Roidmi NEX X20 Review

A few months back, I tested the Roidmi F8 Storm, and it scored high with the cleaning tests I did previously.

The Roidmi NEX is an updated version of the F8 Storm with the same set of tools plus an extra attachment – a detachable wet/dry mop that sticks behind the main cleaning head via a magnet.

Introduction to the Roidmi NEX

Here’s the full review of the Roidmi NEX on YouTube.

Note: Roidmi recently launched its latest product, the X30 Pro. Please click on the link to see the full review.

Roidmi NEX Design

The NEX is a versatile cordless stick vacuum used in different configurations, as seen above.

The Roidmi NEX is built upon the concept of interchangeability, which gives it its versatility. This vacuum is usable as a cordless stick vacuum or a handheld vacuum, depending on the configuration.

It utilizes a streamlined design with the motor and dust bin in the same horizontal plane for maximum efficiency.

The configuration is very similar to the Dyson V11 Torque Drive. However, the nozzle placement is different from the Roidmi’s, with the latter going over the bin rather than in front, as seen in the new Dyson cordless vacuum.

It’s got several tools that not only will clean floors, but also areas above it, such as sofas, chairs, mattresses, vents, and much more.

The addition of the flexible hose improves usability inside tight spots. I’d say this is also a good option for cleaning inside your vehicle despite the short crevice tool.

What are the improvements that the Roidmi NEX has over the F8 Storm?

Here’s a side-by-side comparison of the Roidmi F8 and the newer NEX. It has not changed much in terms of design, but the newer NEX has better performance overall.

The Roidmi NEX is an upgrade over the F8 Storm with the motor and battery’s main improvements.

Here’s a summary of all the upgrades in the Roidmi NEX storm

How does the Roidmi NEX Storm Clean?

The main cleaning head of the NEX has two brush options.

The Roidmi NEX only has one main cleaning head with two interchangeable brushes.

It comes with the soft roller brush and the standard beater bar.

Even if it does not have a brush-roll off feature, it works as well on bare floors as it does on carpets.

This variant can clean thoroughly on bare floors because it has a decent clearance that allows large bits of debris to fit.

Soft roller

The soft roller brush of the Roidmi is great on bare floors for cleaning larger piles of messes. In our tests, it did well in almost every type of debris except for Cheerios.

Similar to the Dyson V10 and V8, the Roidmi NEX comes with a soft roller tool that works best on hard surfaces.

The biggest strength of this tool is its ability to pick up even large debris that most other stick vacuums with standard cleaning heads won’t accomplish.

Roidmi says that this tool is water-resistant, so it is usable in combination with the mop. But don’t use this to clean anything wet, or you’ll risk damaging the motor and voiding the warranty.

Carbon fiber roller brush

The carbon fiber brush works great on carpet and hard floor surfaces thanks to the soft carbon fiber bristles and stiff squeegee-like blades that work together to pick up small to medium-sized debris.

This tool has a combination of soft, carbo fiber bristles and a blade type brush that will provide great agitation on carpets.

The soft bristles are excellent at picking up fine dust, while the rubber blades tackle the larger dirt particles with ease.

Both brushes will do equally well on both surfaces, so unless your home only has bare floors, it would make sense to leave the bristled brush attachment instead of continually switching.

Mopping attachment

Aside from the two brush attachments, the NEX also comes with a mop attachment. This tool utilizes a magnet to fasten itself behind the main cleaning head (see photo above). It has a water tank (180-milliliter capacity) that you can use to dry or wet mop to complement the soft roller brush’s water resisting properties.

What’s inside the box?

Aside from the main cleaning head, it also has other tools for above-floor cleaning like the combination crevice/brush tool and mini turbo brush.

For extra range, the NEX Storm also has a flexible hose tool for those hard to reach spots.

Here’s the complete toolset

These tools translate to a versatile cleaning tool that can clean floors, sofa, rugs, carpet, and all sorts of upholstery.

How long will the battery run?

Roidmi says that this cordless stick vacuum will run for up to 60 minutes in the low setting using a non-motorized tool. It’ll run for up to 38 minutes and 10 minutes in the max setting in boost mode.

Those numbers are impressive, so I decided to test how it runs using a non-motorized and motorized tool and see how long it can go.

For the test, I charge and run the vacuum with the main cleaning head, mini turbo brush, and a non-motorized tool until it shuts off with a timer right beside it in different power settings.

Please take note that there is a margin for error in the tests that I do. But these numbers represent how long this vacuum will run in the real world.

Roidmi says that the battery is detachable from the unit, but you’ll need a hex tool to remove the three bolts holding the orange cover.

Replacement batteries aren’t available so far but will be in the future.

Cleaning tests

To see how well the Roidmi NEX performs, I’ve put it through several cleaning tests to measure how it does at cleaning different types of dirt on carpet and bare floor on varying types of trash from fine to large debris.

I used different types of debris, such as Cheerios, coffee grounds, and quaker oats. On hard floor tests, I scattered 30 grams of coffee grounds, quaker oats, and Cheerios. I used 50 grams of coffee grounds for both the surface and deep cleaning tests on the carpet.

Results

• Overall: 81.77%
• Hard Floor: 72.85%
• Carpet (Surface Pickup): 95.66%
• Carpet (Deep Cleaning): 76.8%

The results on bare floors are skewed because of the failure of the NEX to clean Cheerios effectively. Taking away the results of the Cheerios test, the score would have been 94.68.

Bare floor cleaning

The NEX did very well cleaning coffee on bare floors.

It also did well cleaning quaker oats on bare floors.

However, it struggled a bit with cleaning rice on bare floors with both brushes kicking particles of rice all over the place. The soft roller head did much better versus the carbon fiber brush picking up 91.5% versus 85%.

Regardless of the brush, the Roidmi NEX excels in vacuuming bare floors. In several tests I’ve done, it was able to pick up a perfect 100% of coffee grounds and quaker oats.

If there’s anything that the Roidmi NEX struggles with, it’s large debris like Cheerios. This is due to the design of the vacuum and not the lack of power.

Don’t try to clean big stuff like cheerios, or it’ll clog like this. On the left, jamming inside the tube. On the right, some build up on the nozzle near the dust cup.

Rubbish passes through the extension wand and then a narrow opening right before going inside the bin.

The narrow opening is a bottleneck of big stuff bundles up together.

Carpet cleaning

It also did well with cleaning dirt with surface dirt pickup on low pile carpet, picking up 98% of coffee grounds.

The NEX was able to do well cleaning coffee on carpet.

NEX did much better cleaning rice on carpet, picking up around 96%.

It also did an excellent job picking up quaker oats on carpet, cleaning 98% of it.

The deep cleaning test was able to pick up 47 grams out of 50 or a 94% score.

I didn’t bother doing the cheerios tests on carpets because of the clogging issue during the trial on bare floors.

Does the mopping attachment work?

One of the most evident upgrades that the NEX has over the F8 is a mopping feature.

Roidmi heavily advertises this in their Kickstarter add, so I decided to find out if it works.

Watch this video and see for yourself.

Yes, it was a huge mess, but that’s the impression I got when I first saw the ad.

The stuff I tested it on was ordinary household stuff like ketchup and soy sauce.

I did this experiment to see the potential issues if it would suck in the debris and the dust cup.

Imagine cleaning a bowl full of cheerios and milk; as seen in the ad, cleaning the vacuum itself would be harder.

I’m not sold on using it as a replacement for a dedicated hard floor cleaner built for the task.

The mop itself is small, and the risk of damaging the main floor tool to great to make it worthwhile using it as such.

How easy is it to use the Roidmi NEX?

Next, let’s look at the usability of the Roidmi NEX. We’ll go through several important features that affect it.

Ergonomics

The NEX Storm has two buttons. First is the main power switch that can also adjust the power setting. The second button behind the motor adjusts the power setting.

One strong point of the Roidmi NEX is its looping handle that extends beyond the motor. It’s designed such that you can hold it at different angles, so there’s less pressure on the wrists.

However, since the motor and dust cup is on top, you can still feel the weight mostly on the wrist.

Power switch

Unlike the Dyson V10 or V11, it does not use a trigger switch. Roidmi designers opted to use a push-button switch that doesn’t require constant squeezing.

There are two switches. The first one at the top of the battery near the indicator lights is the power switch. You can also use it to toggle through the different power modes and hold it for a few seconds to switch off.

A second switch found at the back of the handle near the exhaust vents is the button that toggles through the different power settings.

People who want something that doesn’t require squeezing a trigger would benefit from this product.

Maneuverability

Thanks to the swivel steering, moving around and under furniture won’t be an issue with this vacuum.

The extension wand almost goes flat so that it can reach deep under furniture.

Emptying the dust bin

To empty contents, the dust bin has to be detached from the body. It’s simple – push a button in front of the container to release the lock.

Once the dust cup is out, twist the top cap to remove the filter assembly, then empty the contents.

Magnetic wall mount

Roidmi’s magnetic wall mount is unique in that it uses a magnet to secure the vacuum in place. There are two options to mount – double-sided tape or screws.

Unlike the Dyson V10 that uses a bulky wall mount, the Roidmi NEX utilizes something more compact. There are two options to mount – using double-sided tape or screws.

The mount also doubles as a charger. So you have the option of the cable on the mount rather than the vacuum itself.

It prevents instances when you accidentally detach the vacuum with the plug still on.

Maintenance costs

The primary thing that needs to be taken care of for any vacuum is cleaning the filter.

I asked a representative from Roidmi if the filter is washable and the replacement cycle. She said that the filter is not washable and needs to be replaced every three to six months, depending on the environment, usage, and amount of dust.

A pack of six filters will cost around $35 on Amazon (that includes shipping), so if you replace it once every six months, you’ll only have to spend $8.75 annually on replacement filters. On the high side (or replacing filters every three months), the annual cost doubles to $17.5.

One way to extend these filters’ service life is to use a brush to dislodge dust or a handheld vacuum with a brush tool to do the task.

Does the Roidmi NEX offer exceptional value?

At the moment, the Roidmi NEX isn’t available in major American online stores such as Amazon. The only place you can purchase this would be in Aliexpress, and it’ll cost just under $450 – still cheaper than the Dyson V10.

The bigger question mark for me would be the availability of parts such as the battery and filter over the long term.

Only time will tell if Roidmi delivers on its promise, but if you look at the earlier version, the F6 Storm, parts like the filter are available.

Roidmi says that they back up their product with a 2-year warranty and free lifetime customer service.

Five reasons why you should buy the Roidmi NEX

The verdict

Roidmi is slowly closing the gap between itself and the Dyson with the improvements in their second-generation NEX variant.

Even with the main cleaning brush attached, it exceeds the advertised 60-minute run time by over a minute.

The toolset that comes with this variant is pretty generous. My favorite attachment would be the hose because it extends the reach of the non-motorized tools.

There will be other issues, such as the small size of the dustcup and the need for a special tool to remove the battery and the second HEPA filter.

But overall, this is an excellent product that does the job with efficiency.

The biggest question mark right now would be the availability of parts such as the battery and filters.