Henry Cordless Vacuum - Review

The Henry Hoover is an appliance that has been with me throughout my whole life. I remember growing up and seeing my mum swaying around the house with the Henry in tow with its big unblinking eyes following behind her with every step. I remember going to university and taking that same Henry with me and having it follow me around as I vacuumed my room, probably not as much as I should’ve.

Now, I have a new Henry. This one still has the big unblinking eyes and curious smile but there is a significant difference. This Henry is cordless. When I first heard that there was a Henry Cordless it genuinely blew my mind. I knew I had to review it and see if Henry is still as reliable as ever.

Standout Features of the Henry Cordless

30 minutes run time from a single charge (3.5 hr charge time)
6 litre dust capacity
2 speed settings to suit different cleaning tasks
Handy crevice tool for corners and tight spaces
Dusting brush for cleaning delicate surfaces
Lighter than it’s corded brother at around 6.5kg

In The Box

On the square box it says ‘Everybody Loves Henry’ and I have to agree with that. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a bad word said against Henry. He is a British icon and the box even says ‘Made in the United Kingdom since 1969’ to proudly remind all he is a product of British engineering.

In the box you find the:

Main body
Combi floor brush
36 volt lithium-ion battery*
Charger
Crevice tool
Dusting brush
Upholstery tool
Spare filter bag
Vacuum nozzle
Extension pipes

All in all, it’s pretty much the same equipment for the corded Henry minus the battery.
* You can opt for an extra battery which will allow you to switch between batteries during run time and I would highly recommend this.

Assembly and Charging

The battery arrives in transportation mode and needs fully charging before using. The battery slots easily into the charger and has a light which goes from blinking green to solid green to indicate it’s fully charged, about 3.5 hours charge time. Once charged, the battery clicks into space on the top of the Henry where there is also a light display to indicate the state of charge.

Assembling the Henry is easy enough and just requires screwing the nozzle onto Henry’s ‘nose’ and fixing the extension pipes and brush if needed.

There are high and low speed settings which you can switch between at the touch of a button and according to the manual, the run time is roughly 30 mins on low speed and 20 mins on high speed.

Performance and Run-Time

The suction power is very impressive on the low speed and sucks up dirt and debris effectively over a couple of passes. The high speed makes a significant difference however and is very useful when cleaning between narrow areas like in between banisters and in tight corners when dirt is compacted. The machine is pretty quiet which is always a good thing and I especially love the ability to carry cleaning tools at the back of the Henry for easy use.

The crevice tool is great for getting into all the nooks and crannies of a typical living space and the dusting brush is very effective on shelves and around smooth surfaces. The upholstery tool is very effective for cleaning the top of duvets, on the stairs and sofa. The combi floor brush is especially fantastic as you can quickly switch between cleaning for carpets and hard-floor and it achieves great results on both.

I must also make special mention to the light-weight build compared to the corded Henry. The Cordless Henry is much lighter than its older brother, which I always found to be very heavy to carry around, especially between floors. Now, however, it is SO much easier to clean the whole house and at around 6.5kg, Henry is easy to lift up and walk up the stairs with. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not as light as a feather but it is certainly more user-friendly.

I managed to clean the whole 2 bedroom house in around 35 minutes and there was still a little charge left in the Henry even though I switched between high and low speed quite regularly. The battery life is very impressive and with the extra battery, it is easy to clean a 4-5 bedroom house in one go without any worries about the machine dying on you during cleaning.

Emptying the bin & Cleaning the Filter

The Henry Cordless has a 2-stage filtration system and a high-efficiency HepaFlo bag. The filter can be cleaned quite easily by shaking into a clean bin bag to clear out the trapped dirt and dust.Emptying the dirt is quick and mess-free, with a self-seal tab that locks all the dust in the bag. This is a great advantage over bagless vacuums which often let dust escape into the air. With a huge 6 litre dust capacity, I won’t need to clean the Henry for some time yet and the spare HepaFlo bag is a great inclusion.

Features I Love

The battery life is very impressive and lasts a long time on either speed setting. The machine is much more lightweight than the corded Henry and makes it much more easy to manoeuvre and carry up the stairs. The vacuum tool attachments are also very effective for tackling most cleaning jobs and the tool compartment at the back of the Henry is a very useful feature. Compared to other cordless vacuums, the Henry Cordless has a huge 6 litre dust capacity that means you won’t need to empty it out for many months to come.

Overall?

Henry Cordless is certainly a step in the right direction and makes cleaning less of a chore and more of a joy. Of course, it is not as powerful as the corded Henry but for a cordless vacuum cleaner it is mightily impressive.

I definitely recommend purchasing two batteries so you can switch one out and continue hoovering. The battery life is impressive though and definitely matches up to it’s cordless competitors and at a much lower price point in many cases. All in all, the Henry Cordless is a really impressive entrance into the cordless category of vacuums and packs a punch in terms of suction, battery life and dust capacity.