Shoppers rate this self-emptying stick vacuum higher than a Dyson and call it "excellent" — and it's just AU$649 right now

I'll admit I'd never heard of Kleva Range until recently, when a colleague mentioned the brand. I was amazed at the sheer volume of items available from Kleva, but my attention was drawn to its most reviewed — and highly rated — product, its self-emptying stick vacuum.

The Kleva Krapof Auto Clean Self Empty Slim Power Vac is both a mouthful and rather a tongue-and-cheek name, but just looking at the comments on Product Review (Australia's most prominent consumer review site) for this vacuum cleaner makes me want to try it myself.

Now, to be fair, a goodly number of those reviews are incentivised, but I've seen plenty of other 5-star reviews that appear to be from genuine shoppers. They call it "excellent" and claim that it "took [them] by surprise". The biggest callout was how lightweight the Krapof Auto Clean Slim Vac actually is, followed by having the convenience of auto-emptying.

For me, it was the specs sheet that did it. Kleva lists its suction power at 450AW, which outdoes the Samsung Bespoke Jet Ultra Elite's 400AW, and even Dyson's most powerful V16 Piston Animal falls far short at 315AW. I would recommend taking the high suction power claim with a pinch of salt, though, as overall performance is dependent on the airflow through the machine which, in turn, depends on the design of the vacuum and, particularly, its floorhead.

Its specs also lists the stick vacuum's weight at an impressive 2.4kg with the wand and floorhead attached. In comparison, most current cordless vacuums weigh over 3kg, including the self-emptying Dreame Z50 Station.

All the aforementioned cordless vacuums are premium-priced models, costing well over the AU$1,000 mark. The Kleva, however, is just AU$649. If accurate, the price and weight difference alone is something that makes it a clear leader in its class, and going by user reviews, surely this is worth consideration if you're in the market for a new vacuum.

Users have noted that the Krapof Auto Clean requires you to press a button to trigger the self-emptying process – something that generally happens automatically the moment the stick is placed back on the dock on other such vacuums. At this price, though, that's hardly a complaint.

I'm keen to put that 450AW of suction to the test. We've asked Kleva for a review unit, so stay tuned for our verdict on whether the Krapof Auto Clean lives up to its promises.