vacmanuk
Joined: May 31, 2009
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Since 2008 Hoover's latest claim of new technology in its European floor care industry is something called "Airvolution" and it is a patent that sees its design being used on Hoover's newest bagless upright and cylinder vacuums known as the "Slalom," "Freedom" and "Xarion" range. To those like me who couldn't care less how the dirt is finely filtered and put into a bin, and for those interested in the science bit, its just a patent that copies similar design aspects to Dyson's Dual Cyclone - a patent that went out a few years ago so that other major players like Vax and Hoover can do their own version. The Slalom series however has been designed to be "ultra agile," as well as being fast in terms of its suction though it's not quite the skis darting about in a zig-zag fashion given its sporty name. With 1200 watts motor power and 200 air watts Hoover would like to think Slalom means business even though the motor rating itself is not the most powerful, it is more environmentally friendly than most. It has washable filters all round ( a series of three ) so spending anymore money isn't needed here.
Everything on this vacuum is geared towards having a space age look from the aluminium height adjustable extension crevice tool to the actual fit and finish which at times can be patchy even though the silver paint looks very cool. An upholstery brush is also included and it can be pushed on at the end of the crevice tool for more height. A pet hair turbo brush is also included and it fits at the front of the machine just below the main handle to the bin. Like everything Hoover makes these days, they have decked this machine in contrasting colours; this time its silver, black and red being the colours of the day and its sporty look is heightened by two large red wheels with silver inserts, a bit like pushing a remote control racing car across the floor!
The performance however isn't as good as other uprights on the market that have a swivelling neck such as Sebo's much more compact Felix/Dart upright or the Dyson Ball series. The motor is noisy, (89 decibels) the raised hood means it struggles to get under low furniture and its so called swivelling neck is actually heavier than expected to get around furniture. There are of course other differences too such as no carpet adjustment dial and thanks to its flush soleplate gliding is light for most of the time on hard floors, even though the wheels at the back don't grip well making it slide around rather than being able to truly dart in a controlled fashion. Dirt however manages to get sucked into its path which is good for general cleaning tasks if you are in a hurry - but this only seems to work on hard flooring with the brush roll turned off and not carpet. One pedal either side of the floor head functions the on/off button and then the brushroll on/off function. For that principle alone there is edge brushing as standard on this model but in use I have to say that it's not particularly agile at doing carpets in general or corners very well despite the claim. Past experience with Hoover products have always been heavy and difficult to steer; the Slalom is no exception here. The total weight of the Slalom is near 9kg so it is heavier than Sebo's Felix at 7kg and heavier than Dyson's baby DC24 at 6kg.
So much for being able to whizz around corners then.
Naturally after the first couple of uses, and with most bagless cyclonic vacuums, the amount of dirt that the Slalom pulled up was impressive even though there wasn't much space for dust to lie in the canister I wasn't particularly impressed with the tiny "Max full," line on the bin itself - this machine is supposed to have 2.2 litres capacity but in reality this works out to be a much smaller capacity determined by the thick filter alone that surrounds most of the dirt cup. It is not helped either by the fact that the bin is coloured in deep red acrylic so its impossible to see from a distance if the bin needs emptying or not.
Where the Slalom fails to impress however is down to its design and build quality; the pedal release at the back of the machine for instance doesn't always rest the handle up in the locked position when vacuuming has finished aking the Slalom crash to the floor if you don't hear the click or a rather large cracking sound emanating from the pedal release.
Things aren't so good either when the Slalom is used with its new detachable handle. Hoover go to great lengths of promoting its "Explorer Lance," or to you and me, the all in one purpose hose handle and the extension crevice tool that can be lengthened or shortened. Here you can fit any means of the tools on offer or at the end of the telescopic crevice tool for extra height or none at all if you want just the tool without the height. Although these tools are made to fit the crevice tool, I had a real struggle trying to keep the pet hair turbo brush on even though it can be used at the end of the crevice pipe. When not in use the pet hair turbo brush fits snugly between the bin handle and should in theory lock in place; however sometimes it doesn't and putting it back in can be a real pain only for it to fall off again.
Now the hose is a dead cert for Dyson, right down to its actual width which is quite large and wide whilst the flexible and soft clear nature is similar to Dyson in terms of the way it stretches out. It is supposedly 4 metres in length and whilst it is definitely stretchy it doesn't stretch as long as four metres in use! So it's a pity that whilst the hose is located at the bottom of the cleaner, if pulled roughly it will pull the Slalom back, crashing to the floor. Unlike Sebo's Felix where the hose is short, the Slalom feels like it has acres more but involves me having to use the hose handle with one hand whilst the other hand holds the excess hose to minimise the Slalom falling over; the Slalom is supposed to have a built in anti-tip design but this is ironic given that it will fall over unless you position bottom of the stairs against the first ground step. This isn't very practical or safe either for the floor involved or the Hoover when it falls over if you don't put it by something to keep it steady.
Not only does the hose not prevent the machine from falling over, the Slalom's main failing is the lack of a variable suction control and this is more apparent when the hose is being used; it twists uncontrollably thanks to the suction on board and with the use of the handle which is light, forces the owner to use the hose and handle part in the quickest time possible without any more physical effort of trying to make the hose go straight or around corners without getting twisted up. Forced by the strong "air force," suction the handle isn't that easy to use thanks to its traditional design of having to point the handle into areas like difficult to access nooks and crannies and when locked back into the Slalom for normal use, the handle doesn't feel that comfortable to use, particularly when turning left or right when in normal carpet vacuuming tasks. Granted Hoover have put a ribbed rubber lining on the back of the handle but the handle starts off thin and gets thicker the more I move my hand down which starts to get painful if travelling and vacuuming room to room.
Then the maintenance of the whole proposition comes to light as soon as the Slalom needs emptying. It uses the copied idea based on its Hurricane and other Dirt Devil inspired models by using a similar bin drop down button on the main 2.2 litre dust bin. Two further clips on either side of the bin need to be undone at the top to remove the entire filter assembly and like Dyson's Dual Cyclone, the plastic filter shroud will be familiar to most Dyson owners if they have to clean the filter holes or loosen dust that clings to it thanks to its static plastic nature. The all important HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) is further located at the top of the bin assembly and can only be washed with cold water, and dried before being re-installed. Lastly, there is another filter and it's located at the top of the hood of the Slalom's floor head on the top. Clearly Hoover needed to put a filter somewhere to protect the motor and in this respect it's an idea that has been copied from Sebo's 20 year old X series. It is however a washable filter and is bonded to grid to make life easier. The Slalom is supposed to have been awarded the British Seal of Allergy Approval but I'm at two minds when I see bagless cyclonic vacuums getting this award on the basis that the moment the dust bin is opened, the dust becomes airborne.
The piece de resistance is then revealed in Hoover's silliest mistake of all time - the drive belt. It takes seven screws to just remove the bottom of the sole plate where the beater bar is just to clean the beater bar if it gets tangled. But that's all folks. Want to change the drive belt? The Slalom doesn't have a replaceable drive belt that you and I can do - Hoover has to be called which means a call out charge if you've gone past the feeble one year guarantee.
And whilst you are down there you may discover a strange black dial that is poorly labeled. The much missed variable suction control dial! But it's a dial with a difference. I can't imagine my 60 year old mother bending down, having to twist the entire Hoover over or lie the machine to the ground, bend or get down on her knees to adjust a dial with a couple of holes to let air out so that the machine glides even lighter, and therefore lets out air coming out of the suction channels. It's an old dial design copied from the 1960's Electrolux uprights to let out suction, thus making gliding easier. But of the three modes available, setting it to "low" means dirt often gets missed but you'll feel a lighter gliding experience against the heavier "high" option of increased dirt pick up in one sweep.
So is the Slalom easy and versatile to use? In a nut shell, not quite. Whilst it looks wonderfully space age and not dissimilar to Dyson, Hoover have yet again managed to faff up the user details that makes Sebo's bagged Felix look better executed even though with the Argos price reduction you'd have to spend £100 more for the Felix or Dyson's DC24, two baby uprights that swivel just like the Slalom. Yes its bagless, and yes its cyclonic but there are easier uprights on the market than this. Do yourself a favour and steer clear of the Slalom.
Date Purchased: 06/03/09
Price Paid: $237
Recommend: No |
Pros:
Cheaper price at Argos, powerful, long hose, comes with a pet hair turbo brush, brush on/off, extendable metal extension tube.
Cons:
Can fall over, cheap build, suction control on the foot plate, heavy, sore handle, small dirt capacity, not compact or as versatile as rivals. |
This message was modified Jun 15, 2009 by vacmanuk
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