REASONS TO BUY
Long reach
Many adjustments
REASONS TO AVOID
Expensive
Poor with rice and flour
Bulky head
Difficult turns
Kenmore 600 Series Pet PowerMate Review
This model's ineffective maneuverability and scanty cleaning performance are a poor combination for taking care of your home
A higher-than-average priced canister vacuum with lower-than-average results.
Credit: Kenmore
RELATED: Best Canister Vacuum of 2023
Our Verdict
The Kenmore 600 Pet Series PowerMate canister vacuum sounds much better than it performs. This bulky model posted one of the lowest performances of all our vacuums. Given its large price tag, we expected much more. While it is decent at cleaning up pet hair, it is terrible at carpet cleaning — which is the most important factor of any vacuum. It does have one of the longest reaches of all the products we tested, and the PowerMate's head has lots of adjustments. Unfortunately, it's also bulky and doesn't maneuver very well. It did better at cleaning up messes on hard surfaces but has a middling performance overall.
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product
Kenmore 600 Series Pet PowerMate | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards |  |  | |||
| Price | $350 List $294.45 at Amazon | $80 List $80.37 at Amazon | $400 List $292.78 at Amazon | $70 List $79.72 at Amazon | $62 List $71.99 at Amazon |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Pros | Long reach, many adjustments | Great edging, hard surface, and carpet cleaning performances | Great maneuverability, cool features, picks up finer debris, great with hair | Easy maneuverability, strong suction, good on hard floors | Lightweight, inexpensive |
| Cons | Expensive, poor with rice and flour, bulky head, difficult turns | Poor pet hair cleaning, short reach | Poor with larger debris, expensive | Struggles with pet hair, non-adjustable shaft | So-so with pet hair, can get clogged |
| Bottom Line | This model's ineffective maneuverability and scanty cleaning performance are a poor combination for taking care of your home | This little vacuum can pack a punch in performance, cleaning carpets and hard surfaces with ease at an affordable price | Great cleaning performance with additional features that will keep you happy and your house clean | Great maneuverability and cleaning performance makes this a go-to vacuum, especially if you're looking for a bagged model | While being light and easy to handle, this product struggles with more intense cleanup challenges |
| Rating Categories | Kenmore 600 Series... | Eureka WhirlWind | Dyson Big Ball Mult... | Eureka Mighty Mite | Bissell Zing Bagles... |
| Carpet Cleaning (35%) | |||||
| Ease of Use (25%) | |||||
| Handling (20%) | |||||
| Hard Surface (10%) | |||||
| Pet Hair (10%) | |||||
| Specs | Kenmore 600 Series... | Eureka WhirlWind | Dyson Big Ball Mult... | Eureka Mighty Mite | Bissell Zing Bagles... |
| Model Number | 81614 | NEN110B | N/A | 3670G | 2156A |
| Dirt Collection | Bag | Bagless | Bagless | Bag | Bagless |
| Measured Head Width | 14.25'' | 10.5'' | 10.5'' | 10.5'' | 10.0" |
| Measured Weight | 22.8 lbs | 11.0 lbs | 17.4 lbs | 9.3 lbs | 9.2 lbs |
| Measured Brush Width | 13'' | N/A | 9'' | N/A | N/A |
| Measured Weight | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Brush On/Off Switch | Yes | N/A | Adjusts | N/A | N/A |
| Measured Maximum Reach | 40' 6" | 26' 10" | 33' 4" | 31' 10" | 26' 6" |
| Measured Power Cord Length | 28' | 16' 6" | 22' | 19' 6" | 16' 6" |
| Automatic Cord Rewind | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Measured Noise | 73 dBa | 68 dBa | 74 dBa | 72 dBa | 72 dBa |
| Measure Suction Power | 74'' | 60'' | 80'' | 90'' | 64'' |
Show full specification detailsHide full specification details
Our Analysis and Test Results
What sets the Kenmore 600 Series Pet PowerMate apart from other canister vacuums is its incredibly long reach. Its 28-foot cord should also be enough to get you up or down the stairs without having to unplug. This model comes with an adjustable head with which you could change the suction, brush speed, and head height simply by using a slide on the handle. We also enjoyed how this vacuum managed to inhale pet hair, but we had difficulty finding other things to like about this product. We recommend taking a look at the best canister vacuums in our review.
Performance Comparison
Credit: Chris McNamara
Carpet Cleaning
The Kenmore 600 Series Pet PowerMate was, unfortunately, a disappointment when we put it to the test. We rated the 600 Series on how it swept up dry rice, flour, oatmeal, and Cheerios on low and medium-pile carpeting.
When we vacuumed the rice and Cheerios, the debris flung to the sides. No matter what type of carpeting we tested, this vacuum chucked more debris than it picked up. Oatmeal was better, meaning that the Kenmore 600 actually picked up more than half of what we had placed. Of course, it took a few passes to get all the bits and pieces, but it eventually got most of it. This vacuum also left behind lots of flour.
Our testing process includes rice, oatmeal, flour, and cereal for the vacuums to pick up.
Credit: Austin Palmer
Ease of Use
For this metric, we tested edging, reach, and surface transition. When we attempted to vacuum debris against the edges of the room, the Kenmore 600 Series Pet PowerMate continued to fling debris against the wall. To say that this vacuum failed the edging tests would be an understatement.
Surface transitions were very easy with the Kenmore.
Credit: Chris McNamara
The Kenmore 600 Series Pet PowerMate did, however, perform its best in two tests: reach and surface transition. This vacuum stretches out to just over 40 feet. It also has adjustments for height, suction, and an on/off switch for the brush roller, allowing it to easily transition to hard surface cleaning.
Handling
There are three tests in this category: maneuverability, pushing and pulling effort, and stairs. Overall, the maneuverability of the Kenmore 600 Series Pet PowerMate was poor. The swivel head doesn't turn easily — you have to move your whole body around in a circular fashion to make the adjustments, which defeats the purpose of having a swivel head.
We put all models through a maneuverability course and carried each one up and down stairs to see how easily they handled.
Credit: Chris McNamara
Stairs were also difficult. While it's true that this machine has a great ability to reach, the overall weight of 22.8 pounds means that hauling this canister up and down gives you a total body workout.
Hard Surface
Just like our carpet tests, we vacuumed up pounds of rice, cereal, oatmeal, and flour — this time on wooden floorboards. The Kenmore 600 Series Pet PowerMate had an OK performance overall in this metric. This machine did a good job getting all the rice and oatmeal on the hard floors. But, it suffered a bit at picking up Cheerios and flour, as did most other canisters.
This vacuum did a decent job at picking up oatmeal from the hard floors.
Credit: Austin Palmer
If you want a canister vacuum for hard floors, this isn't the worst one out there, but it certainly isn't the best.
Pet Hair
For our pet hair tests, we weighed 50 grams of Fluffy's hair and spread it around on the carpet and flooring. We then made four passes and weighed the amount left over to find the percentage picked up.
We were impressed by the Kenmore's ability to pick up pet hair.
Credit: Austin Palmer
The Kenmore 600 Series Pet PowerMate lives up to its name as one of the best canister vacuums for picking up pet hair. It gathered a spectacular 90.60% of pet hair. Since this canister vacuum's head has its own brush roller, it makes picking up pet hair much easier.
We recommend making an investment in a better-performing model.
Credit: Chris McNamara
Should you buy the Kenmore 600 Series Pet PowerMate?
The Kenmore 600 Series Pet PowerMate has subpar carpet cleaning and lousy handling. If it doesn't clean your carpets well and is clunky to move around, that decreases its worth significantly. But, it does redeem itself somewhat with its stellar pet hair performance. We are stunned by the price of this model compared to its disappointing overall performance. We don't feel that this vacuum has enough redeeming qualities for us to recommend it.
What Other Canister Vacuum Should You Consider?
The Kenmore 600 Series Pet PowerMate excels in picking up pet hair and is relatively easy to use. It has some good qualities, but not many. We recommend other vacuums in our lineup that perform better at a more reasonable price point, such as the Eureka Whirlwind. But, if pet hair is your main concern, the Dyson Big Ball Multi Floor is your vacuum.
—
Ruth Bruckbauer and Jessica Riconscente
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