A lot of thought seems to have gone into the development of this vacuum cleaner and I don't think it works well or is necessary on a small scale like a portable vacuum cleaner, but as they say I think it works well for what is it. First, cordless handheld vacuums are never going to replace a corded shop vacuum, and I think that's what many reviewers expect from a product like this. These handheld vacuums are used for sawdust and drywall cleaning, as well as spot cleaning. When I first got this I used it to vacuum all my carpets and I was impressed, it pulled the carpets off the floor a few times, I think the CFM rating for it is higher than advertised. If you notice loss of suction with this vacuum cleaner, as many have said, clean the filter, it's that simple. Vacuum filters need to be cleaned, the lower the vacuum, the more often. This consists of hitting a button and resetting what you picked up and that's it, a deeper clean from time to time. The filter itself is good, there is an excellent seal around it, which provides protection against the ingress of dust and dirt, which is a common reason for the failure of a large number of cordless vacuum cleaners of this type. I would give this vacuum 5 stars if it was smaller, it's bigger than most 18v handheld vacuums. I think for a small vacuum that needs to be discarded and cleaned after each use it doesn't need separate dust boxes would be great to see this is a design on a MUCH larger vacuum and finally I wish it had come with a bracket, there is one you can buy separately for $10 but i haven't found it yet. I wish they included that in the vacuum cleaner, it seems odd not to.