Roborock H5 stick vacuum review: featherweight vacuum with heavyweight power

We review a lot of robot vacuums here at EFTM and while they are great at a quick clean, they do tend to struggle with a deeper clean, especially on thicker rugs and carpets.  

Traditional vacuums may lack the tech that these robot vacuums have, but they are now more powerful, smaller, and lighter than ever before. 

The Roborock H5 vacuum is one such vacuum and given I have some rugs that my robot vacuum simply cannot navigate, or if it can it just can’t get the suction required to suck up the crumbs left from the dog treats in it, I still need a normal vacuum in my house.

Other things a robot vacuum may struggle with are stairs and the inside of my car, funny that.  Enter the Roborock H5.

Design & Specs

The overall design of the Roborock H5 is not unique, with others, including Dyson, having offered this design for a while now, but that is not bad.  The entire engine and storage bin are in the small, compact handle section and given that the vacuum provides up to 158AW whole machine suction, that is impressive.

What is equally impressive is how light it is.  At just 1.55kg it is super light and super easy to move around and use.  It nearly seems too light and you wonder how it really can clean that well being so lightweight.

Within the handle is also a 5-stage filtration system which includes a HEPA filter making it possible to “capture up to 99.997% of micro dust as small as 0.3 microns.”  What exactly this means in real-world terms is that it cleans really well and will capture even the smallest dust particles.

Roborock has designed the vacuum so that the dustbin separates and settles dust and other particles into the dustbin which makes sure that air can still flow through the filter unobstructed.  When you open the vacuum from the box you have a choice of the filter system you want to use and when installing this you will see just how this works.

Accessories

The Roborock H5 comes with a standard multisurface brush that can be used effectively on carpets and hard floors without scratching hard floors.  It has “soft velvet bristles with a nylon brush head” to ensure it is effective on all surfaces.

Also included is a motorised mini-head which provides an amazing amount of suction and is best used to get at those deeply ingrained particles, including dust mites on your bed.  The motorised head pats the surface up to 5,000 times per minute helping to dislodge any particles and vacuum them up with ease.  This is extremely strong suction and when I tried to use it on the carpeted floors it was near impossible to move!

The Roborock H5 also arrives with a 2-in-1 crevice brush which is great for next to skirting boards, and getting into small places, including next to seats in your car.

Emptying the vacuum is easy, even if you opt for the dust bag option when setting it up.  I didn’t opt for the dust bag option so it’s a simple single click to open the bin to drop the dust etc into your rubbish bin.  

If you go for the dust bag option, you remove the entire bag, seal it, and throw it away.  This is probably the best option if you really want a dust-free clean given that zero dust escapes the rubbish bin this way but will cost you to buy multiple dust bags over time.  People who want this zero-dust clean most likely won’t mind that expense though.

Performance

I ran the Roborock through the various tests, but this time on carpet rather than hard floors because hard floors are no challenge at all for a stick vacuum. Various bread crumbs, flour and rice were thrown onto the carpet and the fact that I’m still alive after my wife saw the office floor shows that the H5 performed well enough to pass even the fussiest of inspections.

The rice and some of the breadcrumbs were vacuumed up with the power level set to the lowest level but the mid to upper levels were required to get all of them off the floor. The flour required the highest level but was still present in a small volume even with that — add on the mini-head for greater suction and it was all gone in a jiffy.

Adjusting the power is easy to do on the fly, with the slider on the back of the H5 handle.

Battery and charging

Roborock promises “up to 60 minutes” of vacuuming and I’m while this may be possible at the lowest levels of power, if you are pushing the vacuum to the limits that I do when reviewing a vacuum, the run time is closer to 20 minutes (possibly less).   You should be aware of this when purchasing this vacuum because if you want it to vacuum a large area you may run out of power before finishing, of course, this depends on the size of the room/flooring and the level of suction you choose to vacuum with.

Charging is super simple with a simple plug in the back of the handle.  Roborock does include a wall mount for those who want somewhere to keep it while charging – something most would make us of given how awkward it is to leave lying down while charging.

Final Verdict

The Roborock H5 is incredibly light and easy to use — it nearly feels too light but it still packs a powerful punch for such a lightweight. It is the perfect vacuum for vacuuming small areas at a time when you want it done well and done fast.

The battery is not massive with full power mode only lasting around 20 minutes but turn down the power, which is sufficient for most things, and you’ll get 60 minutes of run time. That 60 minutes will require several trips to the bin to empty the internal dust bin as it is limited in size and fills quickly.

If you want a stick vacuum that you can grab quickly to give that small area a quick clean then you should be looking at the Roborock H5. The Roborock H5 is available now available on Roborock Australia’s official retail channels, such as Roborock’s Official Online Store,  and Authorised Retailers for $599 but for a limited time, it is on sale for just $499.