Hoover 300 3in1 Cordless Vacuum: agile, dual LED lights and brushless motor, H-FREE 300 HOME HF322HM

Product Information

While anything that comes with screws instantly sounds fiddly – and it would be better if you didn’t need to use a screwdriver at all – you’ll only need to screw on two parts, both of which are hooks on which you hang the stretch hose. Designed to complement a regular plug-in vacuum cleaner, this cordless model can stand up by itself and includes two LED lights. A decent performer with light spills and good at removing pet hair, this is a useful supporting vac to have in your home. Hoover H-Free 300 design and features – Cleverly, it can stand unaided The C300 cordless vacuum cleaner from Hoover houses all its workings, including motor, battery and filters, in the floor-head. That really makes it a cordless upright cleaner with no hand-held cleaning option, although you do get a tube, detail tools and a handle that doubles as an extension tube. The accessories clip on-board, and with the telescopic handle fully down, it’s compact and easy to store in low cupboards such as under the sink. Convenient touch button allows you to adjust power in one touch to suit different cleaning tasks. DUAL LED DUSTLOCATOR TO FIND HIDDEN DUST

The same can be said of the hose. Releasing the upper section of the handle to use as an extension tube, push-fitting the hose in the floor-head and handle is a rather flimsy affair. It does give you fairly decent reach, however, and we effectively used the extension tube with the dusting brush to clean above canvas paintings. Heading out over different carpets and rugs around the home, the Hoover delivered a reasonably good clean, pulling up pet hair and titbits easily. Suction to the floor-head isn’t the strongest, so much of the good cleaning here is due to the effective brush bar and design of the floor-head in concentrating the suction. Either way, the C300 works well as an upright vacuum over the carpet. In the box, Hoover has provided a good range of tools. There’s the floor brush, as mentioned, plus a 2-in-1 crevice tool with brush, an upholstery brush that has a clip-on hard brush, and a mini-motorised pet tool, which is great for use on sofas and stairs. For those without furry friends, there is a non-pet version of this cleaner available (the HF322HM 001) that comes minus this tool. Plug in the wand and there are lights on the motorised floor brush, so you can see clearly where you’ve cleaned and where you need to clean.

Remove and clean the filter once per month

At 3.4kg and 60 minutes respectively, it’s one of the lightest vacuums on the market with one of the longest battery lives, which will likely be very attractive to families who need a reliable model with a good battery that's light enough to lug up and down even the steepest of stairs.

While there are only two power levels (carpet and eco) in addition to the main setting used exclusively for hard floors, carpet mode is, in fact, the real winner here. A light and fairly small hose clips over the handle for storage. The upper part of the handle offers a six-position height adjustment including slotting completely down into the lower half. To use the hose and detail tools, you have to pop up a slightly awkward clip on the floor-head and press and turn the hose into place. The Single Cyclone separation system and the additional level of filtration by the pre-motor filter separate and trap even the finest particles of dust inside the bin. EASY BRUSH RELEASE SYSTEMNot everyone needs a top-of-line, do everything cordless vacuum cleaner. For some, a cheaper, less powerful model will likely fulfil most needs. Step forward the Hoover H-Free 300 (HF322PT), then: a well-priced cordless cleaner with a removable battery, pet tools and a great range of accessories. As is standard for Hoover vacuum cleaners, there’s a rubber wiper in the box that can be slid into the floor head for better suction on hard floors. This also makes the vacuum cleaner harder to push. I’d prefer to see a soft roller, of the type included with the Dyson V11.