Numatic Henry Quick review

One-minute review

The Henry brand, owned by Numatic, has long been recognised for its no-nonsense bagged vacuums, beloved by commercial and domestic cleaners alike. Builders and DIYers also swear by their ability to handle all manner of dust and rubble, without losing suction or blocking. And let’s not forget the cute face. The personification of Henry (and Hetty, George, James, Charles and Harry) is pure marketing genius, and something that has helped secure lifelong loyalty to the Henry brand.  

The Henry Quick is Numatic’s first foray into the hotly contested cordless vacuum arena, and the pressure to bring something new and innovative to this overcrowded market has definitely been on. Interestingly, the Henry Quick’s USP is its bag, or pod as it is officially known – which may at first appear a backwards step. Right back to 1993, in fact, when Dyson launched the first bagless cylinder and the world and his wife swiftly followed suit. 

However, Numatic has always held firm in its belief that bags are best, so we shouldn’t be surprised to discover that the Henry Quick’s main USP is its bag – sorry, pod – that promises dust-free emptying and no pesky filter to clean in order to maintain power. We must admit, it’s another genius move.

Other innovative features include a scent-boosting capsule in the motor unit and a 1-litre capacity bin, which is beyond impressive for a cordless vacuum of this scale. Less innovative but still useful benefits include LED headlights in the floorhead, two power levels, up to 70 minutes of battery life, and the ability to switch from power brush to brushless cleaning at the flick of a switch. 

Nicely pitched at £299.99, the Henry Quick is expensive enough to assure quality, but doesn’t come anywhere close to the eye-watering price of the other big players in the best vacuum cleaner, or indeed best cordless vacuum cleaner, sectors, although we rate it as one of the best vacuums for pet hair as well as one of the best cheap vacuums. Note that it isn’t 100% flawless; we found the Henry Quick rather top-heavy with prolonged use, and the environmental impact of pod disposal (compared to bagless emptying, which can go directly into the compost bin) is questionable. However, if you’re seeking powerful suction and are done with being on the receiving end of a face full of dust every time you empty, the Henry Quick is your vacuum of choice.

Price & availability

• RRP is £299.99
• Available direct from myhenry.com

Being fresh to market – the official launch is September 27, 2022 – the recommended retail price of £299.99 is unlikely to be discounted anytime soon. Given the build quality and performance on offer, we think it’s a fair price and represents excellent value for money. 

The Henry Quick will only be available to buy direct from myhenry.com in the first instance. Stock availability with other retailers is still very much TBC but we expect to see it on Argos, Amazon, Currys and Very at some point in the near future.

• Price & availability score: 4/5

Design

There’s only so much you can do to make a cordless vacuum stand out from the crowd, but Numatic has nailed it with a pleasing design, complete with cute little face. The components feel strong and connect with a reassuring click; there’s nothing cheap or flimsy-feeling here. And there’s no doubt that the familiar red and black livery will appeal to established Henry fans, too. 

Set-up was super-easy. We didn’t require any instructions to put the Henry Quick together – until we came across a random extra handle, that is. After consulting the user guide, we discovered it’s an “extension handle”, designed for longer use. Things became much clearer following our first proper vacuuming session, upon realising that the built-in handle is awful. Its angle and the top-heavy design means the motor unit rubs on the back of your hand, leaving a red mark. Even for quick two-minute clean-ups, this didn’t feel like a natural holding position at all. 

Clip on the “extension handle” and all is well, but it does feel like a design compromise – as if the design team didn’t realise the original handle was hokey until it was too late to change it, so they slapped a spare in the box!

Moving on, the push-touch operation at the front of the motor unit is intuitive in use and we were pleased that you don’t have to hold down a trigger to keep the power on while you clean. The buttons allow you to activate high power, plus turn on the floorhead brush. There’s also a light indicator to alert you to the pod being full or blocked, plus power level indicators. 

The Henry Quick comes with two nozzle attachments, which can be stashed neatly on the wall-mounted storage bracket. One is a long crevice nozzle for reaching up to cobwebs, and the other is a shorter two-in-one nozzle where you can switch between solid or brush end; it’s handy for close-up cleaning tasks such as the carpet on the stairs or kitchen drawers. 

The scent pod feature is unusual. Admittedly, it isn’t absolutely necessary, but it does add a welcome touch of luxe to household chores. Pop a scent pod (scent-infused disk) under the rubber cover on the top of the motor unit, and the air from the motor will push through the pod, emitting fragrance into the room you’re cleaning. The pods are available in vanilla, passionfruit and rose fragrances, and the one we tested (vanilla) was delicately scented and didn’t overpower. Pricing for replacement scent pods was unavailable at time of writing. 

If you’re wondering if the Henry Quick will fit in your broom cupboard, it measures 122 x 27  x 24cm (h x w x d). The wall bracket holds the accessories and the power cord in place, too, but you’ll need to physically plug the cord into the battery. Sadly, it doesn’t just slide on to charge as you put the vacuum in the mount in the way of a Dyson cleaner. 

• Design score: 3/5

Performance

The Henry Quick boasts a 300W rated power motor and we could certainly feel every watt while vacuuming – at full power suction was unprecedented, and on a par with our corded vacuum, in fact. We were pleased to have the option to dial it down to the low power setting; otherwise, our rugs would have been sucked right off the floor. The low power setting is by no means weak, working brilliantly on hard floors, which is perhaps the reason that an air vent slider sits on the floorhead to reduce the suction further. 

The ability to switch the brush off in the floorhead also proved a useful feature. Some floor types – such as our sisal rug and loop-pile wool carpets – are prone to pilling if subjected to a powered brush. It was also very easy to flip from floor mode to handheld, by removing the extension hose, which slides off without too much tugging or tussling.

With three dogs and two children in residence, the Henry Quick had his work cut out (yes, we went with the gender assignment) and did an admirable job of sucking up everything a busy household has to offer. Dog hairs are a huge issue for us; they seem to attach to soft furnishings, especially velvet upholstery, like glue. The Henry Quick gamely dispatched them with ease. Rarely did we have to cover the same ground twice. 

The Henry Quick has also been one of the first cordless vacuum cleaners we’ve tested that can handle larger debris well. Usually, we’d have to lift the floorhead at a jaunty angle, Hungry Hippo-style, to capture Coco Pops, for example; otherwise, they just get pushed around the floor. With the Henry Quick, all Coco Pops were collected in the first sweep – no fuss and no repeat pass required. 

The official sound rating for the Henry Quick is 77dB, yet we measured the cleaner at 66dB on the higher setting and 58dB on the low setting. This is on a par with vacuum cleaner noise levels in general, which sit at 70dB. As you’d expect, it’s noticeably quieter on the low setting without the brush, but we never found it distressingly loud in any mode. 

The floorhead is a little narrower than some, but that proved handy when working around chair legs and getting into corners. Handily, the bendy hose connecting to the floorhead pulls out, making it easy to dislodge any blockages. We didn’t experience any blockages during our four-week testing period, but since the Henry Quick leaves nothing behind, we could appreciate a time when this feature might prove invaluable. 

According to Henry’s survey of 100 cordless vacuum users, more than 60% are fed up with dirty emptying, and we share the sentiment. Having lived through years of getting a face full of dust every time you empty, plus losing suction as a result of blocked filters (which then need to be washed out and fully dried before you can use the vacuum again), emptying the Henry Quick’s bin has been a revelation. You simply unclip the base of the bin and the pod glides out. A dust seal at the base means no cloud of dust will emerge as it goes into the dustbin. The fact that the interior of the Henry Quick’s transparent canister is still crystal clear and dust-free is proof that no dirt escapes the pod during use or removal. 

The vacuum comes with 26 pods, which is sufficient to last roughly a year, and they’re made from 60% recycled material. Numatic also says it has put carbon offsetting measures in place to ensure its pods are climate-positive, reducing its carbon impact globally. However, the dirt-filled pods will go in your normal household waste and, ultimately, to landfill – so there is a moral conundrum of convenience versus clear eco-conscience to consider. Carbon offsetting is admirable, but not creating pollution in the first place is better.

On a lighter, practical note, you’ll also need to find somewhere to store those 25 spare pods, which even when compressed into cardboard tubes, take up more than half a regular size kitchen drawer. Plus, there’s the ongoing cost implications. Expect to pay £16.60 for 10 pods.

• Performance score: 5/5

Battery life

The battery life ranges from 14 minutes in high power with the brush on, to 70 minutes in low power with the brush off, which is about the best you can expect from a cordless vacuum of this size. 

We found we could easily vacuum a four-bedroom home from top to bottom in a single charge, with power to spare (there are four power levels indicated by LEDs and we never bled out before we were done). Admittedly, this was achieved by using low power on the hard floors (wood and tile) and low-pile bedroom carpets, switching up to high power only for a couple of rugs and the odd dog-hair strewn sofa.

The battery takes 150 minutes to recharge, which again is up there with the best. You can buy an extra battery if you want to double up on cleaning time, but considering we never ran out of juice, we don’t believe it’s necessary for any home with four-five bedrooms or less. 

• Battery life score: 4/5

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