Verdict

Pros

• Compact and lightweight
• Ergonomic handle with remote control
• On handle detail tools
• Good edge cleaning
• Fairly quiet

Cons

• Tends to suck down carpets
• Not great with pet hairs
• Cable and hose a rather short
• Small bin

What is the Samsung VC07F50HDVR CycloneForce?

The SC07F50 series is Samsung’s eco-friendly ultra-low power bagless cylinder vacuum cleaner range and you will find them in a range of colours and options, all with confusing model numbers to match. The VC07F50HDVR tested here arrived with a trio of floor heads, a remote control on the handle and finished in a rather fetching deep metallic red.

Samsung describes its CycloneForce technology as ‘surprisingly powerful’ and maintains suction power right up until the easy-to-empty bin is full. You get on-handle storage for the detail cleaning tools, metal telescopic tubes and HEPA class filtration too. It boasts an A-rating for dust re-emissions and carries the British Allergy Foundation’s seal of approval.

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Samsung VC07F50HDVR CycloneForce – Accessories

The VC07F50HDVR has no shortage of accessories with five cleaning tools and some great built-in features. Three large floor heads are supplied: a traditional hard floor/carpet head with foot switch; an Eco Carpet head; and an Eco Hard Floor head. The HEPA filter is washable and the dustbin easy to lift off and empty although it is a rather small 2 litres in capacity.

The main multipurpose head is well designed with a pivoting neck and flexible hose that keeps it flat to the floor no matter what angle you have the handle. The foot switch drops down rubber blades to sweep and raise the pile on carpets, with stiff bristles at the edges. The Eco Carpet head is based on the same flexible floor head body and simply has two plastic blades either side of the air inlet. Both attach to the tube with a secure clip.

The lightweight Eco Hard Floor head is ideal for floors with cracks and grooves such as parquet or laminates, comprising a stiff plastic blade all round and four tiny rollers to stop it sticking to your floor like a limpet.

Finally, there’s a three-way multi tool attached to the handle for swift spot-cleaning. Depending on which way around you mount it – on the tube or direct to the handle for close-up cleaning – it is a crevice tool or pivoting flat head for small areas of carpet or upholstery. Slide down the switch and a soft bristle brush emerges for delicate dusting.

The Samsung’s tubes and handle are also worthy of mention. The tubes are sturdy metal but remain light and have one of the easiest telescopic mechanisms we have tried. You simply pull the large collar to release the lock and let it go when the tubes are at the required length.

The handle has a relaxed pistol grip shape and on/off and power control buttons that sends signals to the cleaner wirelessly. This does mean you need to put batteries into the handle, but it saves trailing cables.

To reduce pressure on your wrist, the hose attaches to the handle from underneath and can freely pivot a few degrees in each direction. Combined with the two flexible floor heads we found this very easy to use.

For those who want to extend their vacuum cleaner system, Samsung offers a host of accessories including dust sensors, UV anti-bacterial heads, Turbobrush heads and furniture tools.

Samsung VC07F50HDVR CycloneForce – General Cleaning

Despite its compact dimensions and low power, the Samsung bursts into life with a purposeful sound. It measured 76dB on carpet and 77dB over hard floors, exactly what the EU energy label states. That is not a particularly intrusive volume, similar to the TV, but equally not as quiet as some of the ultra-silent models we have tested.

It fits together easily with well-weighted clips that are easy to undo and the innovative handle certainly feels comfortable in the hand. This is especially so when you are using the detailing tools without the tubes attached. The hose is a bit on the short side at 1.75m and is not particularly stretchy, either. However the manoeuvrability is excellent on its two large wheels and front castor and the Samsung follows you around tenaciously.

We tried both the standard multifloor head and the Eco Carpet head on our test carpet and both proved quite efficient at picking up dirt and cleaning remarkably close to the edge. With the brushes and blades raised, the multifloor head had a tendency to stick down to the carpet under full power, so took quite a bit of effort to move.

The same was true of the Eco Carpet head to a lesser extent although its carpet sweeping blades themselves took some moving across deeper pile carpet. That said, the blades effectively lifted the carpet pile and you could easily see where you had cleaned.

The real star of the Samsung’s floor head compliment is the Eco Hard Floor Head. Despite its simplicity, it excels at parquet and tiles, effectively pulling dirt and dust out of the cracks. The little rollers ensure it doesn’t stick down to the floor and remains easy to move around even at full power. Its light weight made it easy to track down edges and corners where it cleaned well. We would have loved to see a flexible neck on this head too, but the fixed angle to the tube was about right for our average height anyway.

The benefits of having the power controls and the detail tools all on the handle cannot be underestimated if you are in a hurry as it makes swapping from floor, to upholstery, to curtains and even cleaning cobwebs from the ceiling a breeze. Given our rural location and resident house spiders big enough to create webs you can hang a chandelier from; the Samsung cleared these very well indeed.

Samsung VC07F50HDVR CycloneForce – Stair Cleaning

The VC07F50HDVR is a compact and relatively lightweight cleaner at 5.5kg for the body alone and a not-too-hefty 7.4kg with the hose, tools and floor head attached. It is well balanced with a low centre of gravity and the top-mounted handle makes it comfortable to carry up and down stairs. The cable length is only average at 6.9m and combined with the short-ish hose does limit your stair cleaning ability a little if there are not plug sockets close by.

However carrying the little red machine up a few steps at a time is not onerous and its low centre of gravity ensures it sits firmly on each step. While the main tubes do give you a little more reach to go up or down stairs, the ergonomic handle attached directly to one of the detail tools is a great for getting close to the stairs for a really deep clean.

On our carpeted stairs the Eco Carpet head proved a little large and its tendency to stick down with high power didn’t help its manoeuvrability. We found the upholstery brush directly on the handle took a little longer but certainly got to every square inch of each step including into the corners of turn-steps. It cleaned so effectively that we filled the compact container during the test and had to stop to empty it. If you have a house that gets a lot of heavy foot traffic and lots of dirt to pick up with every vacuuming session, that small bin might well get annoying.

Samsung VC07F50HDVR CycloneForce – Pet Hair Cleaning

Just when the little red Samsung was heading for a review that would glow like its paintwork, pet hair definitely got the better of it. With no turbobrush head it was always going to be challenged by pet hairs, but the design of the Eco Carpet head makes the issue worse on carpet.

The blades tended to catch and hold our mixed Collie and Labrador hair detritus, rather than suck it into the cleaner. After a few sweeps of our test patch most of the hair seemed to be following the head back and forth, and it took us a good 35-40 seconds to clean the test area to an acceptable level.

The standard multifloor head, with the blades and brushes retracted, faired a little better but again had issue sticking down to the carpet if you used enough power to remove the hairs from the pile. The Eco Hard Floor worked surprisingly well given its all-round blades that might hook up the hair. But the more we looked at how we were cleaning we noticed the leading edge of the head was coming off the floor (due to the fixed neck angle) allowing the hair to pass underneath. That is working despite of its design rather than due to it. We can safely say the VC07F50HDVR is not an ideal cleaner for homes with lots of furry friends unless you buy an optional turbobrush head.

Should I buy the Samsung VC07F50HDVR CycloneForce?

The little red Samsung is as easy on the eye as it is on your electricity and sacrifices little in suction or cleaning power. It’s well thought out, light and all its tools are easy to use and effective. It’s not a cleaner for pet owners, though, and the limited reach and small bin might be an issue for some, but for compact houses this is a great little cleaner at a reasonable price.

It’s a good option at this price, though it’s useless on pet hair. If you can’t stretch any of Dyson’s pricier Animal models, the Miele Compact C2 Cat & Dog is a good option at a similar price for better pet cleaning.

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Verdict

A light, effective bagless cleaner at a reasonable price, though it’s no good on pet hair.

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