A little gem. (Goblin Aztec 1305)

Member Name: Ariel_uk

Product:	Goblin Aztec 1305
Date:	13/08/01 (202 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Low cost, Good cleaning power

Disadvantages: Fixed bend in the hose can be hard to clear

I bought this vacuum when our last rented flat came without a hoover. Discovering that a new Aztec was not a great deal more expensive than the several second hand vacuums listed in the local ads, I went for the bright blue Aztec 1350. Our previous two places came with it's slightly more powerful yellow brother, so I was fairly confident in the brand's reliability (landlords don't usually like spending money over and over again). One year on, and anothe house and it's still going strong - even with a new carpet shedding fluff everywhere!

This is a cylinder style vacuum cleaner, of the long hose, drag the body around with you type, and came with a choice of one head, and two nozzle bits for getting into corner - the head also moves between bristly and non-bristly for carpets, and hard surfaces accordingly. If you're a professional housekeeper you'd probably prefer an upright cleaner, to save your back, but for a normal run round it does the job fine, and is actually less stress going up and down stairs than a larger model would be. The handle on the hose is long enough that you don't damage your back, and the body trundles along happily behind you.

Our house is fairly challenging for a vacuum - three long haired humans, a very fluffy short haired cat, a fair amount of visitors, plus three months of building work - spread over three flights of stairs. And this little gem has coped with the lot - plus the after effects of a flooded basement bedroom - not bad for the cheapest vacuum in Argos!

It's small enough to be easily stowed out of the way, and light enough to make doing the stairs as easy as it's going to get. My only grip is the fixed bend in the handle, which is a pig to get at to clean when it periodically gets blocked with hair. The little pressure gauge gives you due warning of this though, and if attacked with an old fork before it gets total blocked it's a very minor problem.

I
noticed the other day that Argos now has the 'next gen', which come in very snazzy Imac style see through plastic. Seeing as the original is still performing fine I can't really justify a replacement just so I can have purple though!

It's probably not the best vacuum in the world, but it's certainly the best budget model I've used.

Summary: