Levoit LVAC-200 cordless stick vacuum review: Swept off our feet

Best Prices Today: Levoit LVAC-200

Blessed with snazzy styling, easy operation and a price that seems staggeringly cheap relative to the competition, a suspicious sort might suspect that the Levoit LVAC-200 stick vacuum is too good to be true.

But after three weeks of active use, we can report that the LVAC-200 is indeed for real, and we’re quite impressed by its performance as well as its clever design touches. 

If you’re cramped for storage space or tired of lugging a big upright canister vac around the house, the Levoit LVAC-200 could make you a stick vac convert.  

Design 

The LVAC-200 vac arrives compactly boxed up and disassembled, but clicks together in literally seconds, with a nice firm snap to the connectors and equally easy push-button detaching of swappable parts when required.

This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best robot vacuums.

There’s a sense of high-quality construction here, complete with a posh-looking white and black-trimmed package (a Levoit product signature) and a sturdy but not heavy feel (the LVAC-200 weighs in at 6 pounds.) 

The motorized brush head links up with two sections of pipe, and they in turn connect to the vac’s extraction motor, a decent sized (1.26-pint) dust bin (which offers easy-on/easy-off flip-lid emptying), a battery pack, and a reasonably ergonomic handle. A perforated metal filter inside the dust bin is easily removed for cleaning, as are the two spongy filters seated close to the suction motor intake.  

The vac’s big power button is at thumb’s reach and can be actuated with a simple touch, and it doesn’t have to be held down when you’re running the vac (a big complaint with most Dyson stick vac models.)  

Vacuum modes 

Behind the main power button sits an “Eco/Turbo” button. The eco mode suffices for quick once-overs of low-medium pile carpets and bare floors, putting out a bearable 80dB of whirring noise. 

Switching to the turbo mode, which ups both the suction and spinning head speed, helps to extract deeply imbedded dust and mites, a task that my standby V8 Dyson accomplishes readily in its regular operating mode.  

Turbo mode also helps the Levoit to plow more readily through deep pile carpets, an issue relating to the unique nature of its 8-inch-wide brush head (an inch shorter than the roller head on my Dyson V8.) 

Brush head

Instead of deploying a conventional bristle brush head, the Levoit’s swirling head sweeps up dirt with rubber fins, which are fiber backed for added stability and dirt agitation. These fins tackle less resistant flooring effectively; they did an especially peachy job on the low pile indoor/outdoor carpet in my TV room, and they’ve proven a quicker picker-upper of crumbs (but not liquid) off my kitchen tile.  

I’ve also found this rubber-finned roller kinder to delicate hand-woven rugs (I never saw any colored rug fibers in the Levoit’s dust cannister, though I have in the Dyson’s), and the finned head is less likely to get tangled with hair than a bristled “beater” head is. Removing the Levoit’s roller component for cleaning is easy. 

On the downside, the finned head isn’t as good as the brush head on my Dyson at parting and combing through thicker rug fibers, both to attack and extract deeply imbedded micro-grit as well as to pull the vac head forward.  

Stabilizing wheels

The Levoit LVAC-200’s floor head also introduces another uncommon design choice that offers significant benefits but a small drawback.  

Stick vacs normally are wheel-less, using just the spinning brush mechanism and an anti-static carbon fiber strip to float and propel the head forward over flooring. But the LVAC-200’s motorized head also packs a pair of stabilizing wheels that flank the centered head-swiveling mechanism. 

Thanks to those stabilizing wheels, the LVAC-200 can stand up by itself, which makes operation much simpler for stop-and-start home cleaners. There’s no need to stoop over to drop down or lift this vac; just push the handle end up into its full upright and locked position, turn off the power (it isn’t automatic), and walk away. 

Should you want to, Levoit does include a small hook for hanging up the LVAC-200, but the simplistic wall mount does not have a built-in charger as you’d find in pricier stick vac alternatives. Here, the supplied AC power wart must be connected via its round plug directly to the vac or a separated battery pack for recharging. (But honestly, that’s not such a bad thing, given that charging a vac while it’s still warm can shorten its battery life.)  

The LVAC-200’s uncommon brush head assembly also contributes to its unique “run flat” skill. Lower the motor end until the pipe is parallel with the floor and you’ll see that the brush head is still lying flat against the floor, making good contact and spinning.

The unusual brush head design allows you to scoot the vacuum under furniture to suck up dirt that other vacs can’t reach. This smooth operation is likewise enhanced by the three-LED light array spanning the front of the vac head, illuminating even the most darkened path. 

On the minus side, having those rubbery wheels hovering behind the brush head does increase resistance a bit as the Levoit plows through thick carpet.  

Two convertible tools are also included in the package: a larger mouthed brush-on/brush-off head for removing pet hair from furniture, and a longer, narrower oval brush. The latter is good for cleaning blinds and curtains, and it can be pushed back on its shaft to access a crevice tool.  

App controls are non-existent on the Levoit LVAC-200, so pay attention to the three-light indicator array on the side of the battery to keep on top of the remaining run (or charging) time. And mark your calendar to clean the filters at least once a month.  

Battery life 

You can keep the Levoit LVAC-200 going for a decent amount of time before re-charging is required.  I managed 40 minutes of use with the motor head spinning, while Levoit calculates it’ll go for 50 minutes with a non-motorized brush.  

Battery time is radically reduced (and the noise level rises to 85dB) when maximizing the LVAC-200’s power in Turbo mode. Levoit quotes 12 minutes of battery life in turbo mode; I might have scored a minute or two more. So that you don’t zap the power inadvertently, the vac reverts automatically to Eco mode next time you use it–a nice touch. 

On the backside of the vac chassis, you’ll find a click-friendly button that releases the lithium-Ion battery pack for a quick swap-out if desired (an extra battery runs $70). The battery pack can be charged all by its lonesome, or when installed in the vac. 

Should you buy the Levoit LVAC-200? 

With good performance, good looks, and a most competitive price, the Levoit LVAC-200 is a real standup guy among stick vacs.

If you’re cramped for storage space, on a budget, or tired of lugging a big upright or multi-component canister vac around the house, it could make you a stick vac convert.  

Best Prices Today: Levoit LVAC-200