Power, price and brand reputation were my main criteria when researching a replacement stick vacuum. I'm very happy with the power - it does a great job on both carpet and wooden floors, comparable with a cabled vacuum. It sucks a lot of dust! The nifty light really shows the dirt and I was astounded at the dust along the edges of walls. Once you've figured out how to empty it, it's pretty straight forward, including cleaning the filter. And you'll need to empty it regularly - it cleans a lot more than my old stick. The charger turns off 10 minutes after it's fully charged to avoid damaging the battery, and there's a charge indicator on the front of the stick so that you can see how much power you have left. I'm yet to exhaust the power whilst using it, and have only really needed to use it on low power. The tubes are a challenge (stiff) to slot together and take apart, and I'm hoping that they loosen over time. Silicone spray may help. Anyone with mobility/strength issues will really struggle with this because it's harder to change the barrel around if you want to use it as a hand held. Because I currently have nowhere to wall mount it, I need to have the barrel at the bottom because that is the only position in which the stick will stand independently whilst not in use. It's heavier than my previous stick, but that's the pay off if you want a more powerful model. Assembling with the barrel at the bottom does mitigate the weight. I can't comment on build quality (hence a 4 star review) after only a couple of weeks of use, but I was surprised that the stick is plastic - I hope that isn't an issue long term. My previous stick was metal. Overall, I'm very happy with my choice and I can tell that it does a fantastic job, as my 13 year old son will use it without complaint. Of final note, I ordered one day, and received it the next from friendly and efficient delivery drivers.