Hoover HF3 Dynamic Clean Review: Simple, Light, Free-Standing

A long way from the most sophisticated cordless stick vacuums, the Hoover HF3 relies on simplicity rather than a long feature list. The question is what that simplicity gives away in day-to-day cleaning, and the recorded test results give a fairly clear answer.

While the competition is engaged in something close to an arms race to remove dust from the home, Hoover takes the opposite approach with an HF3 whose specification sheet does not set out to impress. The manufacturer drops the multi-cyclonic filtration found even on entry-level machines in favour of simple single-cyclonic filtration. The HF3 also does without the various sensors, now widely deployed, that measure the quantity of dust collected or the type of floor in order to manage battery life. Users are therefore left to make the most of the 60 minutes of operation the manufacturer promises on their own. The one genuinely original feature is the QuickPark system, thanks to which the machine can stand upright without a support.

The HF3 appears carefully built. It does not reach the standard of a Dyson V16 Piston Animal, and the clips that hold the parts together sometimes need a firm push before they release or produce the click that says everything is properly seated, without that being a real handicap.

In the same vein, the plastics are probably not the most impressive on the market, but no breakages or scratches beyond those seen on other stick vacuums appeared over the course of the test, although that is something to watch over a longer period.

The Hoover HF3 weighs 1.51 kg in handheld form and 2.53 kg in floor-cleaning configuration. Either way it is among the lightest models of its type, so it is unlikely to weigh on the arm even after a long cleaning session.

On this Core version, Hoover has not seen fit to supply an articulated suction tube for reaching far under furniture without bending down, although that feature does exist on other versions. On the plus side, the cleaner head has an LED strip across the front that is genuinely useful for lighting the floor and spotting debris and dust particles: a very common feature, but always a practical one.

Rarer is the ability to stand upright unaided. That may sound like nothing, but it quickly becomes indispensable if you are the sort of person who keeps stopping to move an ornament, shift a piece of furniture or answer the door, because there is no longer any need to find somewhere to lean the machine where it will inevitably end up falling over. The balance is stable rather than bulletproof: a light knock is enough to upset it, but as long as you avoid walking into the vacuum there is no risk of it toppling.

Getting to grips with the HF3 should not cause any headaches. One button switches on the motor and the powered brush, and a second selects the power level between eco, standard and turbo. The remaining-battery indicator is welcome, shown as a percentage and therefore reasonably precise, which makes it possible to plan a session and avoid starting on a large room without enough charge. That display also works while the vacuum is plugged in, which is not always the case.

As a very simple model, the HF3 comes with a dock to be fixed to the wall using screws, plugs and a drill. Fitted with electrical contacts, that looks like the tidiest way to store and charge the machine. Anyone reluctant to start drilling will be glad to know that the charger can be plugged directly into the socket on the HF3's non-removable battery. Add the QuickPark system to that and it becomes entirely possible to do without the wall dock altogether.

Without being disastrous, the HF3's suction performance is a little disappointing. Given the rotating brush in the head, more convincing results might have been expected, but the brush has a certain tendency to push debris backwards.

On a long-pile rug, the tuft of hair spread across it was picked up in a single pass, along with 50% of solid waste in three passes in normal mode and 65% with turbo engaged. Those wanderings are easy to forgive on a surface that is difficult to clean properly, but the efficiency on thin carpet deserves more criticism. In normal mode it does not exceed 94%, where the majority of stick vacuums in the same comparison group reach 100%. Turbo mode has to be engaged to be sure of collecting everything, and then in two passes. On hard floors, finally, the HF3 recovers all the debris in a single pass whatever the mode, although a final pass over the line of pushed debris is needed to be certain of capturing it all.

Hoover's stick vacuum does not do so badly in the crevice test. It reaches an efficiency rate of 11% in three passes in normal mode and 19% in three passes with turbo. That may look weak, but it puts the HF3 in the middle of the field. The cleaner head covers the area it passes over well, leaving no unswept gap in front of it or at the sides.

The HF3's bin is not the easiest to empty, even though it uses the tried and tested retractable base method. Unfortunately, the flap tends to catch against the part of the suction circuit on the main body, so it does not open fully.

The cyclonic filtration Hoover uses works well. After the machine had been fed 20 grams of cocoa powder, the foam filter and the HEPA filter were weighed. The first had gained 0.087 grams and the second 0.016 grams. There is therefore no need to clean the filters constantly to stop the pores clogging, which harms suction power over time.

The operation is not complicated in any case. The foam filter and the HEPA filter are easy to reach, and the cyclonic filtration assembly is very simple to remove and put back. The bin is also relatively smooth, without too many awkward recesses for dust to hide in.

The cleaner head blows hot and cold. On one hand, hair and long strands wrap around the roller very quickly, since there is no comb or blade system to prevent it. On the other, the rotating brush lifts out of its housing very easily thanks to a mechanism that needs no tools at all, and putting it back is no harder.

Stick vacuums have been getting steadily quieter, but nobody appears to have told the Hoover HF3. In normal mode the sound level meter already reads 66 dB(A), which is a lot. Engaging turbo mode takes the noise up to 71 dB(A), a level that makes cleaning particularly wearing, all the more so because the sound produced is very high-pitched.

The Hoover HF3 needs 3 hours of patience to recharge its battery to 100%. Once that is done, it can clean for 34 minutes at normal power. Endurance falls with turbo engaged, and the figure then drops to 17 min 40 s of cleaning, which is still very respectable. Plenty of stick vacuums have run out of breath before the HF3 does.

The Tineco A30S offers comparable performance. The Xiaomi G20 Max is a step up in versatility for anyone who wants a more capable machine.