Numatic Henry Quick

What’s the story?

Henry is famous for its workhorse cylinder vacuum cleaners – yes, the ones with a smiley face on the side – and this is its first stick-style cordless. It’s available in iconic red, discreet graphite grey or pink… and the face is still there, just squeezed in at the top.

It’s affordable and, in something of a throwback, bagged. The Quick comes with six ‘pods’, which are 1L disposable bags with a dust seal, made from 65% recycled material. Pods act as filters too, so you get a fresh filter with every change, no need to clean them.

Run time is from 16mins to 70mins, depending on the power setting, and recharging fully takes over 2hrs. You plug the battery in to charge it, whether it’s attached to the cleaner or not.

Is it any good?

Arriving in plastic-free packaging, this thing is sturdy: a no-nonsense machine worthy of the Henry name. It comes with just two accessories – a crevice nozzle and a combi tool with sliding brush – and the cleaner’s wall-mount can hold both.

You can also route the cable to charge the cleaner when docked, but you must plug it into the side each time and then unplug afterwards. Oh, and there’s an optional scent capsule that pops in the top of the cleaner; the scent is fruity but not overkill.

Grip is ergonomic but the three buttons (power on/off, boost and brushbar) are on the front of the cleaner’s body. That positioning is annoying, forcing you to use two hands. It always starts in standard power mode with the brushbar on; four lights indicate battery charge. The floorhead has a single spinning roller, with brushes to pick up hairs, and there are three LED headlights.

Like the Samsung, it cleans up to 2mm from walls, from both the side and the front. Standard power is fine; the boost is blistering but rarely needed.

The Henry Quick is a solid occasional cleaner, or good for small flats – it doesn’t really have the features and battery life to be your primary vac if you have a house. And we really wish it had better-placed controls for one-handed vacuuming.

£300 / go.stuff.tv/henryquick

Key specs

● 1.0L ● 70mins

● 2 power levels ● 3.2kg

STUFF SAYS A sturdy, simple vac with dust bags so you don’t have to clean filters ★★★★✩