About 18 Months ago the Vax vacuum cleaner that I had been using finally broke down and although it was still under warranty I had been warned that if the filter was dirty I would have to pay for any repairs! The vacuum cleaner was useless anyway so I decided to cut my losses and just buy a new machine.

I had borrowed my Mother in Laws Henry vacuum cleaner and decided that this was the make and model I would go for as I already tried Dyson upright and cylinder and didn't like either and had found the Henry to be quite good while I was using it.

I bought my Henry from Argos and in May 2010 he cost £99.99. Henry is still available in Argos and is currently priced at £109.99 but he is on offer at the moment for £98.99 (Sept 11) There are other versions of the Henry that cost different amount and you can even get a pink Henry called a Hetty!
Henry is a very distinctive vacuum cleaner and is instantly recognisable for his red and black colours and also his lovely little smiley face. I have never been very fond of any other vacuum cleaners I have owned and have spent quite a bit of my time cursing their very existence but I find myself chatting to Henry, I think this is more to do with his face than any real affection for my little machine.

When you buy Henry you get five dust bags which are specially made to reduce dust to help allergy sufferers, you also get a bit of extra hose and the usual assortment of attachments including a crevice tool and an upholstery tool. Henry also comes with a lovely little bag which I think is supposed to be a free shopping bag but I use it to store things in my cupboard.

Henry is very easy to put together as all the pieces simply slot together to make the tube part and the actual vacuum cleaner stacks up in three parts. The vacuum cleaner has three wheels on the bottom so you can haul it around more easily and a carry handle on the top to ease lifting. The cord winds up inside when not in use but this has to be done manually with a small winding handle on the top. You cannot clip the hose or pipe to the vacuum cleaner like you can with the dyson so it is just loose and you have to lay it on the floor or prop it up when it is in the cupboard.

When using Henry on a carpeted floor you need the brushes up or it is very difficult to push. There is an on/off switch and a booster switch which increases the suction. On my tiled floor I use the brushes down and find it picks up just as well as on carpet. I don't have any wooden flooring but assume it is pretty much the same as tiles and so just as easy to vacuum. I find that the standard suction is pretty reliable and there is quite a lot of resistance when trying to vacuum. I have two cats who do venture in occasionally and four children who make enough mess for forty and the standard suction can handle pretty much anything that has been left behind including hair and fluff. I use the extra suction occasionally if I feel the carpets particularly need it but I find that the resistance is so great I have trouble pushing. Whichever suction you use you work up quite a sweat.

When vacuuming the stairs Henry can reach almost to the top from the floor without needing to balance him on the stairs. I find I only have about four steps that I cannot reach and so I just take Henry upstairs and start working down.

I am very happy with my Henry and hope he will last me a good few years. My only real complaint is that there is no proper handle but you just hold the steel pipe part of the vacuum cleaner and I find that my hand do slip and it isn't the most comfortable vacuum to hold. Apart from this there aren't really any negatives to add. Henry is easy to empty as you just take the top off and remove the bag so you don't have the mess and dust that you get with a bag less cleaner. Henry is quite heavy to lift but I don't tend to carry him around so this hasn't caused too many problems. Apart from the length of the pipe, which can be broken down, Henry is quite compact and fits nicely into my under stairs cupboard.

The technical stuff - taken from the Argos website:
1200 watts
229 air watts
Length of hose 2.4m
Capacity of dustbag 9 litres
Tritax filtration
Washable filter
Stainless steel extension tubes
10m power cord
Manufacturer's 2 years guarantee

I would definitely recommend Henry