Kambrook CaptivG3 Cyclonic Bagless

Absolutely the BEST Vacuum Cleaner under $150 – Firstly so everyone knows, I regularly acquire, service and test vacuum cleaners so my vacuum cleaner reviews are based on experience and comparisons across many vacuum cleaners. After testing and using many vacuum cleaners I can say with great confidence that this Kambrook Captiv G3 Lift vacuum cleaner (Model KBV450) is by far one of the best… Read more

vacuum cleaners under $150 that I have ever used. Only the Kambrook Captiv G4 is equally ranked in terms of overall performance and convenience however the G3 has a more practical and stronger construction that is easier to use and less susceptible to breakage.

Here are my reasons for rating this vacuum cleaner so highly

1. Super powerful 2000W motor as with all the Kambrook KBV4XX series. Provides extraordinary suction and dust extraction power. Removes even the finest dust from deep down in the carpet. (NB The KBV2XX series has a much weaker 1500W motor and is the subject of most complaints here)

2. Superior design cyclonic dust canister which easily captures up to 95% of dust inside the primary dust chamber. This is very important because only minimal dust reaches your filters, hence they stay unclogged for much longer. This means your Kambrook G3 vacuum cleaner runs much more efficiently so retains full suction power for much longer and is unlikely to overheat. (If you read other vacuum cleaner reviews you will find that filters clogging up prematurely is a major complaint)

3. Very easy to empty dust and clean dust canister. Simply release the catch to open the sturdy hinged large door at the bottom of the canister and out comes all the dust. Then brush residual dust off the foam pre-filter. A couple of light taps will help to release the fine dust from the hepa filter.

4. Extra large hepa filter allows stronger suction and for much longer!

5. Strong robust design overall means nothing on this vacuum cleaner will crack or break any time soon.

6. Long heavy duty power cord means you can reach more places in your home with less power point swaps.

7. Replacement filters (if required) are cheap and easy to buy. Only $15.80 delivered (eBay) for 2 complete sets.

So in a nutshell this well designed vacuum cleaner addresses just about all the complaints and design flaws brought up about vacuum cleaners to make it one of the best vacuum cleaners money can buy.

The Best Vacuum Money can buy – I bought this little vacuum online after a very bad experience with a Hoover. After wasting a lot of money, I was a bit shy about buying another vacuum, but considering my Kambrook Jaguar is still going, after 10 years, I thought it was worth the punt. I did a bit of research, including checking on Product Review. It was even going to be delivered… Read more ·  1

by Aust Post, after buying online. I bought it on Friday 13 Feb 2015 and wow, what a great little machine. Don't be fooled by it's size, but keep the bagless dust holder empty and clean, and it is as good as the day I bought it.We live in a busy little country environment with dirt roads so it gets a bit dusty. We vacuum every second day with a good vacuum on the weekend. I run it on three quarter power, as there is a variable switch for suction, and of course it is the power supply. I have run it on full power when I need the carpet head to go hard, but otherwise I don't use full power. I would not use it on full power for any extended time; it's not a cement mixer! We have polished floors, tiled floors and carpet and it does them all. It looks like this model has been discontinued, but I wood buy another Kambrook tomorrow. Keep it up Kambrook!

Great value for money vacuum – I originally wanted a Dyson, but could not justify the expensive price tag that came with it. I began researching online for a cheap, basic cyclonic bagless vacuum, and came across the Kambrook CaptivG3Pet (KBV 480) This vacuum can be hard to find! The only stockist I found was Harvey Norman, and I called 4 different stores before finding one… Read more

that actually had it in stock, and for the bargain price of $129! Its a great vacuum cleaner, I find it a joy to use, its lightweight, has excellent suction, and is very easy to empty and clean the filters. It comes with a (non motorised) turbo head which is excellent for picking up pet hair. The only problem I have encountered with this vacuum is the retractable cord - the first time I used it it refused to go back in! Was ready to take the unit back when I tried again the next day and the cord went back in....this happens every time I use it, and Husband came to the conclusion that the vacuum is getting hot and affecting the 'retracting mechanism' somehow...anyway its such a minor issue it doesnt really bother me, as its an excellent vacuum for its price. A friend is considering getting one, she has a Dyson which she does like, but thinks the Kambrook works better! Cheap and works very well, carpets have never looked cleaner! Hard to find in stores, unit gets hot quickly, problem with cord retracting.

My cleaner, best ever – I had the previous model of the Kambrook captive and its the best cleaner ive ever owned. Theres no stopping it. I vacuum every day and have therefore used it 1795 times and its still going. Almost every piece is broken but is repairable, so now its in the garage and I have the new model. Ive had everyrhing, including an $800 miele but nothing compares to Kambrook captiv  Show details

Great suction – For the price this unit has been great!!! It's really handy and has great suction. I would recommend this vacuum highly. It is perfect for our apartment and easy to clean and maintain. Has the features you need to get the job done. I am quite happy with it. Great little vacuum  Show details

Happy with the vaccum – Great value for its price. I wasn't hoping it could do half of job considering it is relatively cheap among vacuum cleaners. The suction is quite powerful, which makes the cleaning result quite satisfying. The only downside I can think of is the wire. However, I'm not complaining. Love this Vacuum!  Show details

Very averager epalced now – I persevered with this for over a year but to be honest it was a pain in the rear end from day one. The suction started off OK but would rapidly drop off as it filled. Epting was a king sized pain in the tailpipe as invariably a little bit of paper of a lolly wrapper would be stuck in the little nooks and crannies inside and be nigh on impossible to get out. Replaced it with a cheapie from Kmart and didnt look back.  Show details

Not great. Broke twice – I bought the Kambrook for my pets (I have 2 cats and a dog). I found it wasn't very powerful and I had to vacuum the same room two to three times to remove the hair. Also the head had to be thoroughly cleaned otherwise it wouldn't pick up any hair. This took loads of unnecessary time and was a huge mission. The cable ended up Breaking, when you… Read more

pulled it out to plug in, it wouldn't stay out (I had had it only a month), returned it and got a replacement one, within 2 weeks the cable broke again (the exact same thing happened). This time I insisted on getting my money back. Now I am trying to find a vacuum that works.

I just wanted to share a story about this vacuum – Hi. I do not like to be too critical so I just want to tell you a story about this machine. If I could go back in time to the moment that Edgar Hoover - or who ever invented vacuum cleaners - had the bright idea to have a powered cleaning suction device - I would push them into a river ideally full of hungry piranhas to halt this god forsaken machine from ever being built.  Show details

Perfect vac – Best vac I have ever had. Good quality, reasonable price, strong suction, multi head tools. Although I use it weekly but after 4 years it still works the same as day one.  Show details

Great job – It is reallygood and easy to clean. Suction power is great, value for money is great as well. However whenever using the turbo suction, it is quite easy toget "overheat" a lil bit. Would love to recommend this tho Show details

Good cleaner for the price – Excellent for 2 bedroom apartment, carpet and tiles. Good suction. With frequent maintenance of filter, this unit has worked brilliantly for 8 years. Would recommend this to anyone living in a small dwelling. Show details

Great For Pets - Hard to clean out – This was such a life saver with our dogs. It really does a good job with long pet hair with the turbo brush BUT cleaning the actual turbo brush once it has done the job is a big pain. You have to clean the cleaner! Emptying the dust is another bug bear as its very fiddly and takes so much longer than a bagged model. We use a toothbrush to clean… Read more

out all the nooks and crannies but it takes time. Suction is good however and noise isn't too bad although the dogs go nuts. It fills up quickly aso you need to empty often because it also loses suction when it does.

It has lasted well as we have had it for over for years now.

Lasted 4 years – It takes a lot of power to do just two rooms, 2000W but the auction is normal, I compared this to Dysons 1300W which is way more powerful. If you have a pet the fur will stick to the filter and you have no other option but to wash it and slowly it will break the filter and you have to change to new ones.  Show details

Does the job with some effort – Has to be emptied after every use, and we have a very small house (one bedroom), other than that it is very effective when the filter is clean (which cannot be taken apart to be cleaned and replacements aren't cheap). We found the turbo brush head useless as pet hair was difficult to remove from it, but the other attachments are good. … Read more

February 7th 2018 Update: Decent vacuum let down by tedious maintenance and average attachments

We've had this vacuum for around four years now, and while it has held up to the task of cleaning the floors of our house which have been tainted by our extremely fluffy dog, the cleaning of the filter takes a bit of effort.

Apart from that, the included attachments - such as the turbo-head which is specifically for sucking and disposing of pet hair, isn't great and we have just stuck with using the standard cleaning head.

Needs new filters all the time – This vacuum is great, as long as you clean and regularly replace the filter... which nobody seems to stock. Seriously, if it was a simple task, I wouldn't have an issue, but the filter has to be washed and scraped with a fork (or similar) to remove the dust build up or the machine doesn't work. Inconvenient to say the least. Then when it wears… Read more

down, you have to replace it and no one sells them... not even JB, where we purchase the cleaner...

Not my favourite vacuum cleaner...

very good – great suction, having 2 large dogs inside it gets up all the hair and dirt that the old vacuum didnt get.....Only problem is filter changing, needs better instructions and possibly a video as the pics in the instruction booklet dont really show you how to pull it apart properly...apart from that a very good vac.  Show details

Does the job – I got this brand new for $149.95 from Dick Smith. Whilst it has all the things I require, bag less for hygiene, adapts from hard floors to carpets, Its a so so vac for the price. i had a dyson previously so i guess it has a lot to live up to. I find that as long as the canister is emptied when half full the suction is good.  Show details

Simply outStanding product – I purchased my Ronson g3 lift (identical to the Kambrook one) in 2010 and only regret not buying two of them! It is only a small vacuum and has the "problems" that come with... Namely a small dust canister (cyclonic vacuums dont work well once the canister fills up too much) also it has several stages of dust separation, so several places to… Read more

check/empty when using it. That said it is by far the most efficient vaccum I have used: It cleans superbly, has no dust smell in the exhaust and is still on its original filters after 8 years because they are robust and easy to clean. Did I mention I have a small child and my wife has 3 house cats??? This appliance does triple duty and does so like a champ. Also it has adjustable power - I never have to run it over 2/3 power as it does such a good job. Note I clean the filters regularly as well as the vacuum head, which makes a big difference to the suction.

Great vacuum cleaner – Really great vacuume, easy to use and get in small spaces. Not too heavy, easy to take from one end.of the house to the other. Simple and effective, cleans my carpets just as well as my wooden floor. Good to store in cupboard and easy to clean bagless. Would buy again.  Show details

Best Vaccuum ever – purchased this vaccuum after moving into a fairly new rental that had just had a bond clean done. I could not beleive the power of this cute little pink machine. What it sucked out from the carpets after a fresh clean had me amazed. The suction power is great. Perfect little vaccuum with lots of power and very easy to clean.  Show details

Best Vacuum cleaner I have ever had – This is a great little machine the suction is really good, many different brush heads came with it including a hard floor brush and a turbo brush. Seeing as I own a longhair cat that sheds fur everywhere this vacuum takes care of all the fluff. The turbo head makes my shag pile mat look like new. It is light and easy to manouvre and best of all it… Read more

does not tip over [the last vacuum of different brand I had did this all the time] It has two filters and is very easy to remove the dirt and fluff when finished vacuuming. The price was at the low end of the market and considering this I feel I have excellent value for money.

Great value for money – Powerful & reliable, have had for about 2 years, the only time it has a problem is when it is full of dirt etc...Because it cleans so well it fills very quickly & you need to empty after each use - when you get into the habit it wont let you down and does a great job. Enjoy the fact I don't have to go chasing up replacement bags all the time.Great value at $79.  Show details

Good little vacuume cleaner – Great little machine that does a great job. It is lightweight, easy to pull around & to clean. It has a lot of attachments but I only use the turbo head as it does the best job. However, I have noticed the cord will only retract three quarters of the way. For the rest, you have to let it retract as much as it will then pull it out a little, let it… Read more

retract as much as it will then repeat the process until all the cord is fully retracted. Other than that, it's great.

Punches above its (tiny) weight – Not sure what others are complaining about... I bought this as a "starter vac" when I moved into a unit, and absolutely punished it while renovating. I figured, for $150 bucks, who cares if it dies sucking up plaster dust (hooked up to the sander) and other renovation tasks. It's like a kid that's never been told it can't run a marathon. Doesn't… Read more

feel as slick as a dyson, but a third the price, so hey. Attachments & heads galore in the box. In short, a bargain, sucks stuff up just as well as a dyson. Try not to be a tool and suck up marbles or massive wads of hair or fluff (you'll be able to unblock it pretty easy though). Love the variable suction (aka noise level). I wish all other vacuums were as good.

Fantastic Vacumn – Amazing vacuum, particularly for the price ($149 JB Hi Fi). Have had a Meile, Hoover and Dyson recently, some costing upto $700. This beats them all hands down. Excellent suction, easy to drag around, great tools and very easy to empty/clean. This is my 2nd one, the first lasted 3 years before some of the plastic parts broke. Didn't even look at… Read more

any other models before I bought number 2. The $500 Hoover I bought from Godfreys never comes out of the cupboard, piece of junk compared to Kambrook Captiva G3 Pet. This is the latest model, would totally recommend, I'm super fussy so if you can please me, your up there with the best.

waste of money – I Was told this vacuum was really good considering it is a really cheap vacuum ... But it Doesn't pick up hair at all. Have to go over the same area over n over again. Wish I spent more money on a better vacuum with more power. Definitely get what you pay for.

Excellent first impression – Sucks like crazy. I have only used it a few times but i am surprised with the bad reviews. Purchased from BigW. So far so good. Light weight and maneuvers easily. Cord is a good length. I have a 3 bedroom house all tiles but i have rugs around. I was amazed with how much dust came out of my rug that my old vacuum didn't take out. I love it and its pink. hehe

The Kambrook Captiv G3 Sucks Really Well – Our machine started whining, overheating and not sucking. My partner checked for blockages and cleaned the filters, still no go. Then after double checking we found a big lump of charcoal jammed up in the pipe and gathering lint. Now it is back to 100%. For a little, inexpensive vacuum, it sure does suck big time, I mean that in a good way. So, before believing online complaints, check your filters and your pipes. Thanks Kambrook!

It is terrible! Do not buy! – This vacuum is absolutely terrible. We have had it for a year and a half and a few months ago it started not sucking. It makes a horrible high pitched sound when I turn it on even when the filters have been cleaned out. Doesn't suck anything and it drags around the stuff you have tried to pick up. Do not buy this. It is a waste of money.

Not even worth considering – Worked like a charm the first 3-5 times. It was a complete downfall from there. The vacuum has trouble pulling up pieces of hair and tiny papers from my carpet. At first i thought something was stuck or maybe it was too full, so i tried emptying it, replacing the pieces inside but to no such luck. Even on full power it can barely pull up small… Read more

pieces of hay.

Do not buy!! You are wasting your money. Kamrbook really should figure a way to replace these machines.

Waste of Money – Was very happy with vacuum for the first few months then not so much - constantly cleaning filter and maintaining machine as directed but suction is non existent. never again shall I buy Kambrook. Very disappointed. Will definitely not recommend. Have never had a vacuum like it and hope to never again.

Worst vac I've ever owned – This is the worst vac I have ever owned. When I first bought it I was pleased with it's suction. The problem is that it CONSTANTLY gets blocked up every single time you use it. Without fail. The design is horrible, there is a cone shaped section inside that is always blocked with anything bigger than a pea. Lots of vacs tend to lose suction as they fill up, but even emptying every use doesn't stop it getting blocked. Never ever buy this!!

Does not last longer than about 1 year – I bought a new one of these about 2 years ago, after approximately 12 months the suction was so diminished the vacuum was useless. I got a replacement machine , as just inside warranty, and now approximately 8 months later, suction on replacement almost to nil again.

Good small bagless cleaner – This small vacuum cleaner was adequate for a two bedroom apartment. Half the floor area was tiled and half carpeted. Did not find any problems with it and the suction was good. It came with a good dusting brush for doing shelves etc. and the usual carpet/hard-floor tool. Easy to empty and clean the filters when necessary. Small, good suction, nice dusting brush