Hoover H-Handy 700 review: A convenient handheld vacuum cleaner

Standing proudly to attention on its own powered docking station, the Hoover H-Handy 700 is always fully charged and ready to go. The dock helps the device maintain a relatively small footprint, so you can leave it on the side near a plug socket and it doesn’t take up too much room on a surface.

With powerful suction for such a small device, it has enough power to tackle most messy accidents that might happen around your home, although its relatively small collection bin means it’s best reserved for smaller jobs. But where does the H-Handy 700 stand compared to the other handheld vacuums on the market?

Hoover H-Handy 700 review: What do you get for the money?

The Hoover H-Handy 700 is a wand-style handheld vacuum cleaner, with a handle at one end, the mouth of the vacuum at the other and a dust collection bin linking them together. It measures 418 x 66 x 69mm (WDH), extending to a length of 570mm if you clip on the brush attachment, and weighs a surprisingly hefty 640g.

It comes with a compact docking station, too, which charges the H-Handy through a pair of metal contacts and provides a place to stow the brush attachment. Simply drop the vacuum into its cradle and the vacuum begins to charge; a full top-up takes around three hours and gives the device enough power to clean for 9mins 17secs.

Although you only get one attachment in the box, it’s a three-in-one tool. In its basic guise, it’s a crevice tool, for getting into small spaces such as down the side of a sofa. A sliding collar lets you adapt this into a dusting brush, or you can flip it around to access a furniture nozzle with a felt-like micro brush for fabrics and upholstery.

Hoover H-Handy 700 review: What’s it like to use?

The wand shape makes cleaning as easy as pointing a stick at the mess you want clearing up. That it’s always ready in its stand, handle pointing up, charged and ready to go, is a significant boon. There’s no fiddling around with cables before or after use with this handheld vacuum cleaner.

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The attachment is a little bit fiddly because you have to manipulate it into the tool you want to use each time, but it isn’t too much of a bind.

To empty the bin you have to hold down the button on the top, and then snap the vacuum in half. You then need to detach the filter from inside the bin before you can empty the debris.

This needs some care, as it’s easy to forget and tip the filter into the bin with the rubbish, which leaves you scrabbling around in the dirt to retrieve it. This is all unnecessarily fiddly, but at least the filter can be washed in running water. Usefully, Hoover supplies a brush to help you clean it, too.

Hoover H-Handy 700 review: How well does it clean?

The suction on the Hoover H-Handy 700 is impressive. We measured it at 17kPa, which almost matches that of the much more expensive Dyson V7 Trigger. However, the biggest barrier to its cleaning success is the size of its bin, which is only 150ml.

In our tests, it successfully started scooping Cheerios from carpet and hard floor but was only able to pick up a maximum 13g. At this point, the bin simply can’t fit any more in.

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The same applied to our flour test. Although it made a good stab at starting the job, it only collected 13g of dust before the motor cut out. It’s fine, then, for tiny cleaning jobs but, if your mess tends to be more significant, you’ll need to buy a vacuum with a bigger bin.

Hoover H-Handy 700 review: Should I buy it?

If you want an ever-ready handheld vacuum cleaner that’s capable of tackling small, regular cleaning jobs, the Hoover H-Handy 700 is ideal. We love the charging dock and the convenience of always having the three-in-one tool to hand.

However, it’s best reserved for smaller jobs because of the limited space its design reserves for the collection bin. If you want more cleaning power from your handheld and have the money to spare, we’d recommend trading up to a Dyson V7 Trigger or a Gtech Multi MK2 K9. Alternatively, if you’re after something at around the same price as the Hoover, the Shark Cordless HandVac is cheaper and can capture more rubbish in its larger bin.