I've finally found a vacuum that rivals my corded model - Gtech is the underdog you need to know about

The Gtech AirRam 3 is one of the most powerful cordless vacuums that I've ever used. It's dextrous, smooth, and keeps all dust and debris in the floorhead. I think it's a worthy contender for some big household names.

The Gtech AirRam 3 is my case in point for the ‘if you know you know’ brands. Unless you’ve done some vacuum research, you’ve probably never heard of them. Founded in 2001, British brand claims to have kicked off the cordless innovation in vacuum cleaners by making the first cordless carpet sweeper. After you’ve handled one, you won’t be surprised. This is one of the best vacuums in the market. 

It might not come with Dyson’s prestige or Shark’s fame, but the Gtech does a quiet and thorough job. I have a woven carpet that none of the over twenty vacuums that I’ve tested have managed to clean and yet the Gtech had it vacuumed up in no time. It’s a real underdog.

Specifications

Unboxing

The Gtech AirRam 3 keeps things simple and that’s clear from the very outset. It comes in a cardboard box, which holds the floorhead, charger, stick, and handle. There are some extra bristles for the floorhead, but it’s not elaborate at all. It’s actually really refreshing to have a vacuum this simple, even though it does make cleaning the cracks between my staircase a little trickier. 

The Gtech AirRam 3 would score top points for unboxing if it wasn’t for the plastic film wrapped around the parts. In this day and age, it’s very much possible to package products without the need for single use plastics. You could recycle the thin plastic at your supermarket — lots of people make the effort to — but I know there are plenty who won’t. Aside from that, the Gtech AirRam 3 gets a high score for my first impressions.

Who would it suit?

The Gtech AirRam 3 is heavier than lots of your other cordless vacuums and the floorhead is more substantial. If you’ve got hard floors and tricky surfaces to clean, this should be your go-to. It has the power of a corded vacuum, just without the tie of needing to be near a plug. If anything, this was even better than lots of the corded vacuums that I tested: you saw what I said about my pesky woven carpet, this is the only vacuum that managed to clean it. 

On the flip side of that, is that this does get heavy going up and down stairs. My house is five stories tall and when I did my mammoth clean of the whole place I was certain that my upper body workout at the gym was going to be cancelled the day after. 

What is it like to use?

As with all the best cordless vacuums, this is really easy to use. The two arms click together and then they lock into the floorhead. That’s where they’re designed to stay: you have to find an Alan key to unlock them from position. Mine needed to be charged before use, so I sat it on the dock and left it overnight. You can tell when it’s charging because the white floorhead lights pulse bright and dark. I wouldn’t have this in a room that you’d sleep in for that very reason.

Come morning, this was full of juice and ready to go. There are some instant features that anyone who vacuums regularly will really appreciate: it can stand independently and the handle rotates to some amazing angles. You don’t need to practice lots of difficult body contortions, nor do you need to struggle under the sofa. This twists and can lie almost completely flat. The award for gymnastics certainly goes to the Gtech AirRam 3.

The mechanisms for working the Gtech AirRam 3 are then very simple. The power button is on the floorhead (on the left), so give it a tap with your foot and it’ll be ready to roll. You could do this by hand, but it’s not an easy alternative, so I do worry that those who aren’t mobile enough to balance and tap the on button with a foot are also unlikely to want to squat down to turn on the vacuum. 

There aren’t any modes or settings for you to switch between — that’s all up to the Gtech AirRam 3, so I ran it through my tests to see how versatile and sensitive this really is.

Test 1: flour and sugar

The first test that I give all vacuums is how well they can suction flour and sugar off hardwood floor, carpets, and linoleum. It’s a great way to test what the vacuum would be like if I was trying to pick up smaller particles like dust — or indeed flour — from around the house. 

When I turned the Gtech AirRam 3 on, the first thing I was struck by was the noise. It clocked a whopping 101 dB on my monitor, which is much louder than the 70-80 dB vacuums that I’ve been testing. Granted, this was softened when I was on carpets, but pop your earplugs in for hard floors. 

The Gtech AirRam 3 is certainly better on carpets and rugs. In fact, on soft floors, this was easily the best vacuum that I tested. On hard floors, it did pick up my flour and sugar, but I needed a couple of passes to properly pick up every last speck of dust and flour. You can see in the picture below: there's a fair amount left behind.

The floorhead lights, whilst not as strong as Dyson’s laser or Shark’s, were still bright enough to show up spots that I might miss under the kitchen island and sofas. So, it’s a good extra feature to have, not that you get to choose whether it’s running or not. 

Test 2: cereal

My second test, vacuuming cereal, is designed to emulate bigger pieces of debris around the home. That might be cereal itself, a stray pea, or kibble from your pets. The Gtech AirRam 3, whilst powerful and noisy, started to throw some of the granola across the wood floor at first — granted, I had given it quite a pile to plough through — but it's obviously not ideal. Unlike other vacuums, I managed to pick every last bit up without too much frustration and I found that this didn't happen on more textured stone floors, but if you have all hardwood floor in your home, it might be worth looking for a vacuum with a soft floorhead.

You'll be pleased to know that the Gtech AirRam 3 was remarkably good at picking up large debris on carpets. I promise I will stop mentioning the woven floor soon, but this made my jaw drop. I had vacuumed this carpet with seven other vacuums in the month that I tested the Gtech AirRam 3 and this filled its dust bin with how much it was picking up. There wasn’t a scrap left behind. 

Test 3: hair

If you have pets or long hair, you’ll know the pain of vacuuming and finding a roller jammed with strands of hair. To test out the Gtech AirRam 3, I left the dog roaming around the house all week, didn’t vacuum up after brushing my hair, and scattered extensions \round the house. By the end of the week, I could feel an eye twitch coming on I wanted to vacuum so badly, so I couldn’t wait to run around the house, from top to bottom. 

I have steep stairs and five floors in my home, so getting around takes some time. The Gtech effortlessly whizzed up strands of my hair, extensions, and the dog’s hairs on flat floors. I didn’t have any issues with the hair getting wrapped around the floor head either. The only catch was that this simply isn’t suited to narrow, slim stairs. The floorhead is massive, which saves you a lot of vacuuming work, but it makes squeezing into stairs a bit of a tight fit. I could see patches and cracks were missing, so I think you’d need a small vacuum, or even a handheld model to supplement your cleaning here.

Cleaning

One of the neat features of the Gtech AirRam 3 is that the dust bin is stored in the floorhead. This really helps when you’re doing long cleans on one level — your arms are supporting a lot less weight — and it’s surprisingly big. I could run through my basic tests: vacuuming 200g of flour and sugar, two large handfuls of muesli, and one dusty floor without needing to empty it. When it did come around to doing the dirty work, everything unclasped easily and emptied without a fuss. Bag-free cleaning is a real trend and this is a great example of how simple it can be. 

How does it compare?

The AirRam 3 is a dream for floor cleaning—lightweight, self-standing, and easy to whizz around. But that’s where it stops. No handheld mode, no faffy attachments—just a powerful, no-nonsense vacuum. The Dyson V11, on the other hand, offers a lighter vacuum, more flexibility, and the option to convert into a handheld vacuum. Whilst the AirRam was fantastic on my woven floor, the Dyson V11 was more consistently good on harder surfaces, especially with my cereal test. So, unless you have a specialist need, I'd be tempted to go for the Dyson.

You'll probably also be wondering how the AirRam compares to Shark's PowerDetect vacuum. It's a similar story to the Dyson V11 really. The Shark outperforms the AirRam in that is all about flexibility. It's nicer to handle and comes with lots more features that'll let you reach cracks and crevices. The AirRam was still superior on that woven carpet, but for day-to-day cleaning, I'd put my money with Shark.

All in all, if you want effortless, powerful floor cleaning, the Gtech AirRAM 3 is a fab choice. But if you need a vacuum that can do everything, the Dyson V11 or Shark PowerDetect might be a better fit.

Should you buy it?

I love the Gtech AirRam 3 as a simple, powerful vacuum that steps away from all the fiddly extras that lots of cordless vacuums seem to come with. If you'll be vacuuming on one level and you're after sheer power on difficult weaves, this is perfect. If you like more complex and nuanced designs, it's worth shopping around.

How we test

At Woman & Home, we rigorously test vacuums to find the top models for your home. Our reviews cover everything from suction strength and user-friendliness to battery life and performance on pet hair, crumbs, and everyday dust. We assess each vacuum across different floor types, checking for maneuverability, noise levels, and ease of emptying and storage. Whether you’re after a lightweight cordless option for speedy clean-ups or a powerful machine for deep cleaning, our recommendations are based on how well each model handles real-life messes.

If you want to find out more, you can visit our dedicated page for how we test vacuums.