Panasonic MC-CG917 "OptiFlow" Bag Canister Vacuum Cleaner - Corded

I have had a similar model before - it was "Kenm0re" but I believe it was manufactured for them by Panasonic. In fact I still have the electric motor belt drive hand tool from that old unit and it plugs into this vac handle! (I wish they still made the powered hand tool for the rest of you as a option.)On the upside, the air driven "turbo" unit included is much smaller and I have found it handy to have the smaller sized unit for tight spaces and it's smaller size also concentrates the vacuum, so that compensates for the lack of a powered head.The body of the unit was improved from the old Kenm0re too. The c-bag compartment is a bit smaller, but this is the price for the improved bag suction. By keeping the bag "suspended" inside, the unit can draw air all around the bag. (Having the caddy for disposal is just marketing hipe.)Another improvement is the tools storage lid. Some may find it a bit stubborn to open but trust me this is a fine trade-off from the old design where the lid would swing open quickly and come flying off. (Imagine carrying the unit up stairs only having to go down again to fetch the stupid tools lid.)They had to make the tools storage smaller and the only compromise is the concentrater tool was made kind of stubby from one of standard length.They also beefed up the recoil spring for the cord although the cord may have been shorted by a couple feet. I don't miss any extra length, and this might be a misperception on my part (I did not measure).Almost forgot... they also enhanced the wand - now it is a telescopic pole. This is really nice for my wife who is 1 ft. shorter than I and prefers the handle to be lower to the ground.I could envision, if your very tall or short, this feature could be a big plus for you to get the unit tuned to your liking.I could go on and on. My old unit was from the mid to late 80s. It was $ears highest rated unit at the time - progressive they called it (still do). This unit was improved in almost every important way - it's even quieter than that old unit (which still runs but finally get abused too much and has a crack in the case that leaks). I couldn't pass up this unit for the money and now have a "spare" for the garage or basement.Based upon the improvements to the design, I wouldn't hesitate to also consider the more upscale units from Panasonic as well. And if this unit lasts like the older one, then I might not be purchasing another vacuum for the rest of my days. It's that good. At least to me.BTW - we also had Kenm0re uprights, H0ver uprights, a $hark, Kirby, etc. Keep coming back to the canister design for the quick switch over to hand tools to really clean in the corners, blinds, stairs, etc. I tire of the tedious switch over I have to do on an upright to complete my cleaning job of an area.I also have found that the small expense of the bags is a reasonable trade-off as the HEPA bags really do trap more and don't exhaust fine particulate into the room. This unit also has a secondary filter (HEPA) as well. You know the bag is doing a good job when this second exhaust filter stays clean. The paper bags are cheaper and still do a better job than the bagless units I have had, BTW. The HEPA bag goes that much further in trapping dirt.My time and effort to keep the house clean is precious to me - I want to do my work with tools that get the job done - the first time - and this unit does the job.Only thing I think I sort of liked was the "electric eye" that was on the Kenm0re Progressive upright I've mentioned and the older Kenm0re canister power head. These units "scanned" the air stream being sucked into the hose for particles and provided a visual indicator and/or automatic motor speed dial down when there was no more dirt passing thru the "electric eye". It was only a reassurance I had done a good job, but some may find it a useful option on the more upscale units.This powerhead is advertised to work on carpet and bare floors. I have mostly hardwood and it does suck the dirt up. There is a bit of suction loss, but this unit has enough that it isn't an issue - remember, on bare floors the dirt and dust is not embedded and thus is sucked more easily I have found. The wheels on the head do not scratch my floors either. (Neither did the old Kenm0re unit.) This hose opening seems fairly standard diameter in that a number of old tools do fit. If you have a "vintage" powerhead it may just fit like mine did. That's nice to have extra tools.Does it sound like I love this unit too much? Maybe! - I'm sure there are a few other vacuums out there that perform as well, maybe better. But this unit is at a price point that is hard to beat. GLTA. YMMV.Cheers.

Update Jun 18, 2015: Bags are finally back in stock, after being unavailable for 6 months. Bumping my rating back up now that I know Panasonic hasn't abandoned this model.Update Jun 4, 2015: Replacement bags have been out of stock for this vacuum EVERYWHERE for MONTHS. Glad I bought a couple extras when I ordered the vacuum back in January! I haven't tried local specialty shops but they're virtually extinct online. I hope they come back soon. Until Panasonic sorts out this supply issue I'm not sure I can recommend this vac. What good is a vacuum without bags?I've had this vacuum just over three months now - almost enough to fill up my first bag. This is the first canister vacuum I've owned, as well as the first bagged vacuum, and I don't regret it one bit.The power head does a much better job than the cheap $80 upright it replaced. I find I can leave it set to "XLO" for most of my carpets, and you can tell the brush is really digging in to pick up anything stuck in the fibers. It also gets right up to the baseboards from the front and from the side. And unlike my upright, this thing can get all the way beneath the bed, and a bunch of other low furniture.I was worried about getting used to dragging the canister around behind me. If you're used to starting at the far end of a room and working backwards, you'll have to get used to doing it the other way. Much easier to pull it behind you than to keep pushing it back. It pulls easily though, between the one swivel wheel and the swivel neck. I'll admit I have slammed it into doorways a couple times, but I'm clumsy. Honestly the benefits of having a narrow wand that can reach anywhere far outweighs any inconvenience from pulling a canister around. It's not even very heavy.The hand tools (with one exception I'll get to in a sec) also work very well. I love that you can pull the wand out of the power head for long reach, or pull the handle out of the wand to get a small hand tool. The wand has enough reach that I can clean a bit over half of my stairs from the bottom. The assortment of tools is also nice, I especially like the dusting brush. The floor brush sits at an angle when you attach it to the handle instead of the wand, but that's a very small complaint. The one tool I don't like is the pet hair turbine. It's exactly the same as the one that came with my cheap upright, and it's terrible. I have better luck using the floor brush to get pet hair off my furniture.As I mentioned, the bag has lasted three months and I'm only now about to change it, so I'm very happy with that. Changing the bag is very easy, and much cleaner than dumping out a bagless canister. I do wish it had some indicator as to how full the bag is, but it's easy to check. The overall build quality seems sturdy, I'm not worried about damaging it when I clumsily yank the canister against a door frame (I'm more worried about the door). And the power cord is long enough that I can actually vacuum two bedrooms and a kitchen from one (very conveniently placed) outlet.Overall I have no real complaint about this vacuum. If I could go back and choose all over again, I'd make the same decision.