Ultenic FS1 self-emptying stick vacuum review

REVIEW – Stick vacuums offer great portability and power, but their smaller dust bins mean more frequent trips to the garbage to be emptied.  If you have pets, you know that all that dog or cat hair tends to want to stay in the dust bin for some reason, making it a messy process to get everything out.  The Ultenic FS1 is a stick vacuum that has a self emptying base station, and it’s an absolute treat to experience.

What is it?

The Ultenic FS1 is an auto-emptying cordless stick vacuum, which uses a base station for charging and self-emptying of the dustbin.

Ultenic has a range of cordless stick vacuums available, in addition to other home appliances such as wet/dry vacuums, air fryers, and robot vacuums.

What’s in the box?

• Ultenic FS1 vacuum
• Auto-empty base station
• Dust bags for base station (2x extra)
• Brush cleaning tool
• Combination tool
• Crevice tool
• Pre-motor HEPA (1x extra)

Hardware specs

Design and features

The FS1 is a familiar stick vacuum design, with the motor and dustbin assembly attached the handle.  Made mostly of plastic, key parts are reinforced with metal – such as the adjustment points on the telescoping wand.  Accessories such as the crevice tool lock into place but are easily removed with a push button release when needed.  A removable battery is appreciated in this design, and the vacuum itself can be disassembled easily for cleaning.

What makes the FS1 special is the self emptying dust bin supported by the base station.  The base station will also charge the vacuum, and has a connection to also charge a secondary battery.  I was disappointed to discover that there was no accessory storage to be found on the base station.  Possibly an aesthetic decision as a press-fit caddy wouldn’t look great on the otherwise clean lines of the base, but it would have been a welcome addition.  The base station is quite stable and fit to purpose.

Other features of the FS1 include:

• Pre/Post motor HEPA filtration
• UV light treatment of base station dust bag
• Auto mode for increasing or decreasing suction power based on surface type

Performance

Over the past month, I’ve been impressed with the performance and utility of the Ultenic FS1 self-emptying stick vacuum.  Looking at it purely from its ability to vacuum, it’s plenty capable.  Suction power is ample to tackle the hardwood, tile, and carpet floors throughout my house for the typical day to day messes and pet hair.  The included roller brush is a combo brush that has a row of carpet focused brushing and a row of a brushing meant for hard flooring.

I generally kept the vacuum in Auto mode and it did well to adjust its suction power between flooring types or into intense messes.  Turbo mode is a little different as it only works in 10 second bursts, but it certainly helps to keep you from accidentally staying in that mode.  The vacuum’s HUD helpfully identifies status and cleaning mode at a glance.

Clocking in at 7lbs, the FS1 is easy to handle and transport throughout the house.  An unexpected result of the telescoping wand was the ability for my kids to help out with the vacuuming.  They never want to do it when I would need them to, but a few times I’ve caught them playing with the vacuum – which is easy for them with the wand fully retracted.  The latching mechanism for the wand is secure and works quite well at offering range when you need it (or don’t).

Maintenance of the vacuum is easy, as the filter and dustbin mechanism can be fully disassembled to clean.  The roller brush is also straight forward to remove, with a single latch release to access the brush itself.  Ultenic offers consumables and parts for the FS1 for sale on their website, from filters to batteries, which hopefully means this model will be well supported into the future.

On to the base station, and what makes this vacuum system special.  I could type about it, but it’s better to just show the auto-emptying feature in action.

In order to dock the vacuum, the wand must be fully retracted.  Placing the vacuum into the base station will automatically open the dust bin, then all you need to do is press the ‘mode’ button on the back of the vacuum.  The base station motor sucks the contents of the dustbin into a bag, and it works really well.  Occasionally I’ve found the process may leave behind a layer of fine, matted dirt on the metal filter in the dustbin itself, but a quick swipe is enough to clean it.  This is a far better experience than what I’ve dealt with on other stick vac’s which never want to let go of the contents of the dustbin, no matter how much you try smacking it against the side of the garbage can.

Over the course of the month I haven’t managed to fill the bag in the base station, but replacing it is easy enough.  The front plate of the station comes off, revealing the bag itself.  Sliding out the tray and swapping in a new bag is all it takes.  An LED indicator will let you know when it’s time to do so.

What I like

• Self emptying base station is very satisfying
• Easy maintenance of filters and roller brush
• Replaceable battery with ability to charge an additional battery in the base station

What I’d change

• Lack of accessory mounts on the base station

Final thoughts

The Ultenic FS1 self-emptying stick vacuum solved a pain point we’ve had with other stick vac’s, specifically with having to get ‘hands on’ with emptying the dust bin.  Ultenic has a well designed base station that looks good and is a joy to watch in action.  The vacuum itself is also well executed, and scores bonus points in it’s ease of cleaning (and replaceable battery).  Overall this is a solid vacuum system, and is worth a look.

Price: $399.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Ultenic