Bosch GS-50 Power Silence review

Silence is key with the GS-50 Power Silence. Bosch calls it the quietest bagless vacuum cleaner on the market, and with a manufacturer-measured 66dB(A) it’s undoubtedly lower than many of the other cleaners we’ve tried. Turning it on, we found it considerably quieter than any other vacuum cleaner we’ve tested, producing much less intrusive noise.

Unsurprisingly, this lack of noise comes at the expense of power. Despite having a 2,200w power rating, the GS-50 only measured 19.5kPa when empty in our suction test, making it one of the worst vacuums we’ve tested. This result dropped further to 19kPa by having a half-full or full bag.

Fortunately, picking up our cat litter from all surfaces wasn’t a problem, with the nozzle running smoothly across carpet and laminate surfaces, with a few firm strokes all that was needed to pick up all of the dust.

The tube is telescopic, doubling in size when required, and the vacuum comes with the standard accessory trio of upholstery tool, crevice tool and dusting brush – although there’s nowhere to store them on the cleaner itself.

At 6.4kg when empty, the Power Silence is one of the lightest cylinder vacuum cleaners that we have tested. With four rotating castor-style wheels underneath we had no trouble dragging it across carpet or hard floors, even once we’d filled the 3.9l bin.

The 7.3m cable allows for 10m of reach, which is right where we would expect most indoor cylinder vacuums to be. There’s around 2.5cm of ground clearance so cables and rugs weren’t an issue, but the retractable power cord is of the pull-to-release variety. We had to give it several firm pulls before it retracted the entire way.

It’s a two-step process to unlock and detach the bin, which also contains the dust filter. It’s easy enough that we could do it one handed, although getting the top off the bin requires a little more force. There’s also no way to seal the bin when removed, and tipping it accidentally could result in dust or dirt escaping. We prefer bins that have an angled seal, as you’re less likely to make a mess.

At £230, the GS-50 is reasonably priced for a bagless cylinder cleaner. It might not have the most powerful suction, making it less than ideal for anyone dealing with well-trodden carpets or deep shag rugs, but it has a fairly large capacity and crucially is among the quietest cleaners around. If silence is the most important thing to you, it’s a good choice, but the AEG UltraCaptic Animal is more powerful.