There's always a new vacuum to try. My office always has a new cordless stick vacuum next to my desk, waiting for me to test it and compare it to the competition.
The latest in the wings? Bosch's new vacuum featured at this year's CES. The Bosch Unlimited 10 ($699) stands out for incorporating two features from two popular vacuum brands: Dyson and Shark. The Unlimited 10 can fold in the middle of the long stick that connects the head to the motor, as a Shark PowerDetect can, and it has a compression lever for the dustbin to compress debris, like the new Dyson Piston Animal will when it launches this year. The Bosch also offers six power levels, with three specialty levels (quiet, car, and delicate carpet) on top of the classic automatic, eco, and turbo levels we see on the Shark and Dyson.
With the new vacuum in my home, along with a Shark PowerDetect ($300) and Dyson Gen5 Detect ($922), it was the perfect opportunity to see if the new Bosch can stand up to the competition. While the Dyson Gen5 Detect doesn't have the compression bin, I was curious how the Bosch would compare, given it has a price tag closer to a Dyson. Could this be the new leader of the cordless stick vacuum pack?
Ultimately, Bosch trailed both Dyson and Shark in most challenges, and I was frustrated to see it dump debris three times during the tests. Here's how each of my tests went and which vacuum pulled ahead.
Sand Winner: Shark
Photograph: Nena Farrell
I have a small black rug I use for my debris testing. For each vacuum, I poured a small amount of sand across it and tested how well the vacuum sucked it up. I was surprised that Shark was the only one that didn't respond to the sand by throwing it everywhere while trying to vacuum it up. Both Bosch and Dyson had this issue. Bosch picked up a lot of sand, but also blew sand pretty evenly all over the rug and dumped some of it back on the floor after I turned the vacuum off. It did the same thing on my stair test when I used it on a stair that my son's sandy feet had been on. Meanwhile, the air moving around the Dyson Gen5 Detect pushed it around, and even though the vacuum has tight suction, I had to go over the small rug multiple times and still didn't get all of it.