An completely unsponsored and honest review of 3 very highly rated cordless stick vacuum cleaners on Amazon – which one we chose, why we chose it, and pros and cons of each

Here’s a fun fact you may know about me: Back in the day before starting a blog, I wanted to be a product review blogger. I wanted to buy stuff or read books and then write reviews on them. And have people just take my word for it. HOW WEIRD IS THAT?!
I digress.
As we were planning out our new cleaning closet (which is finished now and you can see the reveal here!) I began the hunt for a solid cordless stick vacuum cleaner. Not just any vacuum cleaner – I’m picky. Just about as picky as I am about storage baskets. Here’s what I wanted in a vacuum cleaner:
- I wanted a vacuum good for bare floors but also any rooms in which we have rugs.
- I wanted a cordless vacuum. Correction, I wanted the best cordless stick vacuum.
- I did not want a canister vacuum. We have a Dyson vacuum currently and I love it, but it’s 8 years old and I needed something that was good for stairs or more portable.
- It needed to suck. Literally. I needed some super powerful suction. It’s the most annoying thing to go over the same spot 1045 times to get clean floors and carpet because it’s just not sucking. SUCK PLEASE.
- I wanted a one stop shop – I wanted the cordless vac to also turn into a handheld vacuum.
- I just wanted the best lightweight vacuum, the best stick vacuum, the best rechargeable vacuum cleaner, and the best vacuum for hardwood floors (and fairly low pile carpets) all in one for super cheap.
IS THAT SO MUCH FOR A GIRL TO ASK?!
Well, apparently so.
I wanted to save you some trouble and give you a 100% totally unsponsored review of some highly rated floor vacuums from Amazon that we bought (and returned) and which one we ended up with.
Hikeren Cordless Stick Vacuum
*Some affiliate links may be used for your convenience.

I had high hopes for this particular cordless vac. There were over 2300 reviews and it had 4 stars on Amazon! People were saying that it was great for pet hair, wood floors, and it was a rechargeable vacuum cleaner with an ion battery. All for under $100! So we ordered it.
My first thought when I opened this was, “My god, is this a vacuum cleaner for ants?” I actually posted me opening the box and this entire process on Instagram stories. I mean, Charlotte’s Polly Pocket toys came in a bigger box I feel like when we got them for her for Christmas.

Maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but seriously not much.
I also knew, though, that I was going to be assembling this thing so I just figured it was just all in pieces.

Eh. Kinda. Fully assembled, It was barely taller than my 4 year old. So much so that she actually named it Charlotte because it was “her twin”. (She’s at that age where if you are the same height or age, you’re automatically twins which is cute as crap and I’m not taking that magic away from her just yet).
Okay, so it was small, but I thought 2300 people just couldn’t be wrong.
Pros about the Hikeren Cordless Vacuum
To be fair, it did suck. It was super quiet too. I tested the dust buster part and by using its crevice tool that it came with, it was a breeze at doing the things I hate most like cleaning baseboards or window sills.

It has LED lights on the head of it so if you’re vacuuming in the dark (????) you can see. I think this is probably better for when you go under a table or something or in a closet and it’s a little dark, but the idea of someone frantically vacuuming in the dark just makes me laugh.
The price point was good here – under $100 at the time that we bought it.
Cons about the Hikeren Cordless Vacuum
I’ve already alluded to this, but the size was comedically small. Think dustbuster with a stick handle. Because that’s exactly what this is. I could have even potentially gotten past the size had it just blown me away, but it didn’t.
Also I did not like the way it felt when I pushed and pulled it. Which, um, is kinda a big deal. I felt like I was fighting it like you do when you have a buggy at the grocer’s mart with a busted up wheel. It just didn’t feel natural.

So, we boxed this bad boy up and took it back to Kohl’s. Have y’all tried the whole taking your Amazon returns to Kohl’s?! If you haven’t, you should. The most painless process ever.
Shark Navigator Freestyle Upright Stick Vacuum

This one was one giant nope. I honestly don’t even know how this made it to our doorstep. Maybe I ordered it half asleep. It had nothing that I wanted. But this one had over 6000 reviews and 4 stars. My gosh, am I seriously that picky?
I didn’t even take a single photo of this one because I literally opened the top of the box, looked at it, and closed it right back up.
The Shark Navigator Freestyle is apparently in the same family as the Shark Navigator lift, which is another popular vacuum that I don’t like lolz. I think what I didn’t like is it just didn’t check off enough on my list. It wasn’t an all in one. Meaning I couldn’t make it smaller and use it on the stairs or whip it out to get all the 1.6 billion goldfish my son throws every freaking where.
It just seemed too close to a regular upright vacuum and not really anything different.
INSE N6 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner

Alright, folks, now we may be cooking with gas! (To give you a spoiler alert, we have not returned this one yet and we’ve had it almost 2 months).
So far, the INSE N6 really does check off everything on my list.
Pros of the INSE N6 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner

First, it’s a rechargeable vacuum cleaner with an ion battery. That was easy. It’s also got that HEPA filter in it that apparently is super important. Jury is still out on that one, but okay. It has an extendable pole that you can adjust for my 5’4 self or Jordan’s 6’2 self.
It has a couple crevice tools that help you get into nooks, crannies, butts, and fannies. Maybe not the last 2 but it rhymed and I’m feeling froggy. I just didn’t want this to be a boring review post because who likes that, ya know?
Price for this was good too! Just over $100 but I’ve looked at it several times in the past couple months since we’ve had it and there’s usually always a coupon you can clip on Amazon.
Cons of the INSE N6 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner

While we don’t have super high pile carpet, I do think that it may not work too well on higher pile carpet. There are a couple thick rugs we have and it was a little tough to push and pull. And if you’re into getting the vacuum lines, these lil’ baby cordless stick vacuum cleaners won’t make you happy.
Since I’m apparently a vacuum expert now, let me try to answer some frequently asked questions that I am gonna guess you’d ask me or that I asked Google or ones that make sense to ask when buying a stick vacuum cleaner or any upright vacuum cleaner for that matter.
Questions to ask when searching for a cordless stick vacuum:
Why not just go for a robot vacuum like Roomba?
I could have done this. But as much as I hate vacuum cleaning and think Roombas are awesome, MY KID HAS POLLY POCKETS, okay? THere are tiny parts everywhere and one thing about Charlotte is she knows every single piece that goes with these things so god forbid a robot vacuum cleaner decided to suck one of these up without my knowledge, she’d move out. I also like the control of being able to just spot vacuum. It doesn’t make sense to gas up the robot vac to suck up a few crumbs under the table when I could just pull out my stick vac and do it in a couple seconds.
This is a lot of drama for a dang vacuum. Are cordless stick vacuums even worth it?
I think so, clearly. It’s all personal preference, but I really wanted a stick vac. I knew that eventually we would have only wood floors and rugs in this house. We have one room left of carpet and it’s already so gross there’s really no amount of vacuuming or shampooing that will fix this sitch we got going on over here. I wasn’t trying to find a vacuum that will clean carpeting; I wanted it to work on bare floors.
Okay, but also what the heck is a HEPA filter anyway?
Ha. Don’t feel bad. I had to Google it too. HEPA stands for High Efficiency Particulate Air. It just means that filters like this are able to trap 99.97% of particles in the air that are yuk. You can look up more scientific information, but for me, that was good enough.
Whew. That was a lot for a friggin’ vacuum, and special shoutout to Kohl’s for taking 2 of these things back within a week. Again, not sponsored by either.
Please tell me I’m not the only one who has been underwhelmed by something that had insanely good reviews on Amazon. Tell me below if you can relate!


Bruce Willson
Monday 3rd of October 2022
With your witty and through review I was sold and just placed my order! Thank you.
Carmen Smith
Tuesday 4th of October 2022
haha, oh yayy!!! best of luck :)
Lizette Coetzee
Sunday 23rd of January 2022
I would love this moved from a big place to smaller place
carol
Sunday 19th of December 2021
I am in search of a new vacuum now I have a red devil and the battery just won't stay charged. I do have carpets but they're low-pile carpets and hardwood floors. Is it strong enough to lift dog hair off low-pile carpet?
Carmen Smith
Thursday 27th of January 2022
It is! I'd make sure it was fully charged, but we have lifted tons of hair off high and low pile carpets!
Chris Harward
Saturday 3rd of April 2021
Hi Carmen, Thanks for your great review. I did see these reviewed elsewhere but wanted a real review. I am interested in your saying that you don't think it's great on carpet. Can you please tell me why? I have hard floors and a rug downstairs but carpet upstairs. Thanks heaps, Chris
Carmen Smith
Wednesday 7th of April 2021
Hey Chris, thanks for the comment! So, we previously used a Dyson which was just super strong on carpet. This isn't super strong suction (think in terms of this would never leave the illustrious "carpet lines" that make people so happy). It is good for picking up surface level crumbs and things, but wouldn't be good for any "deep cleaning" if that makes sense. We do use it on rugs in bedrooms, but not in the den which still has carpet. We bought it with the intention of knowing that we will eventually not have carpet in our den once we do our kitchen renovation.
Kimberly Bragd
Thursday 26th of November 2020
Omg. Too. Funny! Let me first say, thank you. I can honestly say that I have never read a product review and at the same time wished the writer would write a book! Move over Stephenie Plum, because Carmen is going to create a bad ass crime fighter that will cause all us middle aged women to have stress incontinence when we laugh! I digress. My bad. Question. Would you recommend the newest Inse cordless? I have a Dyson animal, but after back surgery, I am tired of lugging it around just to vacuum dog hair. I would shave the buggers, but we live in Michigan and I refuse to put clothes on them when they go outside. Yep. I'm lazy.
All the best. Kim
Carmen
Monday 25th of January 2021
First of all, I am FLATTERED! Secondly, girl I feel you about not wanting to lug it around just for dog hair. With that being said, the Inse we have is really really great for small spaces, areas where there's hardwoods or just a rug down, and especially crumbs or dog hair in crevices!