of sealed HEPA filtration and a floorhead that can tilt upward when reaching under furniture. Overall, we think it offers strong value for an affordable upright. See additional info
Kenmore Featherlite Lift-Up
If you’re concerned about filtration, you’ll have to spend a bit more than the Bissell CleanView. So the next step up that we would recommend is the Kenmore Featherlite Lift-Up (review, Amazon).
We recently reviewed the Featherlite Lift-Up and were incredibly impressed. We consider it one of the very best vacuums for the money.
Kenmore FeatherLite Lift-Up
Vacuum Wars Stars 3.23
We think the Kenmore FeatherLite Lift-Up offers a lot of value. It performs well compared with others in its price range and is easy to use. Its lightweight design, ergonomic handling, and useful LED lights add to the appeal. The dustbin is on the small side, so it may need more frequent emptying during larger cleaning jobs. See additional info
Our Conclusion
To recap, the Amazon Basics Upright is not good at all for hard floors, and it’s really not that great for carpets. Though it is very cheap and very light, we have high hopes for the Amazon Basics brand in the future, but this first offering was a missed opportunity in our opinion.
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Every list below is drawn from the same test data as this ranking.
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Most PowerfulRanked by power alone, from our suction and airflow tests.
Shark ModelsEvery Shark upright we have tested, ranked.
Pet HairRanked by the performance and features that do best in homes with pets.
Carpets · soonComing as we finish the carpet deep clean round.
Hard Floors · soonComing as we finish the hard floor and crevice pickup round.
Lightweight · soonComing as we compare weight against cleaning power.
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