Numatic, the British company responsible for introducing the iconic Henry Hoover to the world, has provided us with the opportunity to try out Henry Quick, a slimline cordless stick vacuum that could prove a very sensible purchase in these times of rising costs.
There are few, if any, more recognisable vacuum cleaners than the Henry Hoover. The iconic bright red canister vacuum cleaner with its smiley face and black hat has become a design icon and is so versatile it can be found everywhere, from the most stately houses to builder yards.
The Henry story
The Henry hoovers were the brainchild of Chris Duncan, who, in 1969, decided to build a product capable of cleaning the inside of boilers. While attending a trade show to promote his range, a bored salesperson decided to dress up the rather bland-looking oil drum-shaped vacuum, popping a hat on it and chalking a smile underneath its hose connector.
Chris loved what he saw and asked his advertising people to design a proper face for it, and in 1981, the Henry we all know and love was born. Since then, the design has barely changed. Today the company has established itself as the UK’s most popular vacuum brand and has grown the family to include Hetty, Charles, George, James and Harry and its newest member, Henry Quick.
Protecting oneself against rising living costs
It’s doubtful anyone will not know of the rising energy costs that are impacting the world, and in these times, it is a wise person who uses only what is necessary. One obvious way to help keep costs down is to use products powered by rechargeable batteries. Compared to mains-powered vacuum cleaners, rechargeable battery versions use far less energy, as the cost to charge a single battery is considerably lower than the constant energy consumed by a mains-powered vacuum.
It’s obvious when you turn on a vacuum cleaner that it will use a considerable amount of electricity. It’s even worse when it comes to vacuum cleaners manufactured before 2017 (before the EU’s intervention), which are likely to add a hefty amount to your monthly energy bills if you use them regularly. The sensible solution to keeping energy bills down in these times has to be switching to a cordless product that offers enough to meet your requirements.
Power, storage and runtime
Three of the biggest criticisms of battery-powered vacuums are suction power, runtime and storage capacity. Henry Quick, when compared to others in its price range, is a clear leader. The vacuum has two power modes, standard mode and turbo mode, capable of ‘hoovering’ up pretty much anything. Henry Quick also has a decent 1L storage capacity, which is mightily impressive compared to other cordless models, and in addition, it has a super-long runtime of up 70 minutes. To offer some context, the more expensive Dyson V10 Extra Cordless Vacuum cleaner has a 0.77L capacity and a runtime of 60 mins, and the Dyson V15 Detect Absolute has the same runtime and storage capacity.
Getting up and running
The Henry Quick vacuum arrived in a box with all the components well packaged and protected. It was straightforward to put Henry Quick together, just a case of clipping the wand into the body, which already contained a pod, clipping the head onto the pole and popping on the battery. The battery came with some charge, so within a couple of minutes, we were ready to explore the capabilities of this cordless vacuum.
Using the Henry Quick
To store waste, Henry Quick uses what Numatic call pods. These are white cylindrical bags with a plastic neck that clip into the vacuum’s body and, once powered, expand to fill the transparent waste chamber.
The benefit of this waste storage system is it eliminates unwanted dust when emptying Henry Quick. The vacuum has a quick-release slide mechanism; you place the vacuum over the bin opening, slide the mechanism forward, and it ejects the full bag in one quick motion.
Although Henry Quick weighs 3.3 kg, you barely notice it. The cordless vacuum sits nicely in your hand thanks to its well-designed grip, and it doesn’t feel heavy as its weight is spread between the floor and your arm. Manoeuvring Henry Quick is fun. You twist your wrist left or right, and the brush head follows suit. Moving around tight and low-height spaces is a doddle, and the LED headlights make cleaning poorly lit areas far easier.
A significant advantage of a cordless vacuum over a mains-powered vacuum is when you need to clean areas other than floors, for example, the interior of a car. If you forgo the wand that comes with Henry Quick and instead only plug in the head attachment or a brush attachment, it transforms into a powerful mini vacuum which makes cleaning the interior of cars, stairways and upholstery etc., very simple.
It’s also excellent at dealing with hard-to-reach places, such as the corner of ceilings, thanks to its long pole, light weight, and extension handle.
Henry Quick’s head attachment boasts some useful features, including a removable, motorised brush operated via a button adjacent to the start/stop button. It also has an air vent, operated via a slider which came as a godsend when vacuuming thick pile carpets and lightweight floor coverings.
The final feature we’ll discuss is the scent pod system, something we’ve not encountered with other vacuums. At the top of the cylinder is a flexible seal that lifts off; here, you can place a Polo-shaped scent pod, making the vacuuming task somewhat more fragrant.
Final thoughts
Although Henry Quick isn’t a silent vacuum cleaner (approx 70dbs), I thoroughly enjoyed using it. It is fun and easy to manoeuvre, making cleaning feel more pleasurable, and the addition of the LED lights on the cleaning head felt like I was steering a toy car in and out of the furniture when the light was fading. Although the vacuum cleaner comes with a turbo button, we barely needed to use it, finding the standard more than adequate.
Henry Quick far exceeded our expectations in all our tests, and the knowledge we were spending less money whilst vacuuming kept the smiles on our faces.
Henry Quick Specifications:
- Power: 25.2V
- Weight: 3.2kg
- Run time: 70 minutes at standard power level, 16 minutes in turbo mode
- Pod capacity: 1 litre
- Charging time: 150 minutes to reach 100%*
- Size (HxLxW): 1220 x 270 x 240mm
What’s in the box?
- Numatic Henry Quick Cordless Vacuum Cleaner
- Crevice tool
- 2-in-1 combi tool
- Extended-use handle
- Lithium-ion battery x 1
- Wall dock
- Charger
- Henry Pod x 26
- Scent pod x 1
Henry Quick – Where and how?
Henry Quick comes in three colours, Henry Red, Graphite and Hetty Pink. It has an RRP of £299.00 and comes with a two-year warranty. It is available to purchase from myhenry.com and leading retailers, including Amazon, Argos, Currys, Studio, Very & JD Williams.
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