I have had at least 4 hand vacs, and this is by far the best. My last was a "Dirt Devil Deluxe" - which cost almost the same ($29.99 plus tax), and wouldn't even pick up spilled ashes!! I later realized it was only 3.6v - how deluxe is that? Anyway, the Black and Decker is a little weighty, but performs so much better it is definately worth the trade off.

I bought this hand vac on the recommendations below and I have to say that everything they say is right: It's powerful and picks up most what you'd need to. The box has a picture of the thing picking up a Corn Pops-like cereal, and while I haven't picked up anything that big yet, it does a fine job with my girlfriend's hair on the bathroom floor and the cat litter that inevitably piles up outside the box.

I'd also add that I wouldnt't buy it from the vendor here, as it's at least 15 bucks more than you'd want to pay. Bed Bath has it for 40, and with those 20% off coupons you get in the mail from time to time (at least in So.Cal), you can pick it up for 32 plus tax.

Now seriously, this is not going to compare to a 500 something dollar vacuum. It is however more powerful than my small bagless eureka. It also has two most needed attachments, a small one with a brush tip and a long skinny one, perfect for baseboards, small spaces and upholstery. This thing sucks everything up. Someone else said they couldn't get it to pick up cat hair, but it does. It's not a lint brush but, we have two cats in a small apartment and this thing has solved my pet hair problem. I love this little vacuum; it sucks up more dirt than I knew existed (gross) in my carpet! Blech!=) It is a good value (I got it on sale from Amazon for 35$) and I very good product, in my opinion.

My husband and I have owned a variety of DustBusters over the years. Too frequently, we have been disappointed with the performance of the model, and each one has eventually died completely. When we were once again ready to purchase a new DustBuster this past fall, this time, we went with the priciest model available at the store where we shopped (Target). Finally, we have found a product that does not disappoint! This DustBuster, while larger than other models we have previously owned, is still relatively lightweight, and we had no problems using the included hardware to attach the recharger unit to our wall. But most impressive is the sucking action--this model clearly outperforms all others we have tried, and the two speeds have provided plenty of power for every cleaning task which we have given it so far. The barrel removes easily for emptying, and an additional nice feature is a dial which allows you to rotate the filter, thus reducing the frequency with which the filter must be cleaned (I haven't had to clean ours yet). If you need a new DustBuster, look no further than this one--highly recommended!

I recently purchased the B&D 14.4 Dust Buster, and it works very well. Very powerful. My only negative comments are that the mouth could be wider, and it's a little on the heavy side. Otherwise, it's quick and powerful. And despite what the listing for it says, I haven't seen it sell anywhere for more than $49.99, and that's after looking in many stores. Definately worth purchasing for the price.