Greenworks Cordless Stick Vac review: The new spring-cleaning hero?

I’ve had a recent obsession with testing the vacuums. From Robot Vacs to Stick vacs to shop vacs, I can’t seem to get enough. Cordless (battery powered) Stick vacuums seem to be the latest trend in the suction world. They offer a bit more power than a Roomba, and they give me a heck of a lot more versatility. I personally own and love my Shark stick vacuum, but Greenworks offered me the chance to test their 24V cordless version out. Here are the top reasons why I like it better.

Power

The first thing I notice when using the Greenworks model is its power. The 500W motor gets me 170 air watts of suction power. This means more dirt makes it into the dust bin without spending tons of time going over the same spot. An LED touchscreen indicates battery life, error messages, and the suction power. There are three power settings to choose from, and I love having the visual indicator as opposed to just listening to know how much power is being used. The display even shows how much battery time is left.

The biggest test comes when I attempt to vacuum up fine cat litter from a highly polished tile floor. This test has made two other vacuum fail miserably as of late. One of those was a Roomba that scattered the litter throughout, creating a worse mess for me to clean up later. I attach the crevice tool and I instantly know I have a winner. The litter sucks up quick and emptying it is as simple as the touch of a button. Just don’t tell my wife I’ve been using it on litter, it grosses her out.

The only downside I have found for power is how quickly the battery can drain when using it on high. It runs for a maximum time of about nine minutes. The good news is, I don’t need to run it on high. The lowest setting does the trick most of the time, and this allows for runtimes of around 40-45 minutes in my testing.

Attachments

The number of attachments available compared to the Shark stick I have is unbelievable. My biggest complaint with some of the Shark vacs is the lack of storage options as well. Sure, it’s handy to be able to plug the Shark in directly, but where in the heck do I put it? The thing has fallen down and scraped my wall several times while charging. Greenworks solves this by providing a wall mountable charging station. The vac sits right in it, and the battery charges full within about 30 minutes.

In addition to the charging station, Greenworks includes five attachments for the vacuum (see them here). The main brush attachment also features LED lighting for those dark corners of my home or under beds etc. Obviously, the vac comes with a battery. What I love about the battery, is that the company thought of giving it versatility. It doubles as a power bank to charge my phone or other accessory via USB-C. If I don’t use it for that, I can also use it for a multitude of other Greenworks products. Oh, there is also a three-year limited Warranty that includes the battery. Boom.

Storage

Okay I mention it further up, but the storage options for this Stick Vac make me so happy. If you’re not thrilled about the wall mountable charging station (you don’t have to mount it), there is also a charging stand that is sold separately. I tested this out as well, and I have to say it is the better option. It allows me to attach and hang the accessories to it. My Shark accessories are – well I’m not sure where they are because I didn’t have the option of storing them right with the vacuum itself. My only complaint? There is one extra accessory that is missing a clip to hang it up. It sits on the floor right now all alone. I’m guessing I can buy an extra one if I really need to.

Summary

The Greenworks 24V Cordless Vacuum is a hit in my home. I still use the shark on occasion, but Greenworks has created a more powerful gem here. With that extra power means a bit of a sacrifice of battery life on its highest setting. Overall though, I really don’t need the highest setting. The accessories, touchscreen display, versatility, and storage options for this thing make it a must have.