I tested a £160 Beldray vacuum to see if it could compete with my expensive Dyson — I was way more impressed than I thought I would be

As a die-hard Dyson vacuum fan, I wanted to see whether the Beldray Airgo Cordless Vacuum Cleaner had what it took to compete with some of the best vacuum cleaners out there. My verdict? It's certainly an effective (and budget) alternative.

Offering the ease and cleanliness of a bagged vacuum cleaner with the practicality of a cordless vacuum cleaner, I didn't expect to be as impressed as I was. Here's my full review of the Beldray Airgo Cordless Vacuum Cleaner.

In a nutshell

The Beldray Airgo is a great, relatively budget-friendly vacuum. The bagged dirt bin makes emptying mess-free, and should lock in allergens, too. However, I missed a HEPA filter on this vacuum for totally clean air after cleaning.

I found the suction really good on the Airgo vacuum - it sucked up pretty much everything in its path. It handled carpets, hardwood floors and hard-to-reach places well. The tops of my curtains now look sparkly and clean. I loved the headlights on the brush head, which illuminated dust under furniture that I’d missed before.

And a lot of good functionality is here with the so-called 2-in-1 design. You can use it with or without the stick attachment. It has a couple of attachments to enable you to do targeted cleaning on things like sofas, the tops of curtains and the stairs.

All in all, the Beldray Airgo is a budget-friendly answer to the best cordless vacuums. Many other cordless vacuums on the market are pretty pricey, but Beldray have set the Airgo at just 1p short of £160 – a very fair price if you ask me.

Beldray Airgo Cordless Vacuum Cleaner specifications

• Battery run time: 45 mins
• Charge time: 4 hours
• Modes: 3
• Bin capacity: 0.7L
• Bagged or bagless: Bagged
• Suction power: 11-23KPA
• Weight: 3.85KG
• Accessories: Wall mount, crevice tool, brush head, upholstery brush
• RRP: £159.99

How I tested

Zoë Phillimore

Zoë is a freelance journalist and reviewer who regularly reviews a whole host of products for Ideal Home.

She tested the Beldray Airgo at her own home to give you, the reader, a full understanding of how the product performs in a real-life domestic situation. She vacuumed hardwood floors, rugs, carpets, curtains and curtain rails and her car using the Beldray Airgo. Zoe paid close attention to battery life, performance and how easy the vacuum was to operate.

Unboxing, setting up and first impressions

I was surprised how lightweight the box was for the Airgo - and so compact, too. It comes in a glossy box with clear, premium photos on the side.

Opening the box was easy - and the vacuum slid out inside the cardboard inner tray. Everything was neatly packaged. And I was also pleased to note there were 10 spare vacuum bags in the box, as I am prone to forgetting to buy them. Plus, there’s already a bag in the vacuum to get you started.

After sliding the plastic off all the attachments, everything seemed pretty straightforward - each accessory clicks into the main vacuum unit, and you can easily detach them by pressing the raised button on the attachment. This all took less than a minute to unbox.

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However, when I wanted to dig deeper into the vacuum's functionality, I was a bit disappointed as there were no instructions. There’s a quick start guide, but this is simply a numbered diagram. I would have liked a little rundown on the vacuum's functions, what each attachment is good for, and if there were any tips on how to empty the bag.

There was a lot of plastic on this product’s packaging, and I couldn’t see that these were recyclable. The cardboard box and the inner tray are recyclable though, so that’s something.

Using the Beldray Airgo Cordless Vacuum Cleaner

I wasn’t expecting the Airgo to be as good as it was to use. I found while testing it, I couldn’t put it down. However, Beldray doesn't make many outlandish claims about this vacuum other than it’s easy to use and efficient, and if I were Beldray, I would be shouting about how good the suction power is (even on the auto setting), how quiet it is to use and how quickly it is to whizz around with it.

Under furniture

Beldray says this vacuum makes quick clean-ups easy, and I agree. I was able to quickly whizz around under the dining table after my children had eaten, and the Airgo got every scrap up. I couldn’t believe its efficiency, as even my Dyson tends to leave little bits behind. And that was only on the lowest suction setting — there are two more powerful suction settings.

I loved the headlights on the brush head. I’ve always been a bit cynical about them, thinking they’re a bit of a gimmick. That was until it illuminated all the dust under our sofa that I had been missing. This gave me more peace of mind – and a sense of smugness - after cleaning that I had got everything.

Hardwood floors

The Airgo glided around the hardwood beautifully. I could whizz around a whole floor really quickly, and getting into corners was easy – the brush head was really responsive. Going from rug to hardwood floor seemed no problem either. And I noticed I could use a lower suction power – when I used the highest suction setting the battery lasted a much shorter time, but it wasn’t necessary to have this much suction in my experience.

Despite doing the whole downstairs of my house for around 20 minutes, the battery didn’t need recharging, nor did the bag need changing. Beldray says the battery life is 45 minutes, but I’d say it’s slightly less than this at around 40 minutes.

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Carpeted floors

I was impressed with how lightweight the Airgo felt on carpet, too. It slides around even deep-pile carpet with ease. I thought perhaps that was because of a lack of suction power, but the Airgo seemed to get every stray bit of fluff and hair off the carpet. And no horrifying scraping sounds as larger items went up the stick either.

Definitely the battery lasts much longer on the normal mode. The Airgo quickly faded on the turbo mode when I was using it on carpet. But in the standard mode it still got up everything I’d want it to – and more. I’m not sure in reality you’d need turbo mode much.

Cars

Using the Airgo as a car vacuum is a real test of its battery power. When vacuuming the car I do not want to have to stop to go back inside the house and re-charge the battery. The whole job needs to be done in one cycle if you ask me.

The Airgo coped with the challenge my car threw at it with aplomb. I didn’t need to dial up the suction power - it got all the grim crumbs, mud and even small stones out of the car footwells brilliantly. I used the upholstery brush on the seat and it managed to pick up all the fine crumbs that had got caught in the stitching. I was really pleased with the results here.

Cleaning

I found the Airgo pretty easy to clean. This is thanks to the bagged system, in most part. It doesn’t leave a gunky or dusty chamber once you’ve finished cleaning.

The brush head also seemed to stay relatively free of hair getting wrapped around it, despite me having very long hair. Other vacuums have failed me here. I was pleased to notice that on the brush head there’s a release for the roller brush so you can remove it and clean off the debris before reinserting it.

Storage and maintenance

The Airgo comes with a wall mount, which also allows you to charge it while mounted and clip in the accessories. Unfortunately it comes with no instructions on how to mount it – but with two screws and two raw plugs included in the box, it would be relatively easy to do.

Beldray sells the replacement vacuum bags on their website. It’s £19.99 for a pack of 10. As I say, you get a pack of 10 to get you started, so you won’t need to order some for a while.

I would say I would have loved it if there was a warning for when the battery was low on the Airgo. I came to vacuum once and it died within three minutes. This is my fault for not having charged it before, but a little LED warning light would eliminate this frustration.

How does it rate online?

Users of the Airgo have noted online how good the suction is on the Airgo – but that the battery power varies depending on what mode you put it in. Many people were pleased with the decent battery life, with one user saying they managed to clean their whole apartment in the 40 minutes the vacuum lasted.

A few people mentioned how the charge cable has to be manually plugged into the vacuum, rather than it clicking in when it’s mounted on the wall.

There were also a few bugbears with the bags – some people prefer bagless models, which there’s nothing the Airgo can do about. But others found the 700ml too small, and found it annoying to replace them frequently. This would obviously depend on your usage, but certainly something worth bearing in mind.

How does it compare to similar models and its predecessors?

I’ve tested a lot of vacuums in my career – robot, handheld, car, cylinder – and I’ve seen it all. I also own two vacuums (and - ahem - a robot one). How many vacuums is too many? I’m yet to find out, but my husband claims two is too many. Anyway, the two vacuums I own are the Dyson V12 Detect Slim Extra and a much older Dyson V7. So, it was interesting comparing the Airgo to these vacuums.

The Airgo comes with a streamlined inventory of accessories - there’s an upholstery attachment and a crevice one, plus a brush head and a stick. But I found all the other accessories are “nice to have”, but far from essentials.

The bin capacity on the Airgo is pretty impressive - 700ml is large. My Dyson V12 is only 350ml and it fills up so quickly.

While the Airgo doesn’t have a display that shows you the air quality like my V12 does, it also has a lengthy battery life. Perhaps all those flashy extras are a drain on my V12’s battery…

I would say that for an allergy vacuum, I was a bit surprised there’s no HEPA filter or similar on the Airgo. Most other allergy vacuums carry this as a hallmark of air quality they’re expelling.

Verdict: Should you buy the Beldray Airgo Bagless Vacuum?

I would happily recommend the Beldray Airgo to friends and family – and you. It’s a straightforward vacuum that gets the job done. And it’s pretty great value too compared to lots of other models I’ve used.

I think it would be ideal for starter homes, those that like to keep their car clean and people who don’t want loads of fancy gizmos – or a big-name flashy brand. Plus, I do think it would suit those who want a Dyson or Shark or similar, but don’t want to fork out £300+ on it.

Perhaps those who are in their first homes, or even students would appreciate the straight-up functionality of this vacuum.

Allergy sufferers may like this vacuum too – it’s designed for mess-free emptying. This means that allergens should be locked in the bag and won’t re-enter your home environment. However, with some higher-end allergy-focused vacuums I’ve tested, they come with a HEPA filter to clear the air it blasts back out to your home. This isn’t the case here.

The 2-in-1 design and long battery life make it great for car cleaning. The impressive suction means it can get in those deep-pile carpeted footwells and do a great job. And because it’s cordless, it’s good for homes that have multiple levels – carting it about is easy between floors. So, it could also serve as an alternative to the best handheld vacuum cleaners.