Hey everyone, got two new backpacks, the Sandia Raven 10 quart and the Windsor Vac Pac 10 quart. I actually have five backpacks in my collection now, and I'm beginning to think there are more similarities than differences. Many wet dry vacs are the same way, they might be different colors, different attachments, different sizes, but many of them are very similar. You tend to see more differences when it comes to different manufacturers' canister or upright models. The Sandia Raven was available in several different models, Hepa 10, super 10 and a few others, but I think the only difference is the attachments that are included, I actually bought the vacuum by itself since I have plenty of attachments. The Windsor model includes the typical set of accessories, two piece wand set, floor tool, dusting brush and upholstery tool. I like the upholstery tool included with the Windsor, there's no brush on it, but it spreads the suction across the entire tool, similar to the tools you see on some car wash vacuums.
The harness on both of these models is very good, better than the Pro Team super coach in my opinion. The straps are a bit hard to adjust, but once you adjust them, they stay there, the straps on the Super Coach will loosen up much more easily and the buckles will actually come completely out of the straps if you accidentally push them too far.
I have not tested either vacuum with my rug rat turbine attachment yet, but I will post the results once I have them. While the speed that a vacuum can spin a turbine attachment does not automatically mean a vacuum is good or bad, it at least gives an indication of the amount of air flow through the system. The sandia backpack claims their CFM is 150 which is the highest I've seen on any vacuum, I'm not even sure how that's possible with a 1.5 diameter hose. Both vacuums include a 50 foot extension cord that connects to a pigtail cord on the units. This is how most backpacks seem to be designed, the only backpack I've seen where the 50 foot cord is connected directly to the vacuum is the vacuum from Powr-flite. Personally, I think the pigtail design is better by far. The powr-flite is a great vacuum, the fact that the 50 foot cord cannot bbe removed is my biggest pet peeve.
When it comes to sound level, the Windsor is a bit quieter than the Sandia, it may be that the Sandia's motor is slightly more powerful, but the Windsor is not lacking in power either.
Both vacuums have the typical backpack filtration, the main bag goes inside a cloth bag, there's a filter on top of the vacuum motor and an exhaust filter on the bottom. The sandia vacuum has a bag support that goes between the bag and the motor filter which is supposed to improve air flow as the bag starts to fill. Both vacuums include paper bags. This is a bit behind the times, they need to switch to cloth bags. Fortunately, both of these use the round 10 quart bags so I ordered a pack of cloth backpack bags to use instead. The cloth bags are much less likely to rip.
The Sandia vacuum can also function as a blower, but converting it is inconvenient, especially if you have a dirty bag in it. You need to remove the bag and cloth filter, then you put the lid on the bottom of the vacuum instead of the top.
Finally, there is one major thing that I don't like about each one. With the Windsor, the switch box hangs loose from the unit, attached to a short cord. There seems to be no way to secure it to the unit itself. With other backpacks such as the supercoach and Perfect Backpack, the switch box is secured to the unit. If the Windsor vacuum is sitting on the floor, the switch box could easily be stepped on which would most likely damage it. With the Sandia, the switch is actually on the unit itself, there is no switch box.
The main thing I don't like about the Sandia backpack is the hose design. With most backpacks, the hose is pushed in to the top of the unit and is separate from the unit itself. With the Sandia vacuum, the hose is actually part of the lid assembly and cannot be removed from it. So, if the hose is ever damaged, you must replace the entire lid assembly. I think this is a terrible design. The company claims that this provides a tighter connection preventing suction loss, and you can put the cover on facing either direction to adjust the hose for left or right handed users, but most backpack hoses have a swivel cuff that goes in to the vacuum, allowing the hose to face any direction that is needed. I think the risks of this design far outweigh any benefit this may provide.
Neither of these vacuums provide a connection for a power nozzle. It's actually surprising that more backpacks do not provide this, since a power nozzle will always clean carpet better than straight suction.
So, when it comes to these two backpacks, there is definitely a difference. The Sandia backpack is able to spin a turbine brush faster, it's not quite at the speed of a central vacuum, but it's close. On the other hand, the Windsor spins the turbine at a speed similar to many of the Canister vacuums I have such as the Miele C1 Olympus, Sebo Airbelt D1, etc. This doesn't mean the Windsor backpack is a bad vacuum, but it does mean the Sandia backpack does have more air flowing through it. I can't say for sure, but I think the Windsor backpack may use the same motor as the Powr-flite backpack I have, they're the same pitch and same sound level.
Comes to the Rescue!
