Progressive #25614 Road Test

Trying to boil down a vacuum's performance to its essentials is hard--you want to praise the thing for what it does well, while realizing that no machine--even a three-hundred dollar one praised by Consumer Reports--is perfect. My first vacuuming experience with the Kenmore Progressive Canister Vac had me resolved on returning it to the store. It skittered and wandered over a large wool area rug, picking up some stuff after several tries but leaving a lot behind. Strike one.

Then I turned the agitator brush off (simple slide-and-click thumb switch on the handle) and just used the vacuum's suction to vacuum the hardwood floors. Performance (on XLO setting) was better, but I still felt like I was driving around nothing more than a very expensive broom. Performance on area rugs was OK...I felt it was better with the old upright. Plus, the machine's ergonomic features--everything swivelling and turning and whirling with each movement--were hard to get used to. I was used to muscling the machine wherever I wanted to go, even kicking it to give it a sort of "boost." This new machine required much less pressure from the wrist--the wand was very light and I liked the telescoping feature (although it was far less rigid than I would have preferred--the vacuum "head" wiggles a little bit and the telescoping wand wiggles, too). I had expected a Kenmore product to be more tank-like, so the delicacy of this vacuum's movements and controls surprised me.

It was a little difficult to get used to dragging the canister behind me. It always seemed on an inconvenient side, forcing me to hold the hose in front of me, which is harder on the back. You have to get used to working your way around a room, not starting in the center, doing one bit, pulling back and moving to the next. All these things I thought I could get used to in time, but the carpet-cleaning capability seemed to be lacking.

Then I tried out the attachments. Whoa! This thing really can suck. The PowerMate Jr. is a diminutive version of the full-sized carpet cleaning head, complete with powered agitator. When I tried this thing on the stairs, it pulled up the carpet with each stroke. The suction appeared to be greater when I relaxed my arm pressure and let the machine do the work. The way that the handle is shaped makes this a very comfortable task--not like using the attachments on an upright, where you're just grasping the hose with the attachment stuck onto the end of it. Everything is engineered to rest at the angle you'd be most likely to want it to lie. And the canister itself has a little rubber grippie that lets you move it up the stairs with you and it just hangs out there and doesn't slip off. That was sheer genius--no need for 17-foot hoses or machines tipping over or having to muscle the whole machine across each step!

I used all the other attachments with roaring good success. So what was wrong with the actual carpet attachment, the big PowerMate? I took the thing upstairs and re-attached the PowerMate. This time I lowered the height setting from medium to low. I guess I had been babying the thing a little too much, because this time the PowerMate grabbed the pile and gave a good resistance, showing it was actually sucking. And the machine was easier to handle on wall-to-wall carpet than it was on hardwood floors or area rugs. The ergonomics weren't so wiggly with the added resistance. Encouraged, I took it back downstairs and used the low setting on my wool rug. While still a little missish on the forward stroke, the PowerMate grabbed that ground-down wool pile and actually lifted it on the return stroke, sucking up any debris and dust in its wake. Problem solved.

I love this machine, now that I actually understand it a bit better. I think I might actually like it more for wall-to-wall carpet than for hardwoods (which I'd just as soon sweep) but having the dirt go up into the vacuum rather than into the air is a plus for people with allergies. I can't wait to try this thing on the vans. This machine has imperfections...the little plastic doors on the canister look like they could break if treated roughly. The "floor" attachment (different than the PowerMate or PowerMate Jr.) seems a little flimsy and wiggles a bit. The wheels on the PowerMate are a little hard to push and the wheels on the vacuum itself seem kind of cheap (the retractable cord is a great feature, tho). The machine uses a rather small bag which can get expensive if you insist on using the true HEPA cloth bags (which are $8 for 2) and there are also two filters you have to keep an eye on. But for the price point, I'd argue that Sears didn't skimp on the things that count--solid overall components, strong motor, ease of use and true HEPA filtration. I didn't sneeze once, and that's a bloody miracle.