GTech Pro K9 Review - A Brilliantly Efficient Vacuum That Made Me Excited To Be An Adult
So, you may look at this review of the G-Tech Pro K9 vacuum cleaner and think the obvious - why is this nerd reviewing a home appliance?
It’s certainly a different kind of gadget for me to write about on here, but it’s one I appreciate for two reasons.
I appreciate any varied experience in this field that I can get my hands on. There’s been plenty of consumer tech reviews over the years, so to move into this other important area of gadgetry is a pleasure for me.
I can’t be 23 forever (when nobody liked me…). At the tender age of 28, I’m edging ever closer to the big 30 and am still learning to deal with being an adult. I feel this transition of a geek from a kid who didn’t know better, to a man with mature responsibilities is a fascinating story to tell in blog form.
This story will be told in different forms, be it little snippets of opinion, quick bits of news or even reviews (like this one). And I start with one confession - out of all the gadgets I’ve been so lucky to receive and analyse over the years, I’ve arguably been more excited for this, a vacuum cleaner, than I ever have before.
Yes, I know that makes me incredibly sad, but this piece of ultra convenience has answered all my prayers for a hoover that actually does what its supposed to do - clean.
I’ve had enough of vacuum cleaners that openly brag about their ability to pick up hair, work across different surface types and actually be easy to use, but then fail to live up to even the lowest expectations.
And to that last point, this vacuum is really compact and light - great for handheld usage at just over 2kg. The manoeuvrability is fantastic, and with a wide variety of parts for not just floor cleaning, but for pretty much every surface in the house (used it to hoover some sesame seeds off the top of the hobs), the Pro K9 fits very nicely into your life.
What about the battery life though? Usually for cordless vacuums like this, you either get a stupidly heavy battery that lasts a long time, or a light one that gives you about 10 minutes. Well, lucky you, the 22V Lithium-ion battery gives you 40 minutes on ‘Eco’ mode - the one you will be using most of the time. There is a ‘Max’ mode for any stubborn hair, but Eco is good enough for pretty much all your needs.
Oh, and the suction too… It’s fantastic to have a vacuum that actually picks stuff up! I’m not sure of the official specs behind the power, but for dog hair, crumbs worked into the carpet, my girlfriend’s hair (she malts just as bad as the dog at the moment), it leaves no trace. In fact, if you’re a fan of the patterns lawn mowers cut into the grass of football pitches, you can do the same thing with this. Add vacuum bags of 1.5L into the mix and you’ll be going for a while.
Which does lead me to a key gripe of mine around this - the bags. Now don’t get it twisted, this isn’t about the quality of the bags. Hygienic carbon enriched sacks trap and neutralise any dodgy smells from the hair and dirt collected, and the bag design means you don’t even need to touch a bit of the collected muck. But there’s no two ways about this… I would have preferred it to be bagless. Now, it’s a continued expense rather than one-off transaction, and just another additional piece of plastic in our landfills.
It could be worse - with 10 bags going for £14.99, that’s not too bad. But when you have a house to hoover regularly around the dog, that will fill up fast. And the scented cartridges, even though they provide a nice aroma with your hoover, is an extra cost and another bit of plastic.
So, totalling it all up, is this vacuum worth £250, plus the extra costs for bags and scented cartridges? That’s not as wincingly alarming as the price of a Dyson, but it’s still a hefty investment for a home appliance.
Sometimes, that investment is worth it for something in the long term. In the case of the G-Tech Pro K9, it’s a great home appliance that will not let you down. I would just hope that there is a bagless, more environmentally conscious variety coming along soon. 8/10
