Bissiell Bolt LO

There is no denying that we here at DigitalReviews.net are fans of the Bissell family of floor care products so we had great expectations when the latest sibling was announced a few weeks ago: the Bissell Bolt Liftoff Ion 2 in 1 cordless vacuum cleaner.

It has great ambitions, namely to replace the big vacuum cleaner that most households have.
Well, with over 40 minutes of run time from the massive 36 V lithium ion battery it could be up to the task.

Let’s see if it really sucks or really sucks-if you know what I mean….

 

The PR blurb says that “The new BISSELL Bolt Lift-Off® Ion is a big, powerful and long-running cordless stick vac with a nifty removable canister-style vac incorporated to tackle hard-to-reach areas. “

That is a pretty good summary of what it is but for the purpose of this article let’s agree to abbreviate that awkward “BISSELL Bolt Lift-Off® Ion” moniker. Any time you need more than two words to describe the brand and model I’m scratching my head. Mind you, I like the Bolt branding as we reviewed another very capable unit a few months ago and the Lift Off description differentiates it from that model. I get that. But I’ll introduce another, equally awkward, abbreviation: BBLOI.
Nah, doesn’t have a ring either. How about the Bissell Bolt 21? Or just Princess?

Suck it Up, Princess!

When we received the unit the timing could not have been better.
We had ordered a large woollen rug for the lounge which arrived on the same day.
The thing with woollen rugs is that they can give off quite a bit of fluff for weeks on end depending on the pole of the carpet.
I don’t know how many canisters we filled up with this fluff over the next couple of days but it is probably close to 10. That shows you the bad quality of the rug but it was great that we had a vacuum cleaner that could deal with that quite efficiently.
That’s where we made a mistake. You’re not supposed to treat a new wool rug with a power brush like the one that came with the Lift-Off. You have to be a bit more gentle until things settle over time. Thank you Mr Google for that information…

Bissell Bolt LO2

Oh well, it was good testing ground for this machine and we found it to perform as expected.
It’s a fairly heavy machine even though officially it is just shy of 5 kg. That is probably the only negative we found in weeks of testing where everyone in our team had a go at Bolting around the house…
It picks up dust like nothing else and it is very satisfying and at the same time disconcerting to see the see-through canister fill up with the detritus of daily life.
However, sometimes the machine makes a sound as if it is sucking false air. High pitched whistling. There’s a switch that regulates the air when you use the wand or the swivel foot.
You have to make sure it’s not in an in-between position. Even so, we got the occasional whistling sound… The factory folks are looking into this at the moment.

Bissell BoltIonLiftOff couch

The swivel foot incorporates a power brush that automatically switches off when the machine is put vertically. There is also an override switch in case you don’t want the brush on.
For getting into the corners and areas above floor height the foot can come off (need two hands for that) and the crevice tool can be attached. Hence the Lift-Off name. Great to get into corners with and to use as a car vac.
With the long runtimes they could have incorporated some LED “headlights” to illuminate the dusty area ahead!

Conclusion

The BISSELL BOLT LIFT-OFF ION 2 in 1 Cordless Vacuum is designed well, looks great, has fantastic runtimes for a cordless and on the whole is value for money.
It’s also easy to clean which is good as the canister easily fills up.

Will it replace your big machine? Maybe.
Smaller houses and apartments would do well with the likes of the Lift-Off.
All your big name electrical retailers will stock the BISSELL BOLT LIFT-OFF ION 2 in 1 Cordless Vacuum at just a shade under 500 Aussie dollars.
Test it out on the shop floor as you may find it a touch heavy with the big and powerful battery sitting right above the swivel foot.

Have a look at the Bissell Australia website where you’ll find a whole range of equipment and quite a few of those reviewed here at DigitalReviews.net.
What you won’t find (yet) is a robot vacuum cleaner…

Is 2016 the year Bissell will bring out a robot to free us from all that mundane and tedious vacuuming? Stay tuned.

You’ll read it here first.