Twice the cost of other stick vacs...but WELL WORTH IT!!!

I have never been a fan of hardwood floors only because of the need for frequent sweeping, but since we recently purchased a new house with most of the first floor being hardwood...I set out in search of the "perfect" sweeper.

While strolling through Sears one day, this strange, but attractive looking sweeper vac caught my eye. It is not made out of that shiny-looking plastic in every shade of blue or green, or even basic white like all of the other stick vacs I have tried. It has a matte finish that is rather nice to the touch. The reddish color is nice and doesn't make me feel as bad not having it shut away in a utility closet somewhere. Although the color is nice, other color options would be great (Electrolux, if you're reading this...how about some patterns?!?!?). The best part about it's appearance...the soothing blue light that comes on when the vac is placed on the charging cradle. Perfect for any laundry room or kitchen corner to light the way at night without an actual nightlight.  **UPDATE (as of 5/2009) looks like Electrolux has a new line of these sweepers out...and they are green!!  If I didn't love this one so much, I'd purchase it **

Now, most pretty products are just that...pretty. This little vac is different. First the charging cradle...as I stated above, it has a beautiful blue light when charging, but can either be placed on the floor to slip the vacuum onto when finished, or hung on the wall freeing up floorspace. I prefer it hung on the wall because the charging cradle does slip around when you try to slide the vacuum onto it (I have to place my foot on it while placing the vac on to prevent this). Since I have hung it on the wall, I no longer have this problem and removing/replacing the vac is simple.

Of the many cordless stickvac's I have used, their charge lasted approx 5-10 mins depending upon whether I was vacuuming carpet or hardwood. Only about 1/2 of the charge was giving full power and then slowly winding down to a dead battery. I can sweep the 1st floor of my house in about 10 mins and then let my kids play sweep with it for another 20-30 minutes and it will still have excellent suction. When it does start to lose suction, it happens in a matter of a minute or 2 rather than slowly winding down from the minute you turn it on like the other cordless vacs out there.

My biggest gripe...cleaning up scattered kitty litter. Every cordless vac I have used just threw the litter all over the room without actually sucking any of it up. The Pronto will suck up small amounts of scattered litter, or even larger piles of it with a whole lot less effort. Mine sits right next to the kitty litter box in the laundry room for this purpose. I will have to agree with others that it does not perform so well on deeper carpets. It will surface sweep, but requires some harder pushing (a lot more resistance when using on deeper carpets). But come on...can you really expect a cordless lightweight stickvac to vacuum your carpets? They are intended for flat surfaces and this one out performs all of the others on the market. If you want something to vacuum carpets for over a minute or two...you need a vacuum and not a cordless stickvac.

Sweeping with the Pronto is almost fun with the way it swivels in all directions allowing you to get all of the awkward spaces around your home. You do have to clean the rotating brush quite often, but no more than with any other stickvac or even full-size vacuum...everything has maintanence. It has this handy flap on the front of the dust cup which allows you to simply open it and hold your vacuum's hose up to it sucking out the contents and therefore not having to touch any other the funk sucked up.  **UPDATE** As requested, a bit more detail on the dust cup.  It is a regular see-through dust cup that can be emptied the traditional way - dumping in your trash can by simply removing the filter cap and the filter (not just by using your vacuum to suck it out the flap).  As with any vacuum dust cup,  I recommend doing this outside because it can be a dusty task.  I usually empty mine about once a week with my full-size vacuum when I am doing a whole-house vacuum (with the little flap vs. dumping), but if I don't do it that way...I prefer to do it on my deck so that I can tap the filter on the deck knocking out majority of the dust in it preserving the life of the filter.

With one hand, you can squeeze the trigger buttons on the sides to make the little handheld sucker pop out. I have found 2 great features on the handheld. First...it has an extending sucking arm to reach into tight spaces (like between car seats and the middle console). Second, you must press the button for it to turn on. If the button is released, it stops sucking. While some find this annoying, I find it to be a benefit because it preserves the battery life. I use it to clean my car all of the time and love that I don't have to turn it on and off each time I move around.

Yes, it is a bit expensive. But after buying 2 other cordless stickvacs and throwing them away, you could have just bought the Pronto. If you have a large shedding dog and are looking for the miracle cordless sweeper...may I recommend central vacuuming and not a stickvac intended for normal traffic dirt? It is a cordless sweeper that runs off of a battery...no alternator built in, expect that it won't perform like a sweeper you plug in.