Despite its age, the Hoover Linx still remains a popular option for consumers looking for a cordless stick vacuum.
It is a good performer on carpet and hard floor surfaces, giving consumers an reasonable sub $200 option to clean high traffic areas.
One big issue would be the relatively short run time when you compare it to newer variants.
But the performance speaks for itself so make sure to check out the cleaning bare floor and carpet section.
If you don’t want to spend $200 to $300 on a fancy upright, this will be a good alternative in smaller homes.
Related: You can also find the best vacuum cleaner deals in this page.
Living in a small home I needed something that is cordless, cleans well, charges in just a few hours, has a wide enough cleaning head so that I don’t need go back and forth so many times.
It also has to be easy to empty.
The Platinum Cordless Stick BH50010 is one of only two Hoover cordless vacuums in their Platinum collection that also includes corded uprights and canisters.
This undoubtedly is one of the more popular models in their product line with over 9,000 reviews in Amazon alone. And thousands more in different shopping sites.
Editor’s note: If you want something newer, you can check out the Hoover Linx Signature Series BH50020 that’ll cost just a few bucks more. This new variant is basically the same machine as the older BH50010, only it’s a bit lighter and has a wider cleaning Path. But the motor and battery are the same.
Only one of the few vacs in the market equipped a motorized brush roll AND edge cleaning brushes that’ll clean floors right up to the edges.
Pros
- Good suction power
- Cleans bare floors, even up to the edges
- Great to use on bare floor, rugs and low pile carpet
- You can use it on pet hair
- Only weighs 7.25 pounds which light for a stick vac this tall
- In one online review this only recorded in at only 75 decibels so it won’t hurt your eardrums
- Easy to empty
- Foam filter is washable
- It does operate fade free for most of the charge cycle around 87 – 90% then it slowly dies down
- Power switch is easily accessible
- Easily transitions from hard floor to carpet
- It can stand up on its own
- Easy to empty dirt cup
Cons
- A little too bukly to use on stairs
- You’ll get your hands dirty cleaning the filter especially taking off hair off the baffle tube
- Base can’t swivel which limits its mobility
- Foam filter doesn’t do a good job trapping dirt
- Though it can reach areas below furniture, it doesn’t go very far because of the diameter of the dirt cup – one consumer gave a detailed review on how far it would go – it will go under the first 9 inches if there is at least 2-1/2” of clearance
What to Expect From the Hoover Linx BH50010?
The Hoover Platinum Stick is a floor cleaner capable of cleaning both carpet and hard floor surfaces.
Before I continue please watch this video from Ibaisaic to learn more about the features and performance…
You’ll notice immediately that this vacuum is branded as a “Vax” but it’s basically the same machine as the Hoover Linx. It’ll have the same features, power and cleaning performance so you don’t have to worry about the different badging.
It has a wide 11 inch cleaning path that can cover a lot of ground. Side brushes can agitate and pick up dirt on the edges.
If you own the Linx Pet Handheld and looking for something to clean your floors then this is a logical choice because both of them use the same battery.
Even if you don’t own the Linx 50030 it is still a good purchase because these features:
- Uses a removable 18 volt lithium battery that takes 3 hours to charge and will last roughly 15 minutes
- Has a powered brush roll with its own motor
- Easy access power switch located on the handle
- Edge cleaning bristles reach all the way to the edge
- Fold flat feature allows this to reach under furniture
- Uses the cyclonic system keeping dirt away from the filter
- Equipped with the patented WindTunnel Technology
- Transparent dirt cup lets you know when it’s time to empty
- Wide 11” cleaning path
- Delivers the performance of an upright on hard floors
- Low profile base reaches more area under countertops and furniture
- The ability to monitor battery status
Attachments and accessories
No attachments or accessories included just the charger.
Charging time
It takes around 3 hours to charge.
Check the LED light to see battery status
- Solid light = Fully charged
- Slow blinking = Still charging
- Fast blinking = There is an error, call the Hoover service center
Remember to remove the battery from the charger after charging – don’t leave it on there because it’ll shorten the service life.
There was a suggestion about using an outlet timer so you can leave it on the charger overnight.
Filter clean up
Cleaning the filter will involve these steps:
- Remove the dirt cup from the vacuum by pressing the release button located on top of the dirt cup.
- Press the empty button and empty the contents over a garbage bin
- Remove baffle tube and remove any debris like hair stuck on it
- Remove filter cup to see if filter needs cleaning
This unit comes with one foam filter located on top of the dirt cup – only wash in running water, don’t use any detergent or wash it in a dishwasher.
Battery life
A majority of owners reported a battery life of around 15 minutes on hard floors and roughly 10 minutes on carpet.
Reviews in different sites confirmed the fade free claim, it’ll run well throughout the charge cycle then at about the two minute mark before it’s empty it’ll slowly lose suction.
Hoover claims that this battery will last for around 600 to 800 charge cycles.
Warranty
All platinum series vacuums come with a 2 year warranty.
Bare Floor Performance
This is surface where it’ll stand out – with Hoover claiming upright performance.
Please check the photos below to see how it does on tile. This is just a screenshot of the video by ibaisaic. Check the video above to see it in action.
In this one back and forth pass, the Linx was able to pick up almost all of the particles on the surface which is impressive considering it’s the suction only setting.
This vacuum is capable of picking up fine (powder) to medium (cereal, dog or cat food) sized chunks of dirt with relative ease. But it’ll have some trouble with those larger ones – well most floor vacs will have trouble with larger chunks of dirt.
It has an elevated chamber for larger debris though it’s only a few inches wide but this acts as a funnel for those big chunks of dirt.
Even with that it may snowplow a little bit when you’re cleaning really large piles of dirt.
One feature you’ll appreciate and thousands others have is the edge cleaning bristles that allow this to reach edges.
You don’t need to whip out a handheld or bend down and use your fingers just to clean dirt off the edges.
This is an issue with a lot of floor cleaners and this feature makes this one of the best sellers.
Just remember to check and clean the brushroll regularly because if it gets too dirty it can scratch floors and you don’t want that if you have wooden, laminate or tiled flooring.
By the way Hoover doesn’t recommend turning it on when cleaning hard floors.
Carpet Performance
Here’s a demonstration on how the Linx does cleaning pet hair on carpet…
After a single back and forth pass, the Linx did a pretty decent job cleaning pet hair. It did leave a trail of pet hair behind but considering this is a cordless the results are impressive. Even uprights like the Dyson have trouble with picking up pet hair on carpet like this.
Here’s a screenshot after another back and forth pass. It picked up even more pet hair and left a cleaner path…
Please make sure to watch the video I shared above too see the results of the cleaning test in full. Even if did not pick up all of the pet hair on a low pile carpet, it pick up quite a lot and for a cordless stick vacuum it is impressive.
Here’s another big mess test on carpet…
Now this is a really extreme test. I’m sure that you’ll not cleaning anything close to this but again I love this tests because it shows the capabilities of a vacuum.
The results are impressive! This is how it looks after just a single back and forth pass. Even if it did left bits of debris behind, you’ve got to remember that this is a cordless vacuum.
And the impressive part is that it did not snow plow this huge pile of mess.
Edge Cleaning
The stiff side brushes allow this to clean edges to some extent.
A nice feature put in by Hoover that saves you time in cleaning floors. No need to get a handheld to pick up dirt left here.
Pet Hair Removal
Cleaning pet hair on carpet or bare floor shouldn’t be a problem because it has a brush roll.
Long strands of hair will wrapped on the brush roll or baffle tube (photo below). So you will need to clean these areas from time to time.
The red thing you see in the picture is the baffle tube
See it in action
See how it performs on carpet…
and on tiles…
Instructions on changing the belt…
Product Specifications
| Attachments | None |
| Brush roll on/off | Yes |
| Battery | 18 volt Lithium Ion (removable) |
| Charger | Charging stand |
| Charging time | 3 hours |
| Battery life | 15 minutes |
| Net weight | 7.3 |
| Shipping weight | 10.5 pounds |
| Cleaning path | 11" |
| Overall length | 42" |
| Charge indicator | Yes |
| Filter type | Foam (Washable) |
| Dust capacity | N/A |
| Energy Star Rated | Yes |
| Noise Level | 75 dB |
| Air Watts | N/A |
| Voltage | 110v |
| Manufactured in | China |
| Warranty | 2 year limited on the whole unit |
Customer Reviews
The Linx Stick cordless had way over 9,000 reviews from Amazon alone with a vast majority of them giving it a 5-star rating.
This volume alone makes this the number one selling product in the stick vacuum category.
More than a thousand gave this a 5 star rating and over 300 gave it 4 stars – a lot of them liked that it was lightweight, easy to use, and has strong suction – strong enough to clog up the pathway in between the base and canister as mentioned in some reviews.
Pet owners loved the performance on carpet but mentioned how pet hair tangles up on the beater bar and baffle tube.
One of the most common complaints about this product is the battery – either it didn’t last long enough or it prematurely broke.
The first issue is run time. It will run only for 15 minutes tops with the brush off. With the brush on that number goes down to 10 minutes.
Second issue deals with defective products. All electronic products will have a percentage of their products classified as a lemon. That’s the purpose of having a warranty.
Some common issues in Amazon:
- Handle (held on by a screw) that’s wobbly and breaks off after a few months of use
- Charger breaking down
- Weak suction because of blockage
- Brush not working after a few months because of busted wires
- Issues with customer support
- Clogs easily
- Build quality could be an issue over the long term
Reviews from other sites
Walmart
Over 600 people left a review in Walmart and out that around 93% would recommend this product.
That’s a great percentage!
The reasons why people loved this are quite similar to the consumers in Amazon.
It performed well on both carpet and bare floors, it is lightweight and even though it can’t swivel users still liked how easy it was to maneuver. Pet owners also loved how it helps them clean off pet hair their dogs and cats shed.
Battery life is around 15 to 20 minutes but there were complaints about lemon batteries that don’t work or didn’t last long.
A common issue here even for 4/5 star ratings would be the handle that breaks.
Older folks like this product because it was lightweight.
Hoover.com
Over 170 left reviews and over 140 of them would recommend it to a friend.
People loved that even though it has strong suction (with some using it as a commercial cleaner), it still managed to keep its weight down.
BestBuy
BestBuy had around 76 reviews to date and 96% of them would recommend it to a friend – reviews were a bit mixed about battery life with some satisfied and some feeling that it’s a bit lacking and it needs at least 2 batteries.
There were also some complaints about not having any attachments and the dirt cup being small.
Satisfied customers include pet owners, the brand conscious, small families and teens.
Epinions
18 people were kind enough to leave a personal review here, with 13 of them giving a 5 star rating.
Most of them liked its suction power (with some comparing it to the Dyson) plus its compact and lightweight design.
Where can I buy this?
For the best deal, head over to Amazon.com and get this for less than $180. You’ll be eligible for a free 2-day shipping if you join Prime. Another reason to buy in Amazon would be the extended warranty available, up to 3 years.
Conclusion
This product is great for Small to medium sized homes with bare floor or low pile carpet.
It’ll do a good job on both types of surfaces, easily picking up fine to medium sized particles in just one or two passes.
Edge cleaning also isn’t a problem thanks to the side brushes.
Don’t rely on this if you have thick carpets at home since it won’t do as good a job as it wood on thinner carpet.
Because it is over 42 inches long, it can be tricky to use this cleaning stairs. You may want to use a handheld vacuum with a brush roll for this job.
There are some minor issues such as the small dirt bin and hair wrapping up on the baffle and beater bar. But for homes with no pets this is a good cordless to have.
Some consumers say you get a 6 year warranty on the vacuum but Hoover.com states that has a 2 year warranty. Please call them to verify.
The short run time makes me hesitant to recommend this as a primary cleaner in homes carpet. One option would be buying an extra battery. Another would be choosing another product with a much longer run time like the Hoover Air Cordless Lift.
Overall, this is a very good stick vac with good power and decent battery life that will clean bare floor and carpet very well.
But don’t expect it to deep clean carpet. It does not come with any tools so this will only work on floors.
