Backpack vacuum cleaners have recently become more popular. They offer more flexibility, are easier to use, and most have HEPA filters that clean the air in your home as you’re cleaning the carpet. They are better suited to fit into tighter areas that other vacuums can’t get to and are now able to provide powerful suction. We put together a buyer’s guide featuring some things you should know about backpack vacs and reviewed 10 of the best backpack vacuum cleaners available today.
Top 10 Best Backpack Vacuum Cleaners 2018
Here are 10 reviews I put together featuring a variety of different options.
| Model | Power Rating | Airflow (CFM) | Weight (lbs) | Power Cord Length (feet) | Filtration | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ProTeam Super CoachVac (Editor’s Choice) | 1188 W 9.9 Amp | 159 | 11 | 50 | Four Level Filtration w/HEPA: 1190 sq. in. total area | Check Price |
| Powr-Flite BP10S Comfort Pro | 1200 W 10 Amp | 130 | 9.62 | 50 | 5-stage HEPA filtration for improved indoor air quality | Check Price |
| Atrix VACBP1 | 1400 W 12 Amp | 106 | 10 | 2 | 4 Stage Filtration 8 Quart HEPA Filter Bag | Check Price |
| Bissell BG1001 BigGreen | 1175 W 10.2 Amp | 120 | 10.5 | 50 | High Filtration filter bags | Check Price |
| Dustless Technologies HEPA Backpack Vacuum | 11.60 Amp | 80 | 27 | 50 | HEPA filter bag Two more layers of filtration after the disposable filter, a reusable cloth and a cartridge filter | Check Price |
| GV 8QT | 12 Amp | - | 10 | 25 | 4 stage filtration system with sealed HEPA filter & HEPA bags. | Check Price |
| Hoover 6Q HushTone | 1200 W | 92 | 11.7 | 50 | HEPA Media Filtration with Hexaguard | Check Price |
| Prolux 2.0 Battery-powered | 500 W | 70 | 11 | Cordless | Bagless with Washable HEPA filter | Check Price |
| Hoover C2401 | 1000 W | 120 | 9.2 | 48 | Hypercone™ Filter Made with HEPA Media | Check Price |
| Sanitaire SC530A | 11.5 Amp | 120 | 11.5 | 50 | Motor filter, cloth filter, paper bag filter and HEPA. | Check Price |
1. ProTeam Super CoachVac – Incredible Vacuum
The ProTeam Super CoachVac is a commercial backpack vacuum cleaner that comes with many extra accessories for better cleaning. You will have no problems cleaning floors, upholstery, low pile carpets, and ceiling fans.
It’s a versatile vacuum that moves across many different types of hard surfaces like hardwood, tile, and linoleum. It also has no issues cleaning areas like stairs, vents, furniture, and light fixtures. There is an integrated tool belt that keeps accessories with you while you vacuum.
This backpack vacuum is much easier to maneuver than an upright vacuum, allowing you to clean under tables, chairs, and floor lamps as well as other furniture. The included tools help you to clean under a couch without moving it or clean the dust off a ceiling fan easily. Another drawback of an upright vacuum is that the cord always seems to get in the way. The CoachVac, on the other hand, provides easy cord management providing much more freedom in your movement.
With the comfort and cleaning power of this vacuum, it’s hard to not recommend this vacuum. It’s made for commercial use and a bit more pricey than what you can expect to pay for a normal upright vacuum.
- Includes a wand, dusting brush, crevice tool, upholstery tool, and hard floor tool
- 3-year warranty
- 50-foot cord
- Costs more than most uprights.
- Made for commercial use.
2. Powr-Flite BP10S Comfort Pro – Engineered for Comfort
The Powr-Flite BP10S Comfort Pro is professional grade commercial backpack vacuum cleaner that focuses on cleanliness and comfort. The company has been a reliable source in the world of commercial cleaning for more than 30 years. These vacuums are assembled and tested in America to provide a more quality product.
The Comfort Pro backpack vacuum delivers superior comfort, cleaning execution, and productivity. It was engineered to offer unparalleled comfort to the operator. An exclusive harness provided by Deuter has seven different points of adjustment to create a custom fit that is unmatched by other backpack vacuums.
The benefits of the HEPA filtration and the comfortable adjustable harness make this a good choice if you are in the market for a backpack vacuum.
- Quiet to use
- Effortless efficiency
- Very comfortable to wear
- Made for commercial use carrying a commercial price.
3. Atrix VACBP1 – Affordable and Cost Effective
The Atrix VACBP1 is an affordable and cost effective solution for power, comfort, and fine filtration. It has a comfortable and ergonomic fit weighing only 10 pounds. It’s small size and light weight make it easy to move around with.
A high-efficiency filtration system and HEPA filter bag makes it ideal for situations involving lots of cleaning like offices, schools, lobbies, hospitals, and hotels. This vacuum also can convert to a blower if needed.
This is a more affordable option for home use that has a lot of features that will help you get the most out of it.
- High-efficiency filtration system and HEPA filter bag
- More affordable than other options
- Comfortable fit
- Doesn’t have quite the power of the other commercial models
4. Bissell BG1001 BigGreen – Lightweight and Powerful
The Bissel BG1001 BigGreen is a commercial backpack vacuum with a waist belt, and adjustable shoulder strap to increase portability as well as enhance freedom of motion.
It has an Ametek motor and a built-in heat sensor protecting the motor in case the vacuum’s bag is full. It includes a wand that connects to a vacuum hose to clean ceiling fans, overhead vents, and other high places. There is a power nozzle hookup that allows the user to use the on/off switch while still wearing the backpack.
It features a twist-off lid that facilitates emptying. A long power cord allows the vacuum to clean a large area without having to change outlets. There are eight different attachments for cleaning just about any surface you’ll come across.
- Long power cord
- Lightweight
- Easy to maneuver
- Although the price is lower it is still a commercial vacuum
5. Dustless Technologies Backpack Vacuum – Good HEPA Filtration
The Dustless Technologies HEPA Backpack Vacuum is for both home and commercial use. It’s suitable to use in your home, schools, hospitals, and job sites.
It’s HEPA filter bag is safe to use for removing lead paint and containing silica dust. It is also able to capture and contain hypoallergenic pollutants and germs. The Dustless Technologies HEPA Backpack Vacuum features adhesive sealing bags to keep everything in the bag to be safely disposed of.
The HEPA Beater Bar Floor Tool is a great addition to this product that can make the carpet in your home or office cleaner and safer.
- Safe for removing lead paints
- Good HEPA filtration
- For residential and commercial use
- Ability to remove lead paint is more for commercial use
6. GV 8QT – Great Choice for Home Use
The GV 8QT is a backpack vacuum more suited for home use. There are six tools included like an extendable metal wand and a hose that has been upgraded to improve durability. The other tools are a crevice tool, a duster brush, an upholstery tool, and a combination floor tool.
This is a great choice for home use. The extra tools and the improvements that have been made add to it’s convenience and its worth.
- Can be used as a blower
- 2-year motor manufacturer warranty
- Lightweight
- Cord is shorter than other models.
7. Hoover 6Q HushTone – Hexaguard Technology
The Hoover CH34006 6Q HushTone is a commercial backpack vacuum that is lightweight and easy to maneuver. The lightweight design and an ergonomic harness allow for maneuverability.
It includes a HEPA filtration system with Hexaguard Technology to improve the air quality indoors. A self-sealing bag traps dust during disposal. A two-speed motor has a Hush mode that creates less noise and a boost mode when you need more performance.
- Hexaguard Technology
- 2-speed motor with a quiet mode
- HEPA filtration
- A little heavier than other models
8. Prolux 2.0 – Cordless and Bagless Backpack Vacuum
A lot of brands are offering cordless backpack style vacuum cleaners now compared to even just a few years ago – but none of them are quite able to compete with the Prolux 2.0.
Let’s dive a little bit deeper into this quick Prolux 2.0 review to find out more!
First Impressions
Right out of the gate, the Prolux 2.0 vacuum cleaner is about as well designed a backpack style vacuum as you are going to find on the market today.
Utilizing advanced cyclonic suction technology that improves efficiency by more than 40%, it’s amazing that this vacuum cleaner is as powerful as it is while still weighing just 11 pounds.
That’s about as heavy as your average house cats!
Effortless to use and manipulate when you have it strapped to your back and powered on, you’ll also find that it is easy to clean and empty when you have filled up the bagless storage container.
All in all, this is a top-quality piece of technology here you’ll really fall in love with the first time that you try it out!
Build Quality
Made entirely out of high impact polymers, plastics, and advanced vacuum hardware, it’s impossible to imagine a backpack style vacuum being better constructed than this one.
The unit also utilizes full HEPA filtration systems that are 100% reusable and washable. All moving parts can be manipulated without any special tools whatsoever, and the system includes two rechargeable batteries so that you can rock and roll with one while you are charging up the other.
Overall Performance
Obviously, performance isn’t going to be quite on par with much larger and much heavier vacuums with plenty of room for even more powerful suction technology – but you’ll be amazed at exactly what the battery-powered vacuum is capable of.
As we highlighted above, the Prolux 2.0 leverages cyclonic vacuum technology like all of the best vacuums on the market today use. It is 40% more efficient than most of the other bagless vacuum cleaners money can buy, and the built-in HEPA filtration units make this system a no-brainer – particularly if you have pets in the home and want to ensure a deep clean.
Final Verdict
All in all, if you are sick and tired of lugging around a gigantic vacuum cleaner (especially up and down stairs), the odds are pretty good that you are going to fall in love with everything the Prolux 2.0 has to offer.
Portable, compact, powerful, and consistent, there simply isn’t any other backpack style vacuum on the market today that can compete with the battery-operated Prolux 2.0.
- Ultra lightweight and portable
- Completely cordless design
- Advanced cyclonic vacuum technology
- HEPA filtration systems built right in
- Relatively small dust and dirt container
- Batteries will run about 35 minutes on a single charge before needing to be replaced
- Backpack style configuration will take some getting used to
9. Hoover C2401 – Commercial Lightweight Backpack Vacuum
Consistently rated as one of the best backpack style vacuum cleaners on the market today, this Hoover vacuum cleaner – the C2401 – is going to provide you with all of the cleaning capabilities you’d expect from a commercial unit with the portability that only backpack style vacuum cleaners bring to the table.
Initial Impressions
The first thing that you’ll notice about the Hoover C2401 backpack vacuum is that it has been designed and engineered to use only the strongest yet lightest construction materials available.
The entire unit weighs less than 10 pounds, helping to save your back and your energy levels when you are wearing it while you clean. The unit has also been designed with input from professional chiropractors, with an economic fit that reduces the amount of strain on the human body significantly.
Why You Should Buy the Hoover C2401
There are a handful of different reasons you might want to purchase the Hoover C2401, but at the end of the day the number one thing that separates this backpack vacuum from the rest of the options out there is its ability to provide commercial cleaning results in a compact and user-friendly system perfect for your home or office.
Final verdict
At the end of the day, there are more backpack style vacuum cleaners being released on a regular basis.
But none of them can quite come close to offering the blend of power, performance, and price you get when you choose to move forward with the Hoover C2401.
If you want the ultimate in cleaning performance and compact convenience, you need look no further than this revolutionary new vacuum system from one of the most trusted brands in the business. The folks at Hoover have hit it out of the park again!
- Slim and lightweight
- Features HEPA filtration
- Chiropractor designed harness to lower impact on your body
- Commercial cleaning capabilities
- Will require you to empty the containment unit often
- Can take a bit to adjust for a perfect fit
10. Sanitaire QuietClean Backpack SC530A – Quiet Vac with 4 Stage Filtration
The Sanitaire SC530A is a very quiet backpack vacuum. It has a high capacity and a long cord that’s great for extended use.
A harness provides comfort and disperses the weight causing less fatigue. This is important if you’ll be using it all of the time.
- 2-year warranty
- Quieter than others that are available
- Large capacity and long cord
- More suited for commercial use
Buyer’s Guide to the Best Backpack Vacuum
If you are thinking about purchasing a backpack vacuum, there are a few things that you should know and some things that you should be looking for. Here is my best attempt at providing that information for you.
Commonly Asked Question
A common question that you hear about backpack vacuum cleaners is…
Are there backpack vacuums available for the home?
There is a simple answer to that. Yes. Backpack vacuum cleaners are extremely popular in commercial applications and are slowly gaining popularity in residential use. They are excellent when used for cleaning hardwood floors, rugs, carpets, attics, stairs, kitchens, basements, and anywhere else that you can find dirt. Backpack vacs provide excellent results and most clean the air while they pick up dirt.
They provide far fewer hassles than other types of vacuum cleaners as well.Backpack vacuum cleaners lightweight and can get in areas that your old vacuum will never get to. These are just a couple of the reasons that they are becoming more popular in households today.
Why a Backpack Vacs is a Good Idea
- Backpack vacuum cleaners are lightweight make them easy to take up and down stairs.
- Backpack vacuums are perfect for a small apartment because they don’t take up any more room than the person who is using it
- These types of vacuums are easy to maneuver and can get in places that you weren’t even able to clean before.
- In a large area, backpack vacuums are a great choice because they have long cords and you have more freedom of movement than you would have with any other vacuum.
The Pros and Cons
Pros
- A great benefit of using a backpack vacuum is that you are standing upright the whole time you use it and don’t have to worry about back pain from vacuuming. They are also very light which helps
- Because they are lightweight and they are small, they are more portable than other types of vacuum cleaners. You can clean in areas of your home that you weren’t able to before easily. They don’t really hinder your movement at all.
- These types of vacuums can usually be used for quite awhile without having to empty them. They also don’t cause a mess and most actually clean your home’s air with the use of a HEPA filtration system
Cons
- These vacuums don’t generally offer all of the same features as ones that you are used to.
- Backpack vacuums cost a lot more than stand up vacuums. Hopefully, after some more time passes the price begins to drop but so far they have stayed pretty expensive.
- Most are made for commercial use and, because of that, they are better suited for it.
Important Characteristics of a Backpack Cleaner
Purchasing a backpack vacuum is going to be a big investment until the prices come down. It can definitely be worth the investment though with all of the benefits that they can provide for you and your family. Here are a few different characteristics of a backpack vacuum that might make the difference between you buying one or not:
- The weight of the vacuum. If you are the person that has to carry the vacuum around all of the time, this should be an important characteristic of your purchase. Some people who are disabled can benefit form having a lightweight backpack vacuum that would allow them to do the work on their own. Most of the backpack vacuums I’ve been looking at weigh 10 pounds or less. When that is on your back, it feels like nothing
- The length of the power cord. Most of the backpack vacuums that I have looked at have anywhere from a 35′ to 50′ power cord allowing for plenty of movement. Since they are still more of a commercial trend, they are made with these long cords, so people cleaning large businesses spend more time cleaning and less time looking for another plug. Make sure that the on you pick has a long cord that you can benefit from.
- The length of the vacuum tube. If you are a little taller, you will have to pay particularly close attention to this feature. If it’s not long enough, you will have to always be bending down which will defeat the whole purpose. Make sure that either the hose of the attachments that are included are long enough to be used easily.
- Attachments included. Most backpack vacuums have a pretty good variety of attachments included with them. Make sure that you like what you see. Check a few different ones out, so you know what is normally offered.
- Is it powerful? Most of the backpack vacuums that are available have a lot of power since they are for commercial purposes. Make sure that the one you are looking at is up to par and will be able to clean as well as you want it to.
- Is it a good brand? Many companies have come out of nowhere that are selling backpack vacuums. They may work fine, but you will likely have a better warranty and customer service experience if it’s a company that you know of.
- Comfort and ease. Make sure that the backpack vacuum that you’re picking out has a comfortable harness. If the backpack vacuum isn’t very comfortable, it kind of defeats the whole purpose of having one. If you can put it one before you buy it, that will help a lot in knowing if it was a good fit or not.
- Suction power. Most of these vacuums have ratings that will let you know how powerfully they suck. If the vacuum doesn’t suck, well, it sucks. Don’t buy one with a low rating or that don’t offer to show what their rating is.
- Customer reviews. One of the greatest things about technology is that it is so much easier to research about just about anything that you want to know about. If you want to know how well a backpack vacuum works, search for some reviews of it. When all you are finding is bad news about a product you’re interested in, don’t buy it.
