Roidmi F8 Storm is a cheap Dyson alternative
The Chinese-made cleaner has a 55-minute cleaning time and multiple brush heads at a low price.
The Roidmi F8 Storm is a powerful handheld cleaner that's comparable to the Dyson V8.
You may not have heard of Roidmi before, but you may have heard of the phone manufacturer Xiaomi , which invests in companies that develop products for its ecosystem.
These companies make a wide range of products, from smart toothbrushes, air purifiers, weighing scales, light bulbs and now, a vacuum cleaner. Roidmi's F8 Storm is very much like the Dyson suckers, and feature a brushless motor and cyclonic sucking action.
You may think that it's yet another Chinese Dyson clone, but the F8 Storm has a different design, resembling more of the Dyson V10 with a horizontally-aligned bin. Specs wise it does outperform the older V8, with a lighter weight, faster charging time and slightly longer usage.
It doesn't have a stand so you won't be able to put the Storm F8 standing up like this.
It also has the same motor performance and suction power, though its dust cup is about one-fifth smaller, so you'll be emptying it earlier. It comes with plenty of attachments, from a roller head that resembles the Dyson Fluffy head, to a soft-pipe extension to get you into hard to reach nooks.
I've been trying one out and here's what I think so far. The unique design is certainly eye-catching, but it's not very practical. The round design doesn't lend itself well to being placed on the table, you're usually laying it on the side, unlike the Tefal Air Force 360 or the Dyson cleaners, which have a built-in stand.
There are two buttons on the handle for different gripping styles to adjust the suction strength, but only one button will turn it off and on. Also, the suction doesn't start up as quick, there's a noticeable lag before it goes on full blast unlike Dyson cleaners, which pretty much are full-on from the get-go.
The main power button is located here, and there's another one slightly further back on the handle.
There are two modes: Regular, which gives you 55 minutes of run time, and max mode, which drains the battery in 10 minutes. A battery indicator on the top lets you know when it needs a charge, which takes about 2.5 hours to get to full.
While the roller head attachment feels like a copy of Dyson's Fluffy roller head, I like how its integrated light sensor switches on an LED light when you start cleaning darker places. There's also a crevice tool and an anti-mite brush in the box.
The roller head attachment has a LED light that turns on when the light sensor detects that it's dark.
It wouldn't be a Xiaomi ecosystem product if it wasn't smart, of course. So the F8 Storm connects to the Mi Home app, which lets you check on capacity, battery charge and the number of calories you've burnt cleaning with it.
Roidmi is currently running a global Indiegogo campaign (the F8 Storm is already available in China) to get its products in more markets. You can pop by the page to grab one for much less its $399 launch price with shipping.
As always, please note that CNET's reporting on crowdfunding campaigns is not an endorsement of the project or its creators. Before contributing to any campaign, read the crowdfunding site's policies -- in this case, Indiegogo -- to find out your rights (and refund policies, or the lack thereof) before and after a campaign ends.
Quick specs
- Motor: 100,00 rpm
- Suction power: 115W
- Charge time: 2.5 hours
- Max usage time: 55 minutes, 10 minutes in Max mode