The Henry Xtra is still a great cylinder vacuum cleaner in its own right, but in our opinion if you’re choosing between the Xtra and Henry it’s only really worth the additional cost if you have pets that leave stubborn pet hair around the home. The frugal member of the family, James Hoover is a slightly smaller vacuum cleaner and comes with a couple of other alterations.

Love a Henry but want to go for one of the best cordless vacuums? The Henry HVB160 cordless vacuum cleaner is well worth a look. Our reviewer Sarah gave it 4.5 stars and thinks it's great for smaller homes as its battery life only lasts for 30 minutes. At either 8.1kg or 7.5kg, Henry is not the lightest cylinder vacuum available on the market. This means his effectiveness at cleaning stairs is not as good as some other vacuums, and he isn’t the easiest vacuum to move around the home. However, Henry does come with a series of adaptors and nozzles that give you flexibility to reach surfaces some distance from Henry’s frame.

Henry the Hoover has become a mainstay in British households since his introduction in the early 1980s, meaning the original Henry Hoover has now been cleaning UK households and workplaces for more than fourty years. Famed for this smiling face and red colour, Henry has become a firm favourite and a vacuum of choice.

In addition to bag capacity, there is a difference in suction power as detailed above, though it’s only a small difference of 40 watts so it’s unlikely something that you’ll notice. When it comes to battery life, the Henry HVB is equipped with two batteries that have 30 minutes of charge respectively. Sarah found that those 60 minutes of cleaning time were more than enough for dealing with all of the messes her home threw at her.The EcoBrush came in handy during testing for giving upholstery and stairs a once over, according to our vacuum expert Jen. Another standout feature is the impressive suction that works well on carpet and hard floors, part in thanks to the universal floorhead. With so much choice within the Henry Hoover family, it’s difficult to say which is the best Henry vacuum as it all comes down to what you require. Henry Hoover is a great all-rounder and can be used to clean both carpets and hard floors, and you can easily switch between the two thanks to Henry’s combi floor tool, where brushes are positioned down when cleaning hard floors and up when cleaning carpets. Henry Hoovers are so popular because of their reliability and affordability. Manufacturer Numatic has been making Henry’s since 1981, and to this day you know with a Henry you’ll get reliable performance and a very capable vacuum cleaner. Henry is also an affordable vacuum cleaner, often priced at cheaper than most comparable vacuums on the market.

However, Charles is quite a bit lighter than George and doesn’t come with as many accessories as his older brother. The main thing missing with Charles when compared to George is the extra carpet / upholstery cleaner. If this is something you require, then you’d be better off going for George, but if it’s something you don’t feel you need, then Charles is the man for you as he’s generally cheaper than George and lighter. A regular Henry Hoover should not be used to clean up wet surfaces and spills. There are other hoovers from the Henry range – such as George Hoover and Charles Hoover – that have been designed to deal with wet surfaces, but Henry is not one of them. This Henry vac has a HEPA filter to trap common allergens, such as pollen, pet dander, and dust mites. The three-stage filtration system stops them from escaping from the machine, and it’s approved by the British Allergy Foundation. The HepaFlo bags also have a self-seal tab, keeping dust in when the machine’s emptied. The cleaner comes with a combination floor head — put brushes down for hard floors, and lift them for carpet — and includes a special hard floor tool as well.

Both the HVR160 and HVR200 models have a similar weight, though it isn’t exactly the same. With a larger capacity comes with a little extra weight, so the Henry 200-11 weighs in at 8.1 kg, whereas the Henry 160 is a bit lighter at 7.5 kg. There’s also a number of Henry models with their own selling points, such as the Henry Xtra – a slide upgrade on Henry due to his extra tools – Henry Allergy, Henry Wash and Henry Micro. And then there’s the wildcard Henry Cordless option, the only cord-free vacuum available from the Henry range. Hetty smiles just as much as Henry, and in terms of performance is just as able. Hetty has a highly efficient motor, a 10 metre cable and rewind storage system, and comes with a host of useful accessories. A new Henry vacuum will come with a fitted bag ready to be used and also come with two spare bags. The HVR160 and HVR200 models use Numatic’s HepaFlo bags, which have been specifically designed for Henry machines. The bags have been built to maximise capacity and ariflow, helping to deliver peak suction. The main negative with the Xtra is that it’s fairly heavy and not the best vacuum for cleaning stairs, but it does have many positives. These include a large dust bag capacity, powerful suction on both hard floors and carpets, a compact design and a range of performance enhancing attachments which help to provide a thorough clean.