Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've had this review floating around in my head for a while now, usually while i'm doing the vacuuming. Ok so you're thinking from the title that it's a little bit unfair to compare this to a miele and a dyson. Well, read on... I chose this for 2 reasons 1) the head on my dyson broke and the repair place wants $400 to fix it, well I didn't want to spend that right now so I was on the hunt for a cheaper vacuum without getting a crappy one. 2) I chose the Bissell because I have their little carpet cleaner and I'm really impressed with it so I knew it was a good brand. Mostly I'm going to compare it to the dyson because I only use the Miele once a week at my church which is pretty basic cleaning. I used my Dyson Ball for 6 years before the head broke. Suction: Because that's what we really care about here...I think it's pretty comparable. I think my dyson was maybe better when it was new but i'm sorry to burst the bubble folks, my dyson DID lose suction a little bit. It's DEFINITELY not as good as it was despite service. The miele I think is slightly better but i'm still confident that this vacuum is doing a good job. Attachments: Gotta say the dyson wins here. Mostly for the ways the attachments are...attached. The hose that goes into the wand on the dyson is really nice and compact and out of the way, putting this hose away is a bit hit and miss it seems to fling out if you don't do it just right. The hose is also not as long as my dyson hose and wand, and of course the hose on this isn't stiff like the wand. Ok the turbo brush on this does do a better job than just the standard attachment but it just doesn't work on long carpet. I was going to write about how terrible it was but then I used it on some of my shorter carpet and it does work really nice on that. Cord: Bissell wins hands down. Who doesn't want an automatically recoiling cord? Can we say YES PLEASE. I don't know why but I really really hate winding up my cord when I'm done vacuuming and i'm likely to leave my vacuum out just to avoid doing it! This has one button and in it goes. I think it's also a bit longer than my dyson cord. If you leave it coiled up while you're using it it does get a little warm so it's best to pull it all the way out when you're using it. Edge to Edge cleaning: both this and my dyson said they have it. Got to say that my dyson does a better job with it but this Bissell certainly isn't terrible. It's better than the Miele which seems to have no edge to edge cleaning at all. I tip this scale in favor of Bissell because they have the anti-flick technology or whatever they call it and it really really works. My Dyson would flick cheerios across the kitchen but this sucks it up. Multi-level: My dyson had 2 settings, brush on or brush off. This one you can change the height of the brush which is really useful. For example if there are a lot of cheerios on the kitchen floor and it's just pushing them along I can just raise it a bit and it gets them all up (I have kids so this cheerio thing occurs regularly). Added to the fact that it doesn't flick I've got to say this one wins on my hard floor. Some people complained that you can't turn the brush off which I suppose might be annoying but I don't mind since it doesn't flick. Emptying: totally equal here, just as easy to wash the filters, perhaps Bissell's filter is a little easier if anything. Both just as easy to empty, both have clear cannisters so that you can see if they're full, neither of them need bags. All good things. Manoverability: Sorry Bissell...Dyson wins. I've got to say the Dyson ball action is really nice and the Miele I use at church has a similar action. But having said that this isn't difficult to manover, just the Dyson is easier. Weight: I think the Bissell is lighter than the dyson and it's definitely a LOT lighter than the Miele (which literally gave me arm ache the next day after a quick use) Conclusion: I rule in favor of the Bissell actually. The dyson is nice, really nice. I was a huge dyson fan for 6 years and loved my vacuum. But I don't care what you get it WILL lose suction, not completely but a bit, it just will. And a new vacuum is always going to suck better than a 6 year old one. The main reason the Bissell wins is the price. I could buy a new one every 2 years and still be less than my dyson, or about the same cost and I'm pretty sure this vacuum will last more than 2 years. Repairs on dysons seem to be really expensive, it's the most basic thing wrong with the head. Also my dyson got REALLY noisy over the years whereas this one I can vacuum while my kids are sleeping and it doesn't wake them up.