Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Ok, so I don't usually run out and write reviews immediately after receiving a product, but I was (ironically) blown away by this vacuum. For background, my reaction may have been enhanced by the absolute misadventure of the past month trying to get a vacuum that fit a designated area in my limited space workshop. However, that experience also provided the contrast to highlight where this vacuum shines. In a nutshell, I bought a vacuum on here that seemed nice, but upon arrival was too tall. Returned that one and went to a store to get one that was on sale, but they didn't have it so I ordered it online and that one never shipped. The replacement arrived and brought with it its own host of issues, so I ended up returning that as well. DeWALT is a company I've used for many years and have known to be durable and reliable, so when I came back to find what I hoped was the final vacuum, this one was in the top running. I got home last night and immediately assembled it, which took about 3 minutes. Use screws to attach the casters to the base and you're done. It fit perfectly in the space under my desk (had about 21.5" clearance), so it was already in my good graces. It was late, so I thought perhaps I should wait until the next day to actually use it because shop vacs are usually pretty loud, but the dust piles from the weekend's project grew eyes and stared me down. I had read in other reviews that this vacuum was pretty quiet, so I took the risk. I was amazed at how quiet it runs. From an ambient noise level of about 20db in my garage, this hovered (hoovered?) around 60-63db when turned on. Incredible. My wife said she couldn't hear it downstairs, and sound travels pretty well in our house. Another big bonus was the size of the hose. After finally receiving vac #2 and trying it out, I was disappointed when it choked on sawdust if anything bigger than a dime was encountered, I.E. every 2 minutes. This pretty much made it useless for my needs. The hose on the DeWALT is 1" 7/8" diameter and easily handled everything I put it to, including small chunks of wood. It also quickly disconnects from the vacuum with a push tab, compared to the screw on type that the previous shop vac had, which had a habit of pinching my skin between the hose collar and vacuum lid. Another review said he felt that the hose port on the DeWALT was too thin and brittle, but so far it seems sufficient to me. It doesn't seem flimsy and I think it should hold up just fine. A nice touch is the rubber cord keeper. So much easier than winding around the lid or what have you. The only negatives I have about this vacuum so far are minor, but worth mentioning. There is no on-board accessory storage. The narrow and wide head attachments come with a mesh bag for keeping, and the tube extensions are just free to roam about. I'll probably rig something up for them, but, for your awareness, there it is. Lastly, the lid could sit slightly tighter to the base. It doesn't shift around in use, but it would just feel better if it latched down tighter. I may put some kind of gasket in there just for personal preference. Again, just worth noting. If I had the option I might have given this vacuum a 4.5 just because of those things but I am incredibly pleased with it so far and think 5 stars better reflects my experience. My initial impression is definite satisfaction. If anything catastrophic happens I will update my review to reflect that and just hope it's within the return window!