How we pick
A short, honest account of how an article here gets made — and what that process cannot tell you.
Every article starts with a question a reader would actually type, then answers it with a shortlist. The process is the same each time.
1 — Define the question narrowly
"The best cordless vacuum" is unanswerable. "The best cordless vacuum for a small apartment" has a defensible answer, because the constraint rules things out. Every article commits to a constraint in its title.
2 — Build the shortlist from specifications
Candidates are assembled from manufacturer-published specifications, which are reproduced in the comparison table exactly as published. Where two products list the same figure differently, the table says so rather than silently converting one.
3 — Use them, and write down what happened
Hands-on notes are observations, described as observations. "Quieter in use" is a claim this site can make. "4.2 dB quieter" is not, because measuring that needs equipment this site does not own.
4 — Pick one, and say who should ignore the pick
The verdict names a single product. It is followed by the case for the runner-up, because the reader whose constraint differs needs that more than they need agreement.
What this cannot tell you
- Long-term reliability. Nothing here has been used for years.
- Unit-to-unit variation. Conclusions come from one unit of each product.
- Anything requiring instruments — sound pressure, power draw, particulate filtration. Those figures appear only when the manufacturer publishes them, labelled as such.
Money
Retailer links may earn a commission. The verdict is written before the links are added, and the commission rate is never a factor — several picks on this site link to products with no affiliate programme at all. See theaffiliate disclosure.