BISSELL Featherweight Stick 2033 Vacuum: Indepth Review With Pictures

Does this ultra lightweight vacuum stand up to the Bissell promise?

If you have kids, pets, or a busy schedule, stick or upright vacuums are a convenient way to keep your home clean.

The BISSELL Featherweight stick vacuum promises a lightweight solution for cleaning dirt and debris on your floors. It’s easy to carry, comes with a cheap price tag, and has many benefits, including low maintenance.

But is this really the case?

To find out, I put this featherweight vacuum to the test! I’ll share everything you need to know about this vacuum in this guide.

Keep reading for a full review of the performance of this BISSELL vacuum.

What’s in the Box

This BISSELL vacuum comes in four separate pieces.

Here’s what’s in the box:

• BISSELL Featherweight handheld and stick vacuum
• Upright handle
• Floor head
• Crevice tool
• Instruction manual

The plastic body of the BISSELL Featherweight isn’t as sturdy as many other stick vacuums. In fact, there were already a few scratches on the base before I even took it out of the box.

Considering its lightweight size, it isn’t surprising to me that the design feels flimsy. But, the steel handle does make it feel a little more robust.

And the process of fitting the pieces together is straightforward as the parts slot in place. I did have to use a bit of elbow grease to do this, but it was easy to do.

The floor head and crevice are also easy to swap. Again, you only have to slot them in and out.

I was also able to remove the handle to use the BISSELL Featherweight as a hand vacuum. It’s a simple button process that makes the task quick and easy.

The two-in-one hand vacuum conversion is one of my favorite features. It makes it very convenient to clean in tight spaces.

Plus, it’s also ideal for easy spot cleaning. As a pet owner, I find this great for cleaning up pet hair as I need.

Thanks to the large clip button, the dirt cup comes away without any hassle. So you can pour it straight into the trash, replace it, and continue cleaning without much interruption.

I’m not a big fan of the power button position, either. It sits low on the vacuum, so you have to stop vacuuming and bend down to reach it.

It’s not a huge drawback, but it can be an inconvenience when you’re in the middle of cleaning.

My favorite thing about this BISSELL lightweight stick vacuum is how easy it is to push on hard floors! It weighs less than four pounds, so it takes minimal effort to move it around.

The floor head also glides smoothly on my vinyl and laminate surfaces. And it makes vacuuming feel like a breeze!

It doesn’t have a swivel head, which means it doesn’t turn around corners or furniture effortlessly. But, I still found it pretty easy to turn, even without the swivel action.

The only drawback for me is that the vacuum is bulky at the bottom of the body. So it doesn’t fit underneath furniture or coffee tables with small gaps.

I also found the same problem with using the crevice tool. While it does provide extra reach in small gaps, it doesn’t sit flat on the ground because of the extra bulk.

I had to move my furniture around to reach underneath during cleaning. And this might be a bit of a challenge if you have a lot of furniture.

As for using this vacuum as a hand vacuum, it feels very light and easy to carry. The handle has a comfortable grip to hold, and there was no strain on my wrist while using it.

It makes it a breeze to clean upholstery, as well as crumbs on benches.

Versatility isn’t a winning factor when it comes to this BISSELL stick vacuum. It handles hard floors like vinyl and laminate well.

But, there are some surfaces that it doesn’t do well on. For example, the floor head doesn’t glide over doormats or soft surfaces and rugs.

When it came to testing this vacuum on my bathroom rug, I didn’t get very far. The strong suction bunches the rug up tightly, so it gets caught in the floor head.

I tried a few times but was unable to get the vacuum to slide across the rug. I even tried to stand on one edge to keep it secure, but the vacuum didn’t move.

The same problem happened on my entry doormat. The floor nozzle doesn’t seem to glide over soft surfaces or fabrics at all.

But the floor head picked up an impressive amount of debris, dirt, and pet hair left on my hard floors. The suction opening is a decent size, so it tackles medium-size dirt and debris surprisingly well for its small build.

Although it doesn’t have a special brush for hardwood floors, I didn’t see any scratches or marks left on the surface. And it glides exceptionally well over different types of debris and dirt.

The handheld unit with the crevice tool is also excellent for cleaning upholstery. I was able to clean between cushions and down the back of my sofa with ease.

The BISSELL Featherweight delivers impressive performance for its size and price. It picks up dust, dirt, and debris without too much effort.

I started with an oats test on my laminate floors using the floor nozzle. One slow pass picked up all of the oats straight away.

Then, I did the same test but with flour to see how well it picks up fine debris. And the results were almost as good.

But, it did struggle the most with the finer particles on hard floors. One cleaning pass left a fine layer of flour remaining on the surface.

However, it was entirely gone by the second cleaning pass.

My next test was pet hair on my couch cushion using the crevice tool and handle vacuum. And again, the BISSELL performed exceptionally well, lifting all of the hair in a few quick passes.

I did notice that the vacuum sometimes left some small particles, like flour and fine hair, behind. But a couple of passes took care of it without too much hassle.

When it comes to using this stick vacuum on rugs and mats, it definitely loses a point. That’s because it doesn’t work on these at all.

It tends to get caught on the rug before it can suction up any dirt or debris. So I don’t recommend it for cleaning area rugs or doormats.

When you’re holding the handheld handle, you can feel the heat getting hotter almost straight away. So I suggest being careful of this when using the BISSELL Featherweight.

It also dispels a very strong force of air through the air vents while you’re vacuuming. It’s enough to blow papers around and even unhooked one of my wall hangings!

The biggest flaw for me is the small cleaning width. Because it doesn’t cover a lot of the floor at once, it takes quite some time to get the job done.

Especially when you have to use a few cleaning passes over certain spots and debris. But, it’s not too much of a problem, considering how light and easy it is to push.

Overall, I was happy with how well this vacuum performs for its light build and affordable price.

But, the powerful performance does come at a cost: this machine is loud. Considering its size, I couldn’t believe how much sound was coming out of the unit when I was cleaning.

It’s definitely louder than most stick vacuums. So the noise level is something to think about when you’re looking at this vacuum.

As a corded vacuum, I was hoping for more from the length of the power cord. Especially when it comes to handheld use.

For me, this lessens the convenience of the handheld vacuum conversion. Because it doesn’t reach very far, it’s not as easy to pick up and clean as you go.

Instead, you have to find a power outlet close enough to the mess you want to spot clean.

For example, my kitchen doesn’t have many power outlets. So when I wanted to clean up spills, it was hard to find an outlet that would reach.

Of course, this is only when you have the handle attached. So you can’t do this in handheld mode.

But it’s still a great way to keep the cord out of the way, especially in storage.

Most handheld or stick vacuums tend to have a dust capacity on the smaller side. But, I found that this particular vacuum fills up especially fast!

Although 0.67 liters isn’t the smallest dust cup you’ll find, there’s a huge flaw with it.

The removable filter has a large plastic rim around it that seems to take up half the capacity! Because of this, the dust cup fills up very quickly.

This isn’t so bad when you’re cleaning small spaces. But, when it came to cleaning my whole house, I had to stop and empty it a few times.

After cleaning 2-3 small rooms, I started to notice less suction and needed to empty the dirt cup. In the end, I felt like I spent more time emptying it than I did cleaning.

But luckily, it’s not hard to do. All I have to do is lift the clip, remove the cup and filter, and pour it out into the garbage.

For easy maintenance, this BISSELL ticks all the boxes. All parts are easy to access and don’t require much maintenance.

The grey release clip provides easy access to the dirt compartment. I could pull it off and empty it straight into the trash without having to touch any dirt or debris.

It was also very easy to wash the canister. I used warm water and a small amount of detergent, and it was clean in a matter of seconds.

The filter is also easy to pull out and clean. I found it best to shake it over the trash and brush away the debris with a small bristle brush.

This filter is also washable, which is a big plus for me. This way, I don’t have to purchase too many replacement filters.

BISSELL suggests washing the filter by hand in warm water with mild detergent.

But the only downside is that the filter takes a long time to dry after you wash it. It took me more than a day for it to dry completely, and I couldn’t use the vacuum during this time.

Storing the BISSELL Featherweight is easy thanks to its small size, but there are a few faults.

The compact stick design means it fits well in small spaces. So you don’t need to worry about taking it apart to save space.

I also love the helpful cord hook on the handle. It makes it easy to wrap the wire, so it doesn’t make a mess in storage.

But my biggest problem with the storage design is that it doesn’t stay standing on its own. It seems to topple over and fall down almost straight away if you leave it standing.

So to be safe, you have to lean it against something when you’re not using it. And even this can be a bit tricky.

The first time I left it leaning against a wall, it started to slide down. This was due to the wheels on the floor head.

Because of this, you have to be careful (and patient) finding the right angle to lean it.

A great solution would be if it had a storage hook. With it being so light, hanging it would be a great way to keep it out of the way in storage.

There’s not a lot when it comes to accessories on the BISSELL Featherweight. But, for basic vacuuming, there’s everything you need.

It has a crevice tool and floor nozzle that you can easily swap. They slot into place, so you don’t have to worry about buttons or clips to change them.

I found the crevice tool helpful for cleaning hard-to-reach areas and upholstery. But as a pet owner, I would prefer if it came with brushs or a pet tool.

As for replacements, these can be hard to find and purchase. Replacement filters are no longer available on Amazon, but you can order them through the manufacturer,

However, I did find similar filters on Amazon that are compatible with the BISSELL Featherweight. These are easier to find and also cheaper than the original replacements.

Luckily, the filter is washable warm water. So it’s easy to keep clean for multiple uses.

BISSELL also doesn’t sell replacement parts for this vacuum. So you have to purchase a new machine if it breaks which is a bit dissapointing.

But, for the price, it’s not too expensive to replace.

Common Complaints

For a complete picture of how well this BISSELL vacuum performs, it’s essential to consider the drawbacks. Here are some of the most common issues other reviews had with this vacuum.

Short Cord

Most reviews mention that the cord is too short on this vacuum. So you spend a lot of time moving the plug around to different outlets.

Because of this, most users add an extension wire to the vacuum.

Not Good For Carpet

While I wasn’t able to test it on low pile carpets, many reviewers have, and the results aren’t great. According to these reviews, this vacuum doesn’t suck up debris as well on low pile carpet as it does on bare floors.

The wheels also don’t glide very well over carpets and make the vacuum hard to push. So this might not be the vacuum for you if you only have carpets to clean.

Loud

I wasn’t the only person to find this vacuum loud. All reviews mention that the motor on this vacuum model can be very noisy.

If you have anxious pets or close neighbors, the noise level may be a nuisance for you.

Alternatives

If you’re unsure about using the Swiffer WetJet for your floors, here are some other great options.

BISSELL Adapt Ion Pet

The BISSELL Adapt Ion Pet (view on Lowes) is another handheld/stick vacuum, but it’s cordless. So it’s a great option if you have a large house to clean.

This stick vacuum also offers more accessories and brushes. Plus, it folds flat, so you can clean underneath furniture and shelves with ease.

Black+Decker Quick Clean Cordless 2-in-1 Stick

This Black + Decker Quick Clean is another 2-in-1 cordless stick model. It has pivot steering for easy maneuvering around furniture and corners.

This vacuum also has bright LED lights to illuminate hidden debris under furniture. This is ideal for cleaning pet hair and other fine debris.

And the long-lasting quality battery provides enough run time for big cleaning tasks. So you don’t have to worry about running out of power with this stick vacuum.