The BISSELL AeroSlim/TurboSlim is a simple handheld vacuum. It's lightweight, compact, and best-suited for tackling small messes on bare floors and low-pile carpet. It has a simple design that's easy to maintain and incurs practically no recurring costs. However, it has a very short battery life, a tiny dirt compartment, and struggles quite a bit with bulkier debris due to its narrow vacuum opening. Overall, if you're looking for a spot-cleaning vacuum that can be stored almost anywhere, this is a good option.
While there are two differently-named variants of this vacuum, though they only really differ in color. Further information is provided in the 'Differences Between Variants' section of the review.
Our Verdict
The BISSELL AeroSlim is adequate for bare floors. It's well-built, decently easy to maintain, and incurs practically no recurring costs. While it picks up pet hair and small debris without an issue, it struggles with cleaning up bulkier debris. It also has a very small dirt compartment that requires frequent emptying.
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Virtually no recurring costs.
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Decently easy to maintain.
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Good build quality.
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Small dirt compartment.
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Bulky debris can get stuck at vacuum entry.
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Short battery life.
The BISSELL AeroSlim is decent for low-pile carpet. It does a fantastic job of cleaning pet hair and performs adequately well when it comes to sucking up coarse and fine debris. Unfortunately, large debris can get stuck at the entry to the dirt compartment and prevent you from sucking up more debris. That said, it has a short battery life and a tiny dirt compartment.
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Virtually no recurring costs.
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Decently easy to maintain.
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Good build quality.
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Picks up pet hair on almost all surfaces.
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Small dirt compartment.
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Bulky debris can get stuck at vacuum entry.
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Short battery life.
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Struggles slightly with fine debris on carpeted surfaces.
The BISSELL AeroSlim is a satisfactory choice for high-pile carpet. It sucks up pet hair without an issue, but struggles more with debris such as sand and baking soda, not to mention bulky material. Thankfully, it's well-built and has a simple design that incurs virtually no recurring costs.
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Virtually no recurring costs.
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Decently easy to maintain.
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Good build quality.
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Picks up pet hair on almost all surfaces.
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Small dirt compartment.
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Bulky debris can get stuck at vacuum entry.
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Short battery life.
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Struggles slightly with fine debris on carpeted surfaces.
The BISSELL AeroSlim is excellent for pets. Although it doesn't have an allergen-trapping HEPA filter or a brushroll for picking up fur, it still manages to easily pick up pet hair on most surfaces. It's also easy to take apart for maintenance and uses washable filters, so recurring costs shouldn't be a concern.
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Virtually no recurring costs.
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Decently easy to maintain.
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Picks up pet hair on almost all surfaces.
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Short battery life.
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No allergen-trapping HEPA filter.
The BISSELL AeroSlim is superb for cleaning stairs. It has a lightweight, cordless body that can be easily carried around and does a decent overall job of picking up debris on a wide mix of surfaces, though larger debris can get stuck at the entry to its dirt compartment.
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Compact, lightweight design.
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Decently easy to maintain.
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Crevice tool allows you to clean tight areas.
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Good build quality.
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Bulky debris can get stuck at vacuum entry.
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Short battery life.
The BISSELL AeroSlim is amazing for cleaning the inside of your car. Its cordless design and included crevice tool/extension wand should allow you to clean tight spots inside your car. It's decently effective when it comes to cleaning pet hair as well as material like sand and baking soda from low-pile carpet.
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Compact, lightweight design.
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Decently easy to maintain.
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Crevice tool allows you to clean tight areas.
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Good build quality.
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Short battery life.
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Decently easy to maintain.
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Short battery life.
- 7.0 Bare Floor
- 7.5 Low-Pile Carpet
- 7.3 High-Pile Carpet
- 7.0 Pets
- 8.9 Stairs
- 8.6 Cars
- 5.0 Workshop
- Updated Feb 27, 2023: We've changed the product name to 'BISSELL AeroSlim/TurboSlim' in order for the review to encompass all model variants. We've also added the TurboSlim variant to the Differences Between Variants section.
- Updated Oct 11, 2022: This vacuum's suction force has been retested with a more accurate manometer. The test results for the 'Maximum Suction' and 'Normal Suction' fields have been updated. All relevant scores and text have been updated.
- Updated Aug 03, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
- Updated May 03, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 1.0.
- Updated Oct 22, 2020: Review published.
- Updated Oct 16, 2020: Early access published.
- Updated Sep 30, 2020: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Sep 29, 2020: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
- Updated Sep 26, 2020: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
There are two variants of this vacuum, though they differ only in name and color. We tested the AeroSlim model, and you can see its label here.
| Model Name/Code | Tools Included | Wand Color |
| BISSELL AeroSlim/2986D | Crevice tool, Dusting brush | Black |
| BISSELL TurboSlim/2986C | Crevice tool, Dusting brush | White |
If you come across a differently equipped vacuum, let us know in the discussions, and we'll update our review.
Compared To Other Vacuums
The BISSELL AeroSlim is a lightweight, compact handheld vacuum. It's very portable and can easily be stored almost anywhere. It has a simple design that's easy to maintain and incurs practically no long-term costs. That said, its short battery life, handheld-only configuration, and tiny dirt compartment make it a poor fit for cleaning large spaces.
For more options, take a look at our list of recommendations for the best handheld vacuums, the best lightweight vacuums, and the best car vacuums.
The Shark WANDVAC is a better-performing handheld vacuum than the BISSELL AeroSlim/TurboSlim. The Shark clears more debris on bare floors and low-pile carpet, has a larger dirt compartment and an additional upholstery tool, and does a better job of filtering away allergens. It also charges much faster, though the BISSELL has a longer battery life. The BISSELL is also a little more compact and a bit lighter.
The Black+Decker 16V MAX dustbuster Cordless Hand Vacuum and BISSELL AeroSlim/TurboSlim have different strengths. The Black+Decker has a much larger dirt compartment, clears bulky debris with little trouble, and performs better overall on bare floors. Conversely, the BISSELL has a longer battery life with a shorter recharge time, does a better job of dealing with pet hair, has lower recurring costs, and is substantially smaller and lighter.
The Wyze Handheld Vacuum is better for most uses than the BISSELL AeroSlim/TurboSlim. The Wyze has a larger dirt compartment, an allergen-trapping HEPA filter, more tools and accessories, and delivers superior overall performance on bare floors, low-pile carpet, and high-pile carpet. Meanwhile, the BISSELL has virtually no recurring costs.
The BISSELL AeroSlim/TurboSlim and eufy HomeVac H11 are extremely closely-matched, which isn't surprising given their very similar designs. They share almost identical battery life, recharge times, overall cleaning performance, and build quality. However, the BISSELL does distinguish itself from the eufy thanks to its washable, as opposed to disposable, filters and included rack station that stores its combination tool.
The HoLife HM036E is a more versatile handheld vacuum than the BISSELL AeroSlim/TurboSlim. The HoLife has a larger dirt compartment, almost twice the battery life and shorter recharge time, more tools and brushes, and performs much better on all surface types, with no issues sucking up bulky material. While we don't test this feature, the HoLife also has a liquid nozzle to suck up wet messes. Meanwhile, the BISSELL is much lighter and incurs practically no recurring costs.
The Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro+ is a better handheld vacuum for cleaning pet hair than the BISSELL AeroSlim/TurboSlim. The Shark is easier to maintain, has a larger dirt compartment, and comes with a turbo brush with a self-cleaning brushroll. It also has a significantly better performance on all surface types. However, some users may prefer the BISSELL's smaller size. This vacuum also has better battery performance, is easier to store, and has virtually no recurring costs.
Test Results
The BISSELL AeroSlim is well-built. While its dirt compartment feels a little flimsy, the rest of the vacuum is made of sturdy-feeling plastic. It has a very simple design that makes disassembly and reassembly very intuitive, and it can be used out-of-the-box.
This vacuum has a simple design that makes it easy to access the few parts that require maintenance.
- Dirt compartment: The dirt compartment can be detached by twisting it clockwise from the main body of the vacuum. Before emptying it of debris or washing it under warm water with mild dish soap, you should remove the filters inside.
- Filters: The lint screen protects the main filter inside the dirt compartment. You can twist the lint screen clockwise to separate it from the main filter. The lint screen and filter can be washed under warm water with mild dish soap when you notice a decline in performance.
All parts that can be cleaned with water should be left to dry for at least 24 hours before putting them back in the vacuum.
This vacuum has virtually no recurring costs. Its lint screen and filter don't need to be replaced as long as you wash them regularly. If you need to replace either component, the lint screen and filter are sold as a single set on BISSELL's website.
The BISSELL AeroSlim has very good storage properties. It's very compact overall and comes with a low-profile rack that holds the vacuum upright and stores its included multi-purpose tool.
Like most handheld vacuums, the BISSELL AeroSlim's dirt compartment is very small. It needs to be emptied frequently and doesn't have a maximum fill indicator to let you know once it has reached maximum capacity. Take a look at the Wyze Handheld Vacuum if you're looking for a comparably-sized handheld vacuum with a slightly larger dirt compartment.
- BISSELL AeroSlim vacuum body
- Dirt compartment
- 2x Filter
- 1x Lint screen/filter cover
- Combination crevice tool and soft brush
- Vacuum rack
- USB-A to micro-USB charging cable
- User guide
Since this is a cordless vacuum, its range is limited only by remaining battery life and the amount of space left in its dirt compartment.
This vacuum is incredibly portable. Like the similarly-designed eufy HomeVac H11, it's very lightweight and is easy to carry from room to room.
This vacuum's battery performance is mediocre. It supplies roughly 13 minutes of continuous runtime and features three indicator lights on its main body that gradually blink out as its charge level drops. Despite its short runtime, it takes about three hours to completely recharge, which is unfortunate. It can be recharged via a micro-USB cable attached to a household outlet via an adapter. However, it should be noted that the vacuum doesn't come with a USB charging adapter for wall outlets.
The BISSELL AeroSlim is a basic vacuum with no extra features except for an easily-accessible on/off button.
This vacuum comes with a combination crevice tool/extension wand with a removable soft bristle brush. With the tool attached, you can clean tighter spaces or use it to clean debris from more delicate surfaces, such as lampshades or curtains.
This vacuum can only be used in a handheld configuration. With its combination tool attached, you can tackle messes on furniture or hard-to-reach areas.
The BISSELL AeroSlim delivers unremarkable performance on bare floors. While it does a fantastic job of cleaning pet hair and small debris, such as rice, on this kind of surface, it struggles significantly more with bulkier material. Debris like pieces of cereal can get stuck at the entry of the vacuum and block it almost completely, preventing it from picking up any more material.
This vacuum's performance on low-pile carpet is satisfactory. It sucks up pet hair without much of an issue and does a reasonably good job of picking up coarser material like sand. It may take a couple of extra passes to fully clear finer material, such as baking soda spills.
The BISSELL AeroSlim has decent performance on high-pile carpet. Similar to its performance on low-pile carpet, it clears pet hair easily. However, it struggles more with both coarse and fine debris, such as sand and baking soda. If you're looking for a handheld vacuum with a better performance on high-pile carpet, consider the Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro+.
The BISSELL AeroSlim has decent maneuverability. While its handheld design isn't suited for cleaning large areas, its lightweight body makes it very easy to clean furniture or navigate around obstructions. Even with its extension wand, its reach isn't long enough to clean under couches or other types of low-lying furniture.
