GV 10 Quart Commercial Backpack Vacuum Cleaner with HEPA Filter & Tool Kit - Powerful Cleaning for Offices, Hotels & Schools

We own a house that has an variety of floor coverings - Carpet, hardwoods and tile. Also, we have two Great Pyrenees (over 100 lbs each, long white hair and they blow their coat twice a year) and a cat that practices his disco moves in the litter box every day. Finally, we live in a rural environment so we're surrounded by dirt and sand (and snow in the winter). Sweeping was at least a 45 minute ordeal for me as I'd chase dirt and clumps of hair around the floor with the broom acting as a combination of a fan and a static magnet. I also found that broom manufacturers seem to think that tall people don't sweep because the broomstick is always about three inches too short and causes me to stoop, hurting my back while I sweep.I decided I needed a backpack vacuum cleaner like the ones I'd seen the cleaning crew use where I used to work, so I began the search. the ones they used were way out of my budget, but this GV model looked to be just the ticket. I ordered one and it arrived promptly. When I opened the box though I became concerned.The inner box had all the earmarks of an item that had been sold and returned - partially removed labels, re-taped seams, etc. I went ahead and opened it and sure enough it was missing the extension tube and the beater brush. Rather that return it to Amazon, I decided to contact GV customer support. They prefer contact via email, which is what I did and I had a canned email back in a few minutes saying they'd address my issue soon. By the end of the day, I had an email from them stating they'd ship me a new one with an RMA to return the old one. I'd say that's good customer service.Upon receiving the new one, all was well. It comes with the attachments shown and a total of seven bags. the pigtail for power is about 4 ft long and has a power switch in it. I went to Home Depot and picked up a 50 ft 16-3 extension cord for $12 that reaches everywhere on the main floor of the house. There are two small Velcro straps on the left side of the waist strap for the cord - I found it best to secure the power switch in them and then secure the power connection with a square knot.After using the machine for about a month now, I have to say that I love the thing. It's got plenty of suction power, the floor tool get up against baseboards and into corners well and I'm not chasing hair around the floor anymore. It has reduced my floor cleaning time by about 15 minutes per session, and the dirt is neatly contained in the bag instead of having to dump it in a trash can where the hair can magically escape when you're not looking.I've also found that the small round brush does a decent job of dusting irregular objects like a floor lamp we have that's always been a pain to dust, or our office desk that I used to get down on my hands and knees to dust. Also, closet door tracks that would fill up with dirt don't anymore because because I can just pop the floor tool off the tube and suck them out. The waist belt also has several loops to put the other tools in, but I've found it a bit cumbersome for more than the crevice tool.FWIW, the back support system for this unit is not as good as more expensive models (I assume, I haven't tried them) and was a reason I had to decide between 4 and 5 stars. I did find that there is an adjustment on it however that isn't mentioned in the instructions. Where the support system is fastened to the vacuum cleaner (top and bottom), the plastic brackets have three sets of holes. When I received mine, they were mounted so that the brackets were as close together as possible. I removed the screws and moved the top bracket up and the bottom bracket down so they were as far apart as possible. This has the effect of moving the waist strap down on your torso a bit, which helped in my case.In summary, the vacuum cleaner is outstanding, the back support is good, but could probably be improved with a little more padding and a little better engineering and GV's customer support is stellar. In the end, it was their handling of the situation together with the overall performance that caused me to give it a 5 star rating.I wanted to like this vacuum cleaner. On first use, the hose popped out of the handle. I tried to get it to stay back in, but it kept coming out. The company was very cooperative - they even sent a replacement handle/hose combination. But that one ended up doing to same. Good customer support, but product is frustrating.I received everything and this machine works very well! There are a few problems though. 1. The extendable wand that connects the hose to the attachments was damaged when I received the product and the outside packaging showed no sign of damage. 2. This is a 10 qt. vacuum and they sent it to me with a 6 qt. bag . The Harness and the wiring are kind of flimsy and the power cord is about a foot an a half long. Also the harness needs to be attached to the unit and the power cord/switch need to be attached to the harness. The Velcro straps that hold the power cord and switch in place on the harness waistband are woefully inadequate... I punched some holes in the harness and used nylon wire ties to secure them properly... This machine's suction is incredible and it picks up anything including heavy nuts and bolts...and without having a fan directly in the path of the materials being vacuumed up the motor should last indefinitely. I attached a 12 inch wide Turbo nozzle and the suction is strong enough to drive the nozzle and still pick up dirt off medium pile carpets!!! I used my sidewinder tool with a wand I had on hand and it works beautifully with this vacuum as well!! If it weren't for the busted wand and the mediocre harness design I would have given this machine 5 stars instead of 4!!I love this vacuum. I cleaned my entire house with it the day I got it. However, the latch that controls the length of the floor attachment broke off w/in 20 minutes of use. I did hit it against a table, and as of now I have it ziptied onto the handle to keep it from sliding in and out. I will be able to use it this way vs sending everything back. What a hassle that would be. But the suction and the versatility of this vacuum is great. Some say it gets hot on your back, not really. Just a little warm but nothing that becomes hazardous or is uncomfortable. I love this vacuum. I was a little leery when first opening b/c the packaging was so heavy, but it is actually a light, comfortable cleaning tool. I would recommend it.I love this vacuum. It isn’t to heavy for my back. It picks up very sufficiently. I couldn’t live without it in my home.I first ordered the GV10 and it was a little too big. Sent it back a got the GV8 and it is perfect. It has powerful suction and small enough so when you swing it around while vacuuming you don't hit the walls. I not sure why more people don't use backpacks. They are real handy. You don't have to pull the vacuum around corners, upstairs etc.The cord it came with is plenty long and I find can do most of the downstairs without plugging and unplugging. The same is true when I move upstairs. In short, I would recommend the GV8. It performs as promised.I've had this vaccum for 6 months now and I am very satisfied with the results. With the accessories and price you will not find a better vaccum. I have friend who owns a Car Detail Shop and I let him borrow it and he almost didn't bring it back, he loved it and is considering buy two for his shop. Just a great all around vaccum.This item was purchased with the intent to aid in cleaning a school gym.It was returned the same day of arrival.This metal hose connector (arrived bent and out of circular shape) is thin.Canister was dented.The HOSE broke at the "90" connection. It arrived dented and is made of plastic, does not easily expand or flex, and is very thin; hence the break after a simple test.This is a poor value that will require you to waste time and money replacing parts. In my opinion, normal, non commercial use will be a problem for this item.I really wanted to like it.