The Navigator Lift-Away has been the default budget pet vacuum for over a decade, and the formula still works: around $160 to $200 buys corded suction that embarrasses budget cordless sticks on carpeted rooms full of dog hair, a sealed HEPA system that matters in allergy households, and the Lift-Away pod that detaches for stairs and furniture. At 14 pounds it is manageable, and parts and filters are cheap and everywhere. Its age shows in two places. The brushroll has none of the self-cleaning or anti-wrap design of the Stratos, so long hair forms a wrap you will occasionally cut away with scissors — a five-minute chore, but a real one. And the roughly 1.1-quart dust cup fills fast in a shedding household, with a dusty emptying process that allergy sufferers will want to do outdoors. It stays ahead of the budget cordless options because raw pickup per dollar on carpet is what a pet vacuum is for, and nothing near this price matches it. If your budget stops under $200, this is where it should stop.
Corded carpet pickup that outperforms anything near its price Sealed HEPA filtration at a budget price point Lift-Away pod handles stairs and above-floor cleaning Cheap, widely available filters and parts No anti-wrap brushroll, so long hair must be cut free periodically Small dust cup fills quickly and empties dustily