Dirt Devil Endura Reach Review

If you are looking for a good value in upright vacuums, the Dirt Devil Endura Reach is not it. We've tested many models, some better than others, and even rather poor models that at least had some redeeming qualities. However, this is not one of those models, and we'd be remiss to recommend it; here's why.

Carpet Cleaning

The Dirt Devil Endura Reach is one of the most disappointing carpet cleaning upright vacuums our test team has ever handled. Instead of picking up rice, it sprayed grains out of the way to the right of the vacuum head, like a side discharge lawnmower. It didn't matter whether the vacuum was being pushed or pulled; it simply could not pick up rice. Our test team achieved the same poor results on a thicker carpet.

This model repeated a similar side discharge effect on oatmeal and required 10 strategic passes to pick up all the oatmeal from the short carpet fiber. The head also managed to miss about an inch of oats on the left side, leaving streaking where the absolute worst performance was made obvious. Whether it was on the thick or thin carpet did not matter, the Dirt Devil did a poor job at removing oatmeal and acted more like a mulcher, discharging to the side and even grinding oatmeal into finer, harder to remove dust.

Both cereal and flour proved to be too difficult for this vacuum to handle with any reasonable satisfaction. Across both sub metrics, the head acted more like a plow, expelling debris rather than suctioning, and again left obvious lines where the head completely failed to lift debris.

Ease of Use

We tested the user-friendliness of the Dirt Devil Endura Reach, and we were underwhelmed. This model does a dismal job handling debris at edges, as was apparent in our carpet testing, and requires many additional and strategic passes to avoid leaving a strip where the head misses.

Its cable reach is just over 19 feet, and while that might seem fine, it's on the shorter end compared to all the other models we've tested. In our standardized height test, the Endura could only reach 5 inches, which is not much better than the abilities of a broom. This model also has no surface transition features, so you can not turn off the brush head.

Overall, the lack of surface transition features, a head that misses and streaks, poor under furniture reach, and a shorter cable length make this one of the least user-friendly models.

Handling

For an upright vacuum with no ability to swivel, it handles OK. It is light and turns easily but struggles in tight corners. As a non-swiveling model, it did exhibit some lifting during use, but less often than other non-swiveling modes.

Hard Surface Cleaning

With no option to turn off the brush head, this model makes a mess of a mess. It performed poorly, repeating less than desirable traits that it exhibited in carpet cleaning tests.

On a hard surface, rice grains were sprayed to the right side of the vacuum head, only picking up two-thirds of the rice while also leaving a thin line along the left side of the brush head.

In our oatmeal test, this model made things dirtier rather than clean. When the oatmeal wasn't being sprayed to the side, it was being pulverized and worked down into cracks. The Dirt Devil Endura Reach didn't handle breakfast cereal any better. Some cereal sprayed to the right, some towards the rear, and much of it was ground up before being forced into cracks. We've concluded that the Dirt Devil might perform better in our food processor review.

All jokes aside — after failing on all of our hard surface tests, we didn't expect much when it came to flour. However, it did manage to pick up flour while pulling back towards the operator. Although, after many passes, the vacuum could not lift all the flour, leaving a thin film o the surface and compressing flour to the wheels.

Pet Hair

If you are a pet owner, this vacuum is OK but not the best option. In our pet hair tests, it managed to leave nearly 10% of fur behind in little apparent clumps. That being said, it managed to pick up most of the pet hair, but you'd want to run it over several times before sucking up everything.

Should You Buy the Dirt Devil Endura Reach?

This Dirt Devil Endura is one of the cheapest vacuums we tested, and its below-average performance is commensurate, dollar for dollar, with its below-average price. While you may think you are getting an affordable deal, this vacuum did so poorly in our tests that we simply couldn't recommend it or give it any sort of accolade.

What Other Upright Vacuums Should You Consider?