Not as strong and sturdy as the original hose and handle. The hose is thin clear plastic and I expect it to last about a year compared to 7 years for the old hose. The vacuum is used daily and I actually salvaged the old hose so that if it breaks down, which it does, I can put it back on the vacuum. I wish I could just fix the old hose (I did) and keep it and if it doesn't work again just buy a new vacuum. We love the Shark and it has served us well with cleaning and/or replacing the filterβ¦