The BISSELL BOLT 2-in-1 cordless stick vacuum is easy to use and comes with a removable hand vacuum. It has a 12-volt motor, which is more than enough for small messes around your home. The hand vac clicks off with little effort and is great for spot cleanups, especially in your car. This stick vacuum features edge bristles that are helpful for capturing and sweeping away trapped crumbs and debris in corners and edges, and the included crevice tool with a dusting brush attachment helps lift away dirt in hard-to-reach areas. It's older now, and has been removed from our list of the best vacuum cleaners for home.
This stick vacuum was right in the middle of the pack when we compared overall vacuuming performance. We tested all stick vacs with different mixes of sawdust and pet hair on both carpet and hardwood surfaces. The BOLT was able to clean the sawdust quickly on carpet, but it struggled somewhat on hardwood, taking seven passes over the same area before it was completely clean.
For the pet hair test, we embedded dog hair in carpet samples, and the BOLT proved its worth. It easily picked up all the hairs and left the carpet spotless and pet hair free. The vac head provides a cleaning path of 10 inches, which is above average but not the biggest.
Our biggest concern with the BISSELL BOLT is its lack of a charging station. Other rechargeable vacuums, like the Dirt Devil Accucharge, allow you to place it on a convenient station to charge when you're not using the vacuum. Not so with the BOLT: You have to plug it into an outlet and allow it to charge, which can be inconvenient, especially if you don’t have an outlet in your broom closet. Another fault with the BOLT is that the vacuum lacks a hardwood brushroll setting, which is likely why it struggled in our hardwood/tile test.
The vacuum does have a great head on it, though. The swivel steering moves easily wherever you want to go without having to constantly move back and forth to change directions or lift up the vacuum cleaner. It’s also one of only two vacuums we reviewed that have a folding handle, allowing it to fit easily in your closet so it takes up less space.
The best thing about the BOLT is its charge time. We independently tested the time to reach a full charge and clocked it at three hours, easily the quickest charging time of any cordless stick vacuum. The quick charging time provided over 20 minutes of runtime, which is a bit shorter than average compared to others.
This can be a handy little vacuum to keep around your home, especially if you entertain frequently and want to quickly clean up before your guests arrive and after they leave. At 84.5 decibels, the volume of this vacuum was relatively low, meaning less stress on your eardrums and perhaps less barking from your dog.
The BISSELL BOLT 2-in-1 Lightweight Cordless Vacuum charges quickly and glides effortlessly around objects without a lot of back and forth. There were vacuums with stronger suction, and we would have preferred a convenient charging stand, but there are standout features as well. The removable hand vac adds versatility and makes the BISSELL BOLT a good stick vacuum for small messes.
