The term “affordable robot vacuum” and good performance don’t always go hand-in-hand. If you’ve ever owned an older or an inexpensive robot vacuum, you’ll know how bad they can be. Most robot vacuums that fall into those two categories really aren’t very good. They bumble around the home, turning and bumping at random and don’t ever seem to clean very well.
While the Bagotte BG800 most certainly falls into the affordable robot vacuum category, it’s not dumb by any means. In fact, Bagotte will give more expensive robot vacuums a run for their money in every way. That all starts with navigation.
Good navigation is often the hallmark of a more expensive robot vacuum. Even an inexpensive, affordable robot vacuum can feature a powerful suction motor and a large battery. But these traits don’t mean much if the vacuum can’t efficiently clean a home. The Bagotte BG800 utilizes an intelligent array of sensors to detect where it’s going in the home. That means it can plan efficient cleaning routes, more like you would with a handheld vacuum.
Route planning is often something you only see on vacuums that are $400 or more, yet the BG800 retails for $280. The vacuum will even map your home in realtime and show its current location in the app. There are lots of more expensive robot vacuums that still don’t do all of that.
Loads of features without all the fluff
The Bagotte BG800 gets the job done without fuss and without requiring you to pay an arm and a leg for it. By default, the vacuum will work in rows throughout each room, methodically cleaning every square inch of your floors without missing a spot. It knows where it’s been and can get back home to charge if needed. That’s great for large homes with lots of square footage.
The BG800 has a 100-minute battery life. That’s common among most robot vacuums, but this number is more than just a basic statistic. That’s because a vacuum that has intelligent, methodical navigation will do more in the same time frame. A robot vacuum with random bump-and-go navigation will aimlessly roam without doing much.
In short, 100-minute battery life for the BG800 is a much better representation of a clean home than 100-minute battery life on other robot vacuums in this price range.
Bagotte even offers several different types of navigation that’ll help create a cleaner home without getting in the way all the time. Say you’ve got crumbs that like to accumulate under the kitchen cabinets regularly. You can schedule an edge cleaning from within the app so the vacuum just gets under these types of places. That significantly reduces the cleaning time needed and keeps those annoying crumbs from getting under your feet while cooking.
That scheduling feature comes in handy for everyday cleaning, as you can easily set the vacuum to perform a light cleaning when you leave for work. The Bagotte BG800 can also pair with Amazon Alexa, so you can even ask your home to vacuum itself. Bagotte advertises the ability to link to Google Assistant, but this functionality wasn’t available in my Google Home app.
The cleaning power you want
Folks with lots of hard floors can pick up the mopping accessory, which sells for a modest $20 on Amazon and can be snapped onto the back of the BG800. That increases the value of the BG800 considerably, making this the smartest $300 robot vacuum and mop you can buy.
Bagotte’s strong motors inside the BG800 deliver a stellar 2200Pa of suction power. That’s enough to pick up large debris as well as the tiny bits that get in between floor gaps.
The BG800 has a sensor that’s able to detect when the vacuum is rolling over carpet. It can then automatically boost suction to pull out all the little bits. This carpet boost feature is automatic and works extremely well in most homes. Conversely, there are options to keep the BG800 in maximum suction mode or quiet mode at all times. That versatility is important for cleaning up the biggest messes and for keeping noise down at night.
You can use the Bagotte app to run automated cleaning jobs, create and adjust the regular cleaning schedule, and even manually control your vacuum. That last part is a fantastic way to clean very specific places in the home, say a small spill in the middle of a room, or for just a quick sweeping job.
You’ll find lots of replaceable parts inside the box, including extra brushes, air filters, and even a handy remote that sits on the top of the charging station. It’s handy to have a physical remote for quick tasks for many reasons. Imagine having to unlock on your phone, open an app, and touch a bunch of buttons just to get your TV on. It would get old fast, wouldn’t it? The remote includes most of the functions of the app, minus the mapping features, of course.
While the BG800 will map your home in realtime and show you its location throughout the cleaning cycle, this map isn’t interactive. That means there’s no way to create virtual barriers on your floorplan.
Thankfully, the BG800 ships with magnetic stripping that functions as a physical barrier. This magnetic stripping can be placed under area rugs to keep it from mopping the rug. It can also be placed under furniture to keep the vacuum from venturing into a place where it can get tangled on cables. Once the vacuum comes across the magnetic striping, it treats it just as if it were a wall and immediately turns around.
Simple maintenance and pleasant design
Bagotte’s designs have made the need for daily maintenance a simple affair. Emptying the bin is, generally, the most common maintenance task. Like any vacuum, you should regularly empty the bin after a cleaning run to ensure the best suction and capacity for additional debris.
The dustbin itself is well thought out, as the entire top of it opens up and makes it super easy to fully empty. Some robot vacuum dustbin are tiny and difficult to empty, but not this one! The filter is also simple to remove and blow out, and an additional replacement filter is included in the box. Three replacement side brushes are also included, which seems a bit overkill to me. Only a single roller brush is included, which is a shame. I’d rather have one replacement of the side brush and main brush, personally.
The BG800 features a unique purple color and circular design pattern up top that looks great. The shiny top is simple to wipe off and makes the vacuum look far more expensive than it costs. I also really enjoyed the purple color used and found that it didn’t get easily dirty or show obvious wear. The vacuum is smart enough to not drag itself against walls or other obstacles, which helps keep up its appearance over time. That’s definitely impressive for an affordable robot vacuum.
It’s all you’ll likely need
When it comes to robot vacuums, there are a lot of options. While you could opt for something more expensive, you probably don’t need to. Bagotte’s intelligent navigation means your home will be cleaned with nary a spot missed. It’s also powerful enough to actually clean your floors without leaving debris behind.
The optional $20 mopping accessory puts the value of the Bagotte BG800 over the top. That makes this an easy recommendation for anyone looking for an inexpensive robot vacuum that’s actually good. Some other robot vacuums will offer more features, but you’ll pay a lot more for them. Want a vacuum that can suction and mop your home for $300 without need to complicated setup? The Bagotte BG800 is what you want.