I have the Dirt Devil Dual Chamber Reaction. I love it!!! It has everything... for only $160. I did a lot of research before I bought it... I wanted a Dyson so much but was not willing to spend $600 on a vacuum.
Pros to the dirt devil Reaction:
-the chamber has a lid, so when you take it out to empty you don't let any funk into the air. Just push a button over the garbage and it dumps the dirt. My 2yo has yet to figure out how to dump it... with my last one the second he pulled out the chamber I had a huge mess....
-there is a valve on the hose. When your vacuuming with the upright the air doesn't have to travel through the hose, it goes right to the chamber. When you take off the attachements, the valve opens to take suction from the base to the hose. BIG pro to me... really increases suction.
- Washable hepa filter, no replacements
-when locked upright, the brushes don't touch the floor, so you can use the attachments without running down your carpet in spots.
-I once sucked up a large cushined man's sock and it went all the way to the chamber... that's how strong it is.
Cons
- the rotating brush attachment doesn't work too well (but do any??)
-the attachment hose doesn't have a lot of reach. It's kinda stiff. But I can do 1/2 staircase with it.
-the bare floor setting isn't too good.. biggest complaint. It kicks the dirt back at my feet when doing tile.
-When your 2yo finds a way to drop a screw directly into the motor (I think he took off the filter and dropped it in) it will over heat and you will have to take it back to walmart, (without a box or receipt, if your like us) to beg for a replacement. I took it completely apart first, though... the screw totally fried the motor.....I now know exactly how a vacuum works......
I have over 2400 sqft of carpet in my house, 2 kids under 5 and two large, shedding dogs.... so.... if I like a vacuum......
HTH...