Roomba vac gotten any better lately???

[redgtxdi]

So I'm kinda' searchin' for Christmas ideas.

I know Roombas underwent some pretty heavy scrutiny early on and was wondering if they've improved enough to give a second look.

(And actually, I've always wondered........do they actually have suction worth mentioning or are you pretty much relying on the brushes to 'pick up'......or 'flick up'??)

Example of a review I found a bit suspect ----------

Two weeks later everything's cool??? Did the reviewer get a paycheck??

 

[ElFenix]

the new 500 series is supposed to be ok with carpet fringes now. that was the only problem most people had with roombas. they've always been able to clean well enough.

 

[runzwithsizorz]

My wife bought 2 of these things a couple of months back, 1 for carpet, and 1 for bare floors. I do not know about the 500 series, ours is labeled 2.1. Neigther has suction. Neigther does that good a job. Though your supposed to be able to let these things run unattended, you can't help but check on them, every now, and then to see what there stuck on now. By the time you set the electric eye barriers, fold carpet fringes over, move phone cords, and other obstacles out of the way, etc, you could have done a better job with a cheap, run of the mill vac.
My wife has gotten so much grief from me on this purchase, that she has since bought a new, top of the line electrolux, and it is my favorite, out of the 7 vacuums we have. Believe it or not, I used to use my 3hp shop vac, with a fine filter, and 15 feet of hose, now THAT was some suction!, and since vacuuming is not my favorite chore, I wanted something that sucked up the dirt TODAY! Have you ever gone back and forth over a piece of junk you thought your vac SHOULD be able to pick up?, only to find yourself bending down, picking it up, and force feeding it into the nozzle?, screw that, I want suction, with a capital suck, I want the cat to be afraid, very afriad. Oh, and David, maybe your vac can pick up a bowling ball, but can it pick up last nights potato chip chumbs? Noooooooo.
$200+ for a novelty item that doesn't do much more than amuse the dog, and piss off the cat? Hmmmmm-----

 

[redgtxdi]

LOL!!! That was great!!! You and I are of the same mind...........forget the fancy brushes, bristles, funnels, etc...............Gimme a freakin' shop vac!!

Any linkage for the electrolux you have???

(Wikipedia kinda' slams electrolux a little, but the wife DEFINITELY would not like the sound of the shop vac in the house..........soooo........maybe it's all about compromise) :evil:

 

[zanejohnson]

wifey says it works pretty good....

it annoys the shit out of me though....bumping into shit in the night, etc..

 

[0roo0roo]

its a supplemental vac, i doubt the suction is strong enough for real cleaning.

 

[torpid]

It's fine for hardwood floors. Not sure if it's good enough for carpets. The new model is definitely worth getting if you are comparing the two.