When I was approached to do a review on a Tefal product, my first thought was that it must be some cookware. Never did I expect that Tefal also manufactures small appliances like the Tefal Air Force 360 Handheld Vacuum Cleaner.
It is not that this is their first vacuum product or small appliances. It is just because I did not notice them until now, and I am sure I am not alone. Thanks to Tefal for providing the review unit.
Introduction
I love handheld vacuum cleaner. They are usually small, portable and easy to store. I believe handheld vacuum will grow even faster in the next few years. With advancement in technology, handheld vacuum cleaners are becoming more powerful (better motor) and having longer battery life. I am sure corded vacuum will slowly be replaced by handhelds or automatic vacuum robots.
In my opinion, a good handheld vacuum cleaner must be powerful with good cleaning efficiency, has long battery life, easy to maintain, easy to store and a pleasing design. Of course, the price must be right for the type of features available on it.
First Impression
The box is big for a handheld (BTW, Tefal is calling it the Tefal Air Force 360 Handstick) vacuum. The design is sleek. However, my opinion is that it will not fit the theme of some houses if it is placed at prominent locations but it will definitely catch the eye of people.
Here is a picture of the content inside the box. These are quite a standard setup for a handheld vacuum. Let me go into details on each of them.
What is in the box
Main Unit
This is the main unit, the heart of the Air Force 360. I love the futuristic look of the design. It is very well-made. As mentioned earlier, a good handheld vacuum cleaner must be easy to maintain. My definition of easy is that it must be easy to dismantle and clean up in the internal.
To dispose of the content in the container, you just need to lift up the silver handle and the container door will automatically open.
And if you fully lift up the handle, you will be able to dismantle it (as shown in the picture below). Here is part of the main unit where is house the sponge filter. I do not have the actual name of it and I could not find the name in the manual as the manual is all pictures and zero words!
It comes with another as part of the accessories. You can wash it with water but make sure that it is dry when you want to put it back.
And by giving a good forward push on the container portion, you can slide out this part (as shown below).
There is a handle from the top view. The handle is actually part of the basket-like portion of the main unit. You can take it out (as shown below) for cleaning when needed.
Base Unit
This is the base unit where you can mount it on the wall.
You can link up the charger to the base unit to charge the Air Force 360. In fact, this is the only way to charge it. You can charge the Air Force 360 directly with the charger.
Power Charger
Roller
In my opinion, the roller is one of the most important accessories for a vacuum cleaner. No matter how powerful a vacuum cleaner is, if the roller is no good, the cleaner efficiency will be affected.
Tefal has made this roller easy to maintain. With minimum steps, you can take out the core of the roller for maintenance. There is even a groove on the core for you to cut away tangled hair in the roller. If you wish to see how it is done, check out the video.
Overall, Tefal has definitely put a lot of thoughts on the design, especially on the maintenance part.
And Tefal has even added light onto it so that when you are cleaning dark corner, you can see clearly.
Crevice Tool Attachment
This is useful for corners or hard to reach areas.
Easy Brush Attachment
This is the Easy Brush attachment. 2 are provided in the package. You can attach it directly to the vacuum or to the extension rod. You can also use it to clean the mesh container (or basket-like container) when doing maintenance.
Sofa Brush Attachment
This is used for cleaning on sofa. I tried it on a fabric sofa but I don’t like it. It is difficult to perform the suction with this attachment.
Usage
The Air Force 360 is easy to assemble and use. If you have used a vacuum cleaner before, you will know how to use it immediately.
I like that Tefal has made the trigger (to start the vacuum) like an on/off switch. Press once to turn on the vacuum and another time to turn it off. There is no need to keep your finger on the trigger.
If you hold the individual part, you will feel that it is a little heavy. Surprisingly, when you assemble them (means assemble the roller, extension rod to the main unit), the weight seems to be manageable.
My guess is the way the unit is designed. The wheels on the roller and the angle that you hold play a big part to displace the weight. And the wheels are buttery smooth.
The suction is alright. Tefal has added a boost button on the back. Once pressed, it will increase the suction power at the expense of the battery life.
I did a video of the unboxing, introduction of accessories and usage. You can check it out below.
Conclusion
It is never easy to provide a non-biased conclusion to a gadget/device after using only for a short while. I will try my best to be objective in it.
Design: Sleek and nice if you are into futuristic looking ones.
Weight and size: I wish the size can be slimmer and the weight a little less.
Usage: It has only 20 minutes of battery life (with rod extension) and 30 mins (without the rod extension). And with the boost turned on, the battery life is just 12 minutes. Tefal must improve on it. On the suction, it is quite standard. I think the sound signature can be improved (less noisy please). The roller is something that I like. It is easy to maintain and does what it is supposed to do.
Accessories: The accessories are quite standard for a vacuum cleaner. Maybe in the future edition, Tefal can come up with an angled adapter for those hard to reach high areas.
Price: This is actually very important. At a selling price of S$599 (currently selling with discount at S$438), it is not the cheapest and definitely not the priciest. I think it is value for money. Please do not compare it with those super cheap brandless vacuum cleaners on online websites that might not have been properly tested.
Click Here to Check Out More Details on The Tefal Air Force 360 Handstick
and here is the official video.
Comment below if you have a question.