As someone who has always preferred cordless stick vacuums, the idea of testing an upright model has never really excited me. But when I heard the claims that the Gtech AirRAM 3 Dual Edge-Clean Cordless Vacuum would pick up dirt like no other and would never need any maintenance, I knew I had to check it out for myself.
After all, I’ve had the pleasure of testing some of the best vacuum cleaners out there. And while old-school upright vacuum cleaners used to be ugly, heavy, corded monstrosities (sorry, but it’s true), I know that times have changed. Now, many upright vacuum cleaners top the charts as some of the best cordless vacuum cleaners, offering cord-free cleaning and easy manoeuvrability.
But with Gtech’s latest release, it has aimed to bring the upright cordless vacuum into an even better dimension. With patented technology, never-before-seen edge cleaning, and impressive auto-cleaning systems, they’ve flipped the script on what we think upright models should offer. And I gave it a run for its money in my home for two weeks to see whether all of the fuss is warranted.
AirRAM 3 Dual Edge-Clean Cordless Vacuum product spec
- Weight: 3.8 kg
- Max. run time: 30 minutes
- Bin volume: 0.8L
- Charge time: 3 hours
- Modes: 1
- In the box: Head assembly, lower handle, upper handle, battery, charging stand, hair removal tool, 3 spare edge brushes
- RRP: £399.99
Unboxing, setting up and first impressions
The Gtech AirRAM 3 arrived in a lightweight, slimline box that was incredibly easy to manoeuvre into my house. This was a nice perk but not unexpected as this model (which weighs 3.8 kg) sits comfortably in the middle range compared to the weight of other cordless vacuum cleaners on the market.
Upon opening the box, I saw that all the components – the head assembly, lower handle, upper handle, battery, charging stand, hair removal tool, spare edge brushes, and instruction manual – were encased in an outer cardboard shell. Then, each individual component was further encased in what, upon first inspection, looked like plastic.
As I looked closer, I saw that the plastic was PE-LD 04 (low-density polyethene), which can sometimes be recycled. But while some local councils will accept it as a recyclable material, others won’t – including my own. As a result, I had to pop it in my regular waste recycle bin, which was a shame.
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As the AirRAM 3 doesn’t come with any accessories or tools, it didn’t take long to slip all of the components out of their plastic casings and onto the floor. When doing this, it was clear that 90% of the vacuum’s weight came from the head itself – and for good reason, too.
According to Gtech, the AirRAM 3 is designed to last 20 years thanks to this specialised aluminium floor head, which should withstand anything. But even so, it wasn’t heavy – it just felt robust.
I must admit that the floor head also intrigued me immensely. Featuring peculiar side brushes (similar to what you’d expect on a robot vacuum), the whole thing looked extremely modern and like something out of a sci-fi movie. So, I was eager to see whether these side brushes would offer the impressive edge-to-edge cleaning Gtech promises.
Assembly of the Gtech AirRAM 3 was also easy. All you need to do is insert the upper handle into the lower handle and click it all into place. At this point, you can also adjust the 8-level telescopic handle to suit your height requirements, which I appreciate as someone on the shorter end of the height spectrum.
Then, you just have to pop the handle onto the vacuum head’s steering pivot and push the battery into place to finish the set-up process.
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As someone who tends to lean more towards stick vacuums (I currently use the Dyson V8 Absolute as my main vacuum), I expected I’d have to lean the vacuum on the wall to keep it upright while I jotted down some notes. But I quickly remembered that a major perk of upright vacuum vacuums is that they stand up on their own – making storage so much easier.
And while I prefer the streamlined and sleek nature of stick cordless vacuums, I must admit that I was impressed with the overall look of the AirRAM 3. The all-white colour is sophisticated and modern while also having the benefit of blending into the white walls in my house. The fact that the dust bin is concealed within the floor head is also something I’ve not seen before and something I really, really liked. The whole thing has obviously been designed to look clean and minimal, which would suit a lot of homes.
The concealed dustbin made me question how I’d know when to empty it, though, especially as there is no LCD screen or indicator on the vacuum. So, I was eager to take it for a whirl and see how I got on.
Using the Gtech AirRAM 3 Dual Edge-Clean Cordless Vacuum
To help you understand how well the Gtech AirRAM 3 will fare in your house, I should preface the next section by telling you a little about my home and cleaning habits. I live in a three-bed terraced house with another human and a dog. Not only does my dog shed a lot (meaning I have to vacuum regularly), but I also have long hair that seems to wind its way up everywhere.
Alongside this, my home’s downstairs has hard flooring, with a mixture of laminate in the dining room and living room (with large rugs in each room) and tiles in the kitchen and bathroom. The stairs and the whole of the upper floor are carpeted.
As I assembled the vacuum downstairs, it was only logical to start downstairs first. And after previously testing two cordless vacuum cleaners that offered two different cleaning heads – the Halo Capsule X and the Dyson V12 Slim Detect Absolute – I was happy to see that I wouldn’t have to faff around chopping and changing to a hard floor cleaning head before getting started. All I had to do was turn it on.
Turning on the Gtech AirRAM 3 was incredibly easy, as the power button is on the cleaning head – right by the left wheel. And while you probably could turn it on with your hand if you wanted to, it’s much easier with your foot. Having the option for both is ideal for those with mobility issues, though.
The AirRAM 3’s suction power and manoeuvrability were great on both the laminate and the tiled flooring downstairs. While the headlights aren’t as impressive as Dyson’s laser headlights on the Gen5Detect, they still helped me pick up previously invisible dust during the darker winter days. The edge cleaning capabilities were particularly handy in my kitchen, where crumbs and debris often get stuck between my terrazzo-tiled floor and the wood of my kitchen cabinets.
As part of how we test vacuum cleaners at Ideal Home, I also threw down some flour on my laminate flooring to see how it would fare. As expected, it managed to pick up almost every single grain of flour right up to the edge of my skirting boards, and this test really gave the edge cleaning technology its time to shine. Some of the flour did fall out of it when I picked it up afterwards – but, if I’m being honest, I put down way too much, so that may have been on me.
However, the vacuum seemed to struggle a bit when I moved onto the rugs downstairs. Although the one power mode was good enough to vacuum a shorter-pile rug in my dining room and leave it looking cleaner, it was clear to hear that the vacuum wasn’t too happy on the longer-pile rug in my living room.
So, if you have thicker rugs in your home – or even long-pile carpets, you could run into some issues with just one power mode, as I did find myself missing a boost mode. But all in all, I found that the vacuum did what it was meant to do on hard flooring without too many niggles.
That all changed when I tried to vacuum my carpeted stairs, though. Admittedly, my Victorian terrace has a very steep staircase, so the steps themselves are narrower than normal – but I couldn’t vacuum my stairs with the Gtech AirRAM 3 at all.
For starters, the vacuum’s head was just too large to fit on a step, which meant I had to hold the whole machine above me in an attempt to clean the carpet. At 29 years old, even I found this to be dangerous, so I wouldn’t want my mum or nan to have to do the same. I even lowered the handle to see if it made any difference, but this upright vacuum just didn’t want to play ball.
Sadly, you can’t even buy this model as part of a bundle, which means that I’d have to purchase the Multi Cordless Handheld Vacuum (which does come with a few attachments, thankfully) separately if I wanted to vacuum my stairs and the smaller nooks and crannies of my home – like my dog’s bed and my sofa.
I understand that this is sometimes part and parcel of choosing an upright vacuum, but I’ve previously owned upright vacuums in this home before and had no problems. In fact, the Shark ICZ300UKT Anti Hair Wrap Cordless Upright Vacuum Cleaner I used to use came with lift-away qualities that meant it was the perfect mix of an upright and handheld vacuum.
Ultimately, I gave up trying to vacuum my stairs as I couldn’t find any way to make it work and decided to focus my attention on the carpeted bedrooms instead. The AirRAM 3 did win me back over slightly upstairs, as I found that the soft-bristled helical brush bar picked up a lot of the hair that gets hidden in my carpet.
I also liked how the vacuum could go underneath pieces of furniture, which came in handy when I reached spots I wouldn’t normally be able to vacuum without moving the furniture out of the way. My one niggle was that I felt the vacuum performed better on hard flooring than it did the carpet, as the one power mode didn’t seem to have that oompf it had downstairs.
However, as someone who lives in a house with a fluffy dog that carries a lot of pet dander and an extended family that’s allergic to dogs, Gtech’s patented AirLOC technology is a major plus.
This meant that the vacuum collected everything from large debris to smaller dust particles on the push forward but then formed a seal on the backstroke to ensure none of it escaped back into the room. So, this is a feature that those looking for one of the best vacuums for pet hair can take advantage of.
Cleaning and maintenance
Although I initially liked how inconspicuous the Gtech AirRAM 3’s dustbin was, I soon realised that this made it impossible to see how full it was. So, I had to keep pulling it out to see whether it was time to empty it.
When the time finally came (after vacuuming my whole house, which was pretty impressive), emptying the Gtech AirRAM 3 was fairly easy. I removed the handle and pulled the bin from the head of the machine. Then, I held it over my household bin, slid the lever to open the door, and emptied the contents inside.
To reassemble, you can slide the lever back in place, close the bin door, and put the bin back in its home.
I also found the Gtech AirRAM 3’s run and charging times to be as advertised. All in all, the charge lasted around 30 minutes, which was more than enough time for me to vacuum my whole house. But it’s worth noting that this is significantly shorter than other cordless vacuums on the market- like the Gen5detect Absolute, which has a run time of 70 minutes. So, this is something to bear in mind if you have a larger home.
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It then took three hours for the battery to charge from flat, and I must admit that I really liked the charging station of the Gtech AirRAM 3. It was small, discreet, and didn’t take up any more space than it needed to.
All you need to do is place the vacuum on the charging stand, turn the charger on, and the headlights will pulse progressively as it charges. And when it was fully charged, all of the headlights flashed three times before turning itself off.
Another thing I liked about the Gtech was that it came with a hair removal tool to clean the brush bar, which isn’t something I’ve ever seen before. I didn’t need to use this too often as I didn’t find that much hair got caught in the bar, but it was easy enough to use when I did.
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However, the Gtech AirRAM 3’s most impressive feature is the self-cleaning filter. As someone who owns a Dyson, I know that cleaning a Dyson filter can be a hassle – and I often put it off for as long as possible, which isn’t good for the machine.
The self-cleaning ‘filter regeneration’ works of its own accord, so you don’t have to do anything. Every so often, after turning the machine off, you’ll just hear a strange noise – like loud puffs of air – which means it’s doing its job. The headlights also turn blue when this happens.
You can also initiate this filter regeneration if you want to, as well. To do this, you just need to press and hold the power button for three seconds. But I never felt the need to do this, as the machine did it regularly enough for my liking.
How does it rate online?
The AirRAM 3 Dual Edge-Clean Cordless Vacuum rates extremely highly online. It has over 650 reviews online and has an average of 4.9 stars out of 5 at the time of writing.
In general, customers love how lightweight and easy to manoeuvre it is, with many customers claiming that the weight and the power button make it easy to vacuum their home when they struggle with arthritis or painful joints. They also praise the edge technology and say that it offers some of the best edge pick-up they’ve ever experienced – even in comparison to older Gtech models.
However, others have criticised the versatility of the AirRAM 3, complaining that it’s extremely difficult to vacuum stairs and the lack of accessories means that certain areas of their home aren’t getting the attention they deserve. Many people have also found the dustbin and the battery life to be too small for larger homes, too.
How does it compare to similar models?
This isn’t Ideal Home’s first interaction with a Gtech AirRAM model. Four months before I tested the Gtech AirRAM 3, reviewer Jullia Joson tested the Gtech AirRAM Platinum. She also gave it a glowing 4.5-star review – which you’ll notice is a little higher than this one.
There are some big differences between these two vacuums, though. For starters, the AirRAM Platinum’s run time is double that of the AirRAM 3, allowing you up to an hour’s cleaning time compared to the 30 minutes of the 3. It’s also slightly lighter, which is always a bonus when vacuum cleaners are concerned.
Both the Gtech AirRAM Platinum and the Gtech AirRAM 3 are very similar in terms of suction power, both offering one suction mode for cleaning, although I would say that the AirRAM 3 wins with the dual-edge cleaning technology and the automatic filter-cleaning.
And while they look very similar and have a similar price tag, the Platinum does have the perk of a see-through dust bin (so you can see when it’s full) and scented cartridges that are inserted in the filter shroud, eliminating that unpleasant, stale smell that can sometimes emit during vacuuming.
So, it ultimately depends on what you need the vacuum for. If you want an all-around vacuum cleaner that will clean your whole house and leave it smelling fresh, I’d say that Platinum is your better choice. If you want a vacuum that gets into every corner and edge of your home, the AirRAM 3 would probably suit you better.
Of course, as the proud owner of a Dyson, I believe it would also be wise to consider the Gtech vs Dyson debate – especially if you’re willing to pay a little more for the privilege.
Should you buy the Gtech AirRAM 3 Dual Edge-Clean Cordless Vacuum?
If you live in a bungalow or flat and don’t have any stairs, I believe you would be happy with the Gtech AirRAM3 – especially if you want to clean deep into the edges of your home. After all, the Dual Edge-Clean technology truly is the best I’ve seen in my testing career. It would also suit you if you already have one of the best handheld vacuums at your disposal, as you can use this to counteract the struggles I faced with this vacuum.
However, the lack of handheld qualities and the lack of attachments means that Gtech has limited its customer pool with this latest release. Although you can’t deny the power of the edge cleaning, you’ll have to sacrifice cleaning certain areas of your home while using this machine – which isn’t what those with stairs, different flooring types, pets and messy children can do.
About this review, and the reviewer
You can find more information on how we review products at Ideal Home here. For this review, the Gtech AirRAM 3 was tested by Lauren, a writer and reviewer who lives in a small Victorian terraced house in Kent with her husband and dog.
During her two-week testing period, she swapped her usual vacuum cleaner (a Dyson V8 Absolute) for this new Gtech model to see how it dealt with everyday dust, debris, pet hair, and specific tests within the brand’s dedicated vacuum cleaner testing process.
Although Gtech sent Lauren this vacuum to review, this in no way impacted her fair and impartial review process. She has shared her own experiences with the Gtech AirRAM 3 while also thinking about how others would fare if they were to use this model in their own homes.
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Read the full article here