We bought a two storey house and needed a new vacuum when our old one died and we definitely needed something to carry up and down the stairs. All requirements were thus fully met. It's so light and yet has a lot of suction power. You can detach the top to charge it, so it's VERY easy to charge as it's so compact and light. It is also very flexible, you can bend it very far to get under tables and sofas. As the motor is in the handpiece it can be a bit noisier than a regular vacuum where the motor is closer to the floor and farther from you, but that's pretty standard on these models and not offensive either way, just an observation . I definitely prefer cleaning with headphones so it's discreet. A key turning point for this are the headlights that this vacuum cleaner has. It highlights what is not visible on the floor and helps to see under the sofa. It's incredibly useful and I still didn't realize how much I needed a good bright spotlight for my vacuum cleaner. This was a great purchase and will have tons of uses cleaning up after my kids and dog.