I‘ve gone through several brands over the years, and I’ve finally found one I’m very happy with -- BISSELL Pet Hair Eraser Lithium Ion Hand Vacuum.

It has very strong suction power, keeps a charge longer than most, is very easy to clean, and reasonably priced. I use it for cat litter, crumbs, bathroom hair and other little things, but also (with the attachment shown below) for vacuuming rugs. I highly recommend it.

I have a Black and Decker. It looks pretty much like this one. I've thrown so many of these hand helds away that I looked for the cheapest one that seemed like it work last at least a year. It's turned out to be one of the best I've had. I use my Dyson V8 as a hand held for upholstery or other bigger jobs (no carpet on my stairs but great for that) but this one is perfect for crumbs and I also use it as a dustpan if I sweep.

Based on the recs I bought one the other day, charged it up, and used it today on the stairs. I thought it did a good job. (it had been a good week since I vacuumed, DH has been on phone meetings most of the day and I hate to vacuum then)

I did the stairs twice with the power brush and once with the crevice tool for the corners. While doing the baseboards in the hall the battery died. I was a little disappointed 15 minutes was its limit, but then I looked it up on Amazon and yes, that was about right.

I look forward to using it in the car, upholstery, corners, where the litter box is, and of course the stairs! So much easier than plugging in the shark for quick, frequent jobs.

I wish it had an easy way to store the accessories. This house was built before the Dustbuster so there are not a lot of outlets convenient for charging things like this.

The filter had a lot of cat fur so I rinsed it and it's drying while the rest of the vacuum charges. I wonder if it will be worth it to get a second filter assembly?

bpath - thanks for the review. I planned on ordering one (just hadn't gotten around to it) but I think I'll research a little more. 15 minutes isn't long enough and it would drive me nuts. I think I'll look for a hard wired one but I still want a motorized brush head.

We have had numerous discussions on here about the various models of Dyson vacs and I finally purchased the Dyson 10 during a good sale. I researched and studied which one to get...wanted one with the wood floor attachment. What I never realized was how much I would use it as a hand held! I came home one day and DH was using it to clean his truck carpet! Since then , I have used it to clean blinds, fan blades, return air vents, upholstery, etc. of course, it is bigger than a traditional hand held, but that it works well for the same purpose.

I am not suggesting to run out and buy an expensive Dyson, just to get a hand held, but just pointing out that they work GREAT for that function.

I finally threw away our B&D hand vac as it was useless. Now we take the long shaft off our dyson stick vac, put either a brush or short thin wand attachment on where the stick came off and use that as a hand vac.

Kswl, that is exactly how I use mine....best thing since sliced bread! The small soft angled brush is awesome.

bpath, I’m going to be ordering a second filter to have on hand.

I keep the vacuum on a shelf in the garage for when I’m charging it. I wish I had a place in the laundry room, but it’s a small room with too much stuff in it!

How long does it take the Bissell to recharge after the battery is depleted? I hope it’s not 8 hours every time!

I‘m not sure. I only plug it in for about day, then use it all week. I’m very impressed with the battery — so much better than three different Dyson handhelds I used to have (when they were making just handhelds alone. Battery on each one cra**ed out).