Hoover HF9 Cordless Vacuum review: fully portable and powerful too

Hoover HF9 Cordless Stick review in a sentence: Lots of suction and versatility from this pet-focused vacuum cleaner with anti-tangle tech.

I already have a Hoover cordless stick vacuum, the H-Upright 300 Pets model, which has given great service over the last couple of years and proves perfect for my downstairs wood floors. You can quickly whip around with it and get those balls of fluff plus crumbs and other daily detritus sucked up in a flash. It’s both fast and efficient, so perfect for the job in hand. It’s less good for deeper cleaning tasks though, which is why the arrival of this Hoover HF9 cordless stick model is timely.

However, if you’re on the lookout for the best cordless vacuum cleaner to replace a cable-connected model, or perhaps upgrade over an obsolete battery-powered dust-busting gadget, there are many other options. Lots of folks plump for the best Dyson cordless vacuum cleaners, which is fine if that’s your preferred brand. 

Alternatively, you may still want a machine with a cable attached. In that respect, try our guide to the best vacuum cleaners. Failing that, why not bag a best robot vacuum… Meanwhile, read on to hear how I’ve been getting on with the Hoover HF9 Cordless Stick vacuum cleaner.

Hoover HF9 cordless vacuum review: price & availability

The Hoover HF9 Cordless Stick is available to buy now, either from Hoover Direct or from retailers such as Amazon. The HF9 with the double battery pack currently costs £332 on the Hoover site, while the single battery Blue Pets Edition is just £299, so if you’re not in any major need of the extra power pack you get the same appliance for much less. However, having the benefit of switchable battery packs is a boon if you have heavy duty cleaning chores to tackle.

Hoover HF9 cordless vacuum review: what is it?

The Hoover HF9 Cordless stick, or Hoover Cordless Pet Vacuum Cleaner with Anti-Twist HF9 to give it its full official title is a handheld cleaning appliance that offers freedom thanks to no power cord. Having owned lots of Hoover products in the past, I can vouch for the quality of this appliance and it’s certainly up there with the best ones I’ve used before. The appliance is available in various colours – our review unit was a cool anodised green shade, while there’s a single battery or double battery option on offer too.

Being a cordless model, the Hoover HF9 is reasonably compact in design and doesn’t weigh too much either at 3.4kg. Fully assembled, it has dimensions of 21 x 26 x 111cm and there’s the added ability of allowing it to stand freely as you go, in case you might need to move a piece of furniture, or just take a break. This means there’s no need to lean it against something while you vacuum, which seems like a small point but it’s mighty handy in real world scenarios.

Alongside having switchable battery packs, our review unit features a 0.7 litre dustbin, which can be emptied via a swing door on the bottom of the body. The design also features anti-twist technology that minimises the chance of hair – both human and pet from getting entangled in the rollers. You get the benefit of twin lights on the front of the main cleaning head too, which is always useful for highlighting little bits of dirt and dust, especially as you approach furniture such as a sofa.

Hoover HF9 cordless vacuum review: is it any good?

Getting the Hoover HF9 Cordless Stick out of the box and ready to go took me no time at all. In fact, you barely need to look at the manual as it all clips together very intuitively. Everything feels nicely engineered too, with a fit and finish that befits the Hoover brand. The construction is a combination of plastic and metal components and all feel like they’ll last a good while. Once you’ve put all the parts together there’s the added benefit of being able to stand the appliance upright on its own, which I find really handy.

This is also useful if you need to put it on a charge as you can park up the Hoover HF9 Cordless Stick next to a power socket and plug in the charger. Equally, there’s a fitting included in the box which allows you to click it to the wall if preferred. Hoover supplies a good range of accessories with this model, including a half-size head with the same sort of design as the larger one. This is perfect for tackling stair carpets and any narrower spaces between furniture.

I also like the nozzle and brush head attachments, which allow you to carry out a multitude of cleaning tasks. All are easily switched too, while the vac can also be downsized by removing the long tube if you want to give things like the sofa or venetian blinds a once over.

Overall, the versatility of the Hoover HF9 Cordless Stick is one of its main benefits, along with suction that’s similarly impressive given the battery-powered status of the design. Hoover reckons you can get around an hour from a fully-charged battery, though run it on the Turbo setting and you’ll obviously get less, 20 minutes tops.

Hoover HF9 cordless vacuum review: performance

The Hoover HF9 Cordless Stick performs admirably and is a step up from the model I have currently. It’s certainly much more capable in the suction department, even if the battery levels do seem to go down faster than my trusty H-Upright 300 Pets model. Nevertheless, it’s a much better all-rounder as it works just as well on carpet as it does on hard flooring. In fact, I’d say it’s better suited to carpeted areas due to the suction head, which has a design that’s able to tackle all kinds of pile with ease.

This can be a fairly noisy appliance if you’ve got it cranked up though, which is a price worth paying for the solid suction. Hoover’s official figure for operating noise is 80 decibels and it’s no better or worse than many comparable models I’ve tried. Use the Hoover HF9 Cordless Stick on Turbo mode and both the noise and battery level usage are at their maximum levels mind.

However, I’ve been left feeling very impressed with its ability to pick up all kinds of dust and dirt. The anti-tangle tech seems to do what it’s supposed to do, although this is hardly a revelation anymore as most vacuums tend to have it.

One thing you do have to keep an eye on is the bin, as this can fill quite quickly. The good news is that emptying it is a cinch, with the ability to unclip it from the body of the machine helping a lot. From there, you just stand over your household bin, open the trap door on the bottom and everything usually drops out. The appliance can also be pulled apart easily enough too, for occasions when you need to give it a deep clean and check the filter.

I like the way the LED display on the top of the vacuum, which is very crisp and clear, shows you clearly how much run time is left on a charge. Switching batteries over is very easily done by unclipping one from the upright frame and slipping the other one in instead. There’s a power button just in front of this, plus two button tabs – Turbo and Standard, the latter of which allows you to switch between a high and low level setting depending on the surface you’re vacuuming. Realistically, I find that I can get about 30 minutes of use from this machine before I need to plug in and charge again.

Hoover HF9 cordless vacuum review: verdict

There’s a lot to like about the Hoover HF9 Cordless Stick vacuum. It looks good and feels really well made, while the performance is largely excellent. If you want the backup of extra battery life then the dual power pack model is the one to go for, despite the extra cost. Hoover supplies a good range of cleaning accessories with this model too, plus there’s the ability to hang it on a wall if needed.

However, it can also stand up on its own, which makes it doubly useful on a practical level. Overall, plenty of suction and portability makes it the perfect cord-free vacuum cleaner, especially if you want the benefit of anti-tangle technology that can help with any pet hair issues you might have.

Hoover HF9 cordless vacuum review: alternatives to consider

The Tower VL100 Optimum Cordless 3-in-1 vacuum cleaner is a recent addition to the ranks of vacs without power cords and it's well worth investigating. Similarly, it's hard to ignore the appeal of something like the Dyson V15 Detect Absolute if you love that brand. However, there's also the Gtech AirRAM Platinum to consider when it comes to a premium stick solution.

Meanwhile, the Shark Anti Hair Wrap IZ202UK is another well-respected brand that demands your attention if you're not sold on either of the other two models mentioned above, especially as it comes with Anti Hair Wrap tech. This uses a series of prongs to prevent long hair and threads from wrapping around the cleaning roller.