Halo Capsule Review

The Halo Capsule is one of the lightest vacuum cleaners around, yet it doesn’t sacrifice power to achieve it. Performing well on all surfaces, this cleaner put in an exceptional set of results. Although it uses bags, the large 1.6-litre dust pouches are cheap to replace and won’t need to be emptied often. Battery life could be longer in Performance mode, plus a few extra accessories would be nice – but if you want a quality, lightweight cordless cleaner, then this model delivers.

Most cordless vacuum cleaners follow roughly the same design, but the Halo Capsule is different. Rather than using a bagless design, it collects dirt in large 1.6-litre bags that you can simply remove and throw away once full. Plus, it’s built out of carbon fibre, so it’s light.

Excellent cleaning and plenty of power on tap make this vacuum cleaner an interesting alternative to the bigger vacuum cleaner brands.

Design and features

• Refreshingly different to other stick cleaners
• Super-light and easy to carry
• Good storage and wall-mount options
• Takes large bags

Most stick cleaners are built around the main body that has a trigger grip, but the Halo Capsule is refreshingly different. This tubular cleaner puts everything in line with a handle at the back, and the power controls on the front.

There’s a button to turn the vacuum on and one to change between the three power modes (Eco, Performance and Boost). The capsule turns on in Performance mode, which gives you the best balance between power and battery life.

Made out of carbon fibre, the Capsule is exceptionally light, even if the main body is quite long (1225 x 120 x 120mm, 2.6kg). Pushing the floorhead around is comfortable thanks to the handle at the rear, and the light body makes it easy to carry the Capsule from room to room.

If you want to use the tools in handheld mode then the Capsule feels a bit chunkier in the hand than rival cleaners. It’s more noticeable if you’re trying to vacuum up high – say, when sucking up dust and cobwebs around the ceiling. The handle’s position at the back makes it difficult to hold the vacuum in one hand steady; a hand underneath is good to stabilise it.

Rather than using a bagless design, the Capsule uses large 1.6-litre bags for collected dirt; they’re similar in size to the bin you’d get on a plug-in vacuum cleaner. You get 26 dust pouches, as the company calls them, in the box, and you can reorder them direct for £25.99 for a pack of 26.

To remove a pouch, you simply unclip the front of the cleaner, open the flat and slide the bag out and down into a bin. It’s easy to do and leaves no mess. Behind the dust pouch is the single washable filter that just pulls out for cleaning.

In the box, there’s a motorised floor brush with spinning bristles, plus a crevice tool and dusting brush. A mini-motorised tool would have been welcome for cleaning sofas and stairs, particularly for those with pets.

A clip that attaches to the wand allows you to carry the accessory you use most around with you, and the wall dock has space for two accessories.

All accessories can be attached to the end of the wand for reach, or directly into the main vacuum body. My only minor complaint is that the clip to remove the wand from the vacuum cleaner is a little hard to push in.

You can’t charge via the wall dock; you have to plug the provided power adapter into the rear of the vacuum cleaner directly.

Performance

• Very powerful and good cleaning on all floors
• Excellent pick-up on all surfaces
• Lots of power
• Battery life is a little short

I put the Halo Capsule through my usual tests to see how well it performs in real life. First, I measured its power in AirWatts (AW), which is combination of both airflow and suction. It’s a better measurement than suction alone – the higher the AW figure, the more powerful the cleaner.

The Halo Capsule measured 24.96AW in Eco, 65.76AW in Performance, and a massive 185AW in Boost. The latter figure is impressive; I’ve seen only the Dyson V11 Outsize with more suction.

For most cases, the Performance mode will be used, with 65AW providing a good mix between suction power and battery life.

This proved true in my real-world tests. First, I started out with the carpet test, running the vacuum cleaner through an ‘X’ of flour sprinkled onto the floor. A single pass through, as you can see below, cleaned out a nice strip of dirt through the middle, although there was a faint line around the edges of the floor head.

Next, I tackled the remaining dirt on Eco mode, which just left a small trace left behind. It was impressive nonetheless; for lighter cleaning, the lower power mode would definitely be sufficient. The top of the dirty area was cleaned with the Boost mode, which sucked up everything.

Moving to the edge test, I spread a teaspoon of flour right up against the skirting board. Here, the Performance mode managed to clear the surface dirt but it wasn’t quite powerful enough to get right into the edge. Upping to Boost mode left me with a very clean floor and one of the best edge performances I’ve seen.

Next, I moved to the pet hair test, running the Halo Capsule over the floor in Performance mode to pick up cat hair combed into the carpet. Every trace was removed in a single sweep.

Finally, I spread a teaspoon of rice onto the hard floor and then ran the Halo Capsule through the mess on Performance mode. A single sweep through picked up all of the grains in the cleaning path and none dropped out at the end.

Battery life is rated at up to one hour on Eco mode, with a three-hour charge time. Testing in Performance mode, which will be required for most jobs, battery life fell to around 25 minutes; Boost mode gets you under 10 minutes.

Given how good the cleaning is, 25 minutes of power will get you a surprisingly long way – but you may need to recharge mid-clean, particularly in larger homes. Swappable batteries would help, providing the option of switching out for a fresh battery mid-clean.

I found the Halo Capsule to be super-quiet in operation, measuring between 71.5dB and 75.9dB (Eco to Boost). This makes it one of the quietest cordless vacuum cleaners I’ve tested.

Conclusion

Successfully taking on the big brands, the Halo Capsule is a lightweight vacuum cleaner that’s super-powerful. Battery life could do with being a bit longer, although the power on offer means you’ll be able to get a lot done in the time you have. With its large (and cheap) dust pouches, this isn’t a cleaner you’ll have to empty often. If you want a lightweight and powerful cleaner, this is a great choice; but if your requirements differ then check out my list of the best cordless vacuum cleaners.