Design and attachments
Proscenic is not trying to innovate with its design. Where Dyson led, the P11 follows. It’s a bagless cordless cleaner with a familiar transparent dustbin design and overall shape. The P11 is a traditional stick vacuum, which means it doesn’t stand up by itself. If you pause while cleaning, you’ll have to lay it on the floor or wedge it into a corner. However, when using it, it’s light and easy to manoeuvre. It has a washable Hepa filter and a dustbin that, although not large at 0.65 litres, is easy to remove and clean. It’s clear that Proscenic spent time on the extras. Open the P11 box and the vacuum cleaner and attachments are attractively packaged in cardboard sheaths. The vacuum cleaner is quick to assemble, with parts clicking easily into place. The cleaner wand is metal, which gives it a premium feel, although this is slightly negated by the presence of Proscenic’s saccharine slogan: Endless Love For Family. Slightly odd, as this is one of the less family-friendly vacuum cleaners around. The P11 can be used as a stick cleaner or handheld and it comes with four main attachments: a motorised cleaning head, a mattress brush, a crevice tool and a round brush that can rotate to 90° for easy surface cleaning in the handheld mode. This last attachment is a particularly useful addition to the kit.
The vac comes with a neat little wall mount, which doubles as a charging point. The vacuum cleaner slots in and begins to charge automatically. More and more, vacuum cleaner manufacturers are opting for a system like this, which is all well and good if you have wall space and don’t mind having your vac in view. To be fair, the P11’s colour scheme of dark grey with red accents is pleasantly muted and it won’t be an eyesore. But the P11 has an alternative charging system. You can pop the battery out of the vac and charge it via a plug, so that you don’t have to display your vac to charge it. It’s nice to have this option.
Performance and features
Switch on the P11 and a touchscreen above the handle illuminates. The screen displays battery life, error reports and cleaning modes.
There are three cleaning modes in total. The vacuum cleaner comes on in auto mode but you can also opt for low or high. Low and auto mode are quiet, which you’ll appreciate when you’re using it, but the high mode makes a pretty unpleasant high-pitched whine. Speaking of switching the vac on, unlike cordless Dyson models, you don’t need to keep the trigger squeezed to keep vacuuming. This might not be as good for battery life but it makes it much more comfortable to use. The battery is supposed to last for 50+ minutes on the lowest power setting and 12 on the highest. In my tests, I felt that this was a bit optimistic. In fact, of all the cleaners I’ve tested recently, this one spent most time plugged in. Plus, the battery life seemed to drop off quite rapidly towards the end. Its charging time is reasonable though, at 2.5 to 3 hours. One of the key selling points of the P11 is its strong, 25000pa suction power. That makes it twice as powerful as Proscenic’s previous model, the P10 – on paper at least. In reality, while it does a fair job on hard floors, it struggles on carpet and has very little effect on embedded dirt or pet hair caught in the pile. Vacuum cleaner effectiveness isn’t all in the suction power. The design is just as important. And there’s something in the way the P11 is designed that’s failing to capitalise on its power. Part of the issue could be that the spinning brush seems to scatter particles before they can be sucked up. The P11 also has a mop. Fill the reservoir, click it onto the main vacuuming head via a magnetic clip and you can vacuum and mop at the same time. Well, that’s the idea. In reality, the wet mop head (which covers the wheels) makes it less manoeuvrable and the presence of the vac head makes it hard to put enough pressure on a spill to wipe it away.
If I were to buy the P11, the mop attachment would wind up in a box in the cupboard, never again to see the light of day. It’s just quicker and more effective to use a manual mop.
The P11 has another luxury feature, alongside the touchscreen and charging dock. It’s a set of really effective LED headlights. While headlights on a vacuum cleaner are by no means necessary, they really do give visibility a boost when cleaning in dark corners and under furniture. However, in spite of these features, I’m left with some doubts about the quality of its construction. The battery became slightly loose in its housing during the testing period and I’m left with the feeling that it won’t be a product that’ll last you for years to come.
Price and availability
Verdict
If you have hard floors and are looking for a lightweight cordless cleaner with some nice features, the P11 is a decent option at a good price. There are lots of elements to like, including the LED headlights and charging options. However, the problem is that it has more bells and whistles than welly, so we wouldn’t recommend it for people whose homes have thick carpets or who need a hard-working vac. Nor do we think it’s a product that will withstand years of use. If you’d like to see more options, have a look at our round-up of the best vacuum cleaners we’ve tested. Emma is Home Tech Editor at Tech Advisor. She covers everything from kitchen appliances to smart home devices, from floor care to personal care to air care technology. She’s particularly interested in environmentally conscious brands and products that save people time and money.
