The BISSELL Featherweight Stick is a good basic corded upright vacuum that can be used in a handheld configuration. It’s lightweight and very easy to carry around. It's also simple to maintain, with few parts that need to be taken care of and a virtual lack of recurring costs. It performs best on bare floors, though it failed to pick up large debris like cereal as its dirt compartment filled in testing. Unfortunately, its short power cord length and limited selection of attachments restrict its versatility, and its all-plastic design may feel cheap to some.
Our Verdict
The BISSELL Featherweight stick vacuum is very good for bare floors. It’s very easy to carry around, as long as you’re aware of its short power cord length, and simple to maintain, with few parts that require to be cleaned. It does a good job of clearing small debris and pet hair on this surface, but you’ll have to empty its dirt compartment frequently in order to maintain effectiveness in picking up large debris like cereal.
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Feels lightweight.
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Easy to maintain and virtually free of recurring costs.
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Remarkable pet-hair cleaning capabilities, regardless of surface.
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Easily switches to a more maneuverable handheld configuration.
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Performance degradation in picking up large debris as dirt compartment fills.
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Cheap build quality.
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Short power cord.
The BISSELL Featherweight stick vacuum is satisfactory for low-pile carpets. It clears pet hair and large debris on this kind of surface without too much difficulty, but it struggles somewhat when it comes to sucking up small debris like baking soda. Thankfully, its lightweight makes it easy to carry around, while its simple bagless design makes it easy to maintain and virtually free of recurring costs.
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Feels lightweight.
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Easy to maintain and virtually free of recurring costs.
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Remarkable pet-hair cleaning capabilities, regardless of surface.
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Easily switches to a more maneuverable handheld configuration.
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Cheap build quality.
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Short power cord.
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Struggles with small particulate debris on carpets.
The BISSELL Featherweight is mediocre for high-pile carpet. It doesn’t have any trouble picking up pet hair, but it struggles with large debris like cereal and barely picks up smaller particulate debris. Fortunately, it’s a simple machine to maintain and incurs very little long-term cost, as it doesn't have parts that need scheduled replacing.
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Feels lightweight.
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Easy to maintain and virtually free of recurring costs.
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Remarkable pet-hair cleaning capabilities, regardless of surface.
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Easily switches to a more maneuverable handheld configuration.
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Cheap build quality.
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Short power cord.
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Struggles with small particulate debris on carpets.
The BISSELL Featherweight stick vacuum is an excellent choice for clearing pet hair. It does a remarkable job of sucking up this kind of debris, regardless of surface. So long as it’s properly taken care of, this vacuum has virtually no recurring costs, and it’s fairly simple to clean and maintain.
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Feels lightweight.
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Easy to maintain and virtually free of recurring costs.
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Remarkable pet-hair cleaning capabilities, regardless of surface.
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Easily switches to a more maneuverable handheld configuration.
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Cheap build quality.
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Short power cord.
The BISSELL Featherweight is good for cleaning stairs. It weighs very little and can be used in a handheld configuration, making it easy to carry up and down flights of stairs. That said, you have to keep its short power cord length in mind if you have a large flight of stairs. It should also be noted that it performs best on bare floors and struggles somewhat when clearing small debris on carpeted surfaces.
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Feels lightweight.
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Easy to maintain and virtually free of recurring costs.
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Remarkable pet-hair cleaning capabilities, regardless of surface.
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Easily switches to a more maneuverable handheld configuration.
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Cheap build quality.
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Short power cord.
The BISSELL Featherweight is very good for cleaning cars. Its ability to be used as a handheld vacuum and included crevice tool make it easy to clean small, hard-to-reach areas. However, you have to stay quite close to an electrical outlet, as the vacuum’s power cord is quite short.
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Feels lightweight.
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Easy to maintain and virtually free of recurring costs.
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Remarkable pet-hair cleaning capabilities, regardless of surface.
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Easily switches to a more maneuverable handheld configuration.
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Cheap build quality.
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Short power cord.
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Feels lightweight.
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Easy to maintain and virtually free of recurring costs.
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Remarkable pet-hair cleaning capabilities, regardless of surface.
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Easily switches to a more maneuverable handheld configuration.
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Cheap build quality.
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Short power cord.
- 6.8 Bare Floor
- 5.8 Low-Pile Carpet
- 5.4 High-Pile Carpet
- 5.2 Pets
- 6.7 Stairs
- 6.8 Cars
- 3.8 Workshop
- Updated Jul 09, 2024: We've converted this review to Test Bench 1.3. We've overhauled our floor performance tests and added new 'Hard Floor Pick-Up,' 'High-Pile Carpet Pick-Up,' 'Low-Pile Carpet Pick-Up,' and 'Pet-Hair Pick-Up' tests. You can see the full changelog here.
- Updated Dec 14, 2023: We've converted this review to Test Bench 1.2. This update builds on our previous 'Suction' test with a new 'Airflow' test that more accurately measures a vacuum's ability to generate air movement. If you'd like to see an in-depth look at the reasoning and methodology behind this change, you can see our full changelog here..
- Updated Nov 25, 2022: We've changed the full product name to 'BISSELL Featherweight Stick' in order for the review to encompass all model variants.
- Updated Nov 03, 2022: This vacuum's suction force has been retested with a more accurate manometer. The test results for the 'Maximum Suction' and 'Normal Suction' fields have been updated. All relevant scores and text have been updated.
- Updated Aug 03, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
- Updated Apr 01, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 1.0.
- Updated Aug 13, 2020: Review published.
- Updated Aug 07, 2020: Early access published.
- Updated Aug 03, 2020: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Jul 31, 2020: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
- Updated Jul 13, 2020: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
There are four variations of the BISSELL Featherweight stick vacuum, which differ only in terms of color, so we expect all variations to perform similarly in our testing.
| Model Number | Color | Included Brushes and Tools |
| 2033M | Black | Crevice tool |
| 2033 | Blue | Crevice tool |
| 20334 | Purple | Crevice tool |
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20336 |
Lime |
Crevice tool |
If someone comes across a BISSELL Featherweight stick vacuum that's different from ours, let us know in the discussions so we can update our review.
Compared To Other Vacuums
The BISSELL Featherweight stick vacuum is a good no-frills vacuum. It’s very lightweight and portable overall, easy to maintain and clean, and does an excellent job of cleaning up pet hair. That said, its performance on carpeted floors isn’t especially impressive, and its short power cord and lack of maneuverability-enhancing features like a swiveling head mean that it isn’t as easy to use in small areas as the Black+Decker 16V MAX dustbuster Cordless Hand Vacuum or BISSELL Adapt Ion.
The BISSELL Adapt Ion Pet/XRT and the BISSELL Featherweight Stick are upright/handheld vacuums with different advantages. The Featherweight performs better on bare floors, has a bigger dirt compartment, is easier to maintain, and feels lighter in your hand. Conversely, the better-built Adapt Ion Pet is substantially more maneuverable and versatile thanks to its cordless design and included selection of brushes and cleaning heads.
The Black+Decker 16V MAX dustbuster Cordless Hand Vacuum and the BISSELL Featherweight Stick suit different uses. The handheld-only Black+Decker is better at cleaning stairs and cars due to its more maneuverable, compact, cordless design. It's better built, not to mention more effective in picking up debris on bare floors and high-pile carpets. On the other hand, the BISSELL is better at cleaning up pet hair and has better performance on low-pile carpets. It's also easier to maintain and has much lower recurring costs.
The Shark WANDVAC and the BISSELL Featherweight Stick are suited for different tasks. The Shark is better for spot cleaning, as its cordless handheld design allows you to navigate tight spaces more easily. It's also better built, more effective on carpeted surfaces, and superior when capturing fine allergens, which is a handy addition for pet owners. Meanwhile, the BISSELL is superior when cleaning large areas of bare floors, as its corded design gives you an effectively unlimited runtime. It's also even easier to maintain.
The Shark ION P50 Cord-Free Powered Lift-Away is a stronger performer in most categories than the BISSELL Featherweight Stick. The Shark is better built, has a larger dirt compartment, and clears debris more consistently as its dirt compartment fills. Its cordless design also makes it more maneuverable, while its broader selection of tools and accessories makes it more versatile. Meanwhile, the corded BISSELL is easier to maintain and much easier to carry around, courtesy of its lightweight plastic construction. Some users may prefer the hassle-free nature of its corded design, too.
The BISSELL Featherweight Stick and the eufy HomeVac H11 have different strengths and weaknesses, which isn't surprising given their drastically different designs. The BISSELL is a corded upright/handheld vacuum that's better suited for cleaning larger areas due to its superior cleaning performance on all surface types and theoretically indefinite runtime. The handheld eufy feels much sturdier and is better for spot cleaning, as its cordless, extremely lightweight design makes it much easier to clean the hard-to-reach areas of your home or the inside of your car.
Test Results
The BISSELL Featherweight stick vacuum has mediocre build quality. Its all-plastic construction feels cheap in some areas, with the handle feeling like it could snap if moderate pressure is applied during operation. The wheels also feel flimsy, as does the dirt compartment cover. That said, this vacuum employs a very simple design, making it easy to switch configuration from stick to handheld.
The BISSELL Featherweight stick vacuum is quite easy to maintain. It doesn’t have that many parts that require maintenance and they’re quite simple to access.
- Dirt compartment: To access the dirt compartment, you need to pull off the vacuum head and vacuum body via the prominent grey release clip. From there, you can pull the compartment off, but be careful not to spill any debris, as the dirt compartment’s cover isn’t especially effective at keeping things contained. The compartment can be washed with warm water and detergent if necessary.
- Dust cup filter: The dust cup filter is inside the dirt compartment and can simply be pulled out. You can clean it by either shaking it over a garbage can or by washing it in warm water and detergent, if necessary. It should be cleaned after every use of the vacuum.
- Pre-motor mesh filter: You can remove visibly stuck debris on the pre-motor mesh filter by hand whenever necessary, as no maintenance interval is listed.
Any component listed as water-washable must be left to dry completely before it can be reinstalled.
This vacuum has virtually no recurring costs. So long as its parts are well taken care of, they shouldn’t need replacing. If the dust cup or pre-motor filter break or are lost, both are available on BISSELL’s website.
The BISSELL Featherweight stick vacuum has passable storage capabilities. While it’s fairly narrow, its handle doesn't fold, meaning that it’s too tall to store underneath low-lying shelves in a closet.
The BISSELL Featherweight has an unremarkable dirt compartment. It’s fairly small, meaning that it requires frequent emptying, and lacks a fill line to let you know when it’s full. Also, it should be noted that despite its small entry cover, debris can still fall out of the dirt compartment when removing it from the head.
- BISSELL Featherweight Stick 2033 vacuum body
- Vacuum head
- Vacuum handle stick
- Dirt compartment
- Crevice tool
- Pre-motor filter mesh filter
- Dirt cup filter
- User guide
This vacuum has a poor range. It’s a corded vacuum with a fairly short 15 ft power cable, so you may have to swap outlets if you’re cleaning a large area. If you don't mind using a handheld vacuum, take a look at the Shark WANDVAC, which has a cordless design that allows it to be carried almost anywhere.
This vacuum is outstandingly portable. It feels light in the hand and features two carrying handles, one on the vacuum body and one on the stick, so carrying it around the house is quite easy, as long as you keep its short power cord in mind.
The BISSELL Featherweight vacuum is a corded vacuum and doesn’t have a battery.
The BISSELL Featherweight stick vacuum is a no-frills vacuum. The sole control is a power on/off button, which some may find located too low to reach when the vacuum is used in its upright configuration.
The BISSELL Featherweight stick vacuum only comes with a crevice tool to help you clean small, hard-to-reach areas.
The BISSELL Featherweight stick vacuum can be used as a corded handheld vacuum.
This vacuum is adequately maneuverable. While the vacuum itself is very light, its lack of a rotating head makes it difficult to navigate tight areas. Meanwhile, the short power cable is a nuisance if you’re trying to clean a large area. To get underneath a sofa, you need to crouch or kneel, and it’s important to be mindful of its somewhat bulky dirt compartment which can occasionally get in the way of low-lying obstructions like coffee tables. Rug tassels can also get sucked into the head, so you need to turn the machine off to remove the obstruction yourself. Thankfully, it’s simple to swap the vacuum to its handheld configuration, which makes it easy to clean furniture. That said, if you prefer the ergonomics of a canister vacuum, you may want to consider the budget-friendly BISSELL Zing Bagless Canister.
