Weak motor and 18v can't carry it very far...
I bought this vacuum to use for small clean up jobs from punch list tasks (commercial construction). Initially it worked "ok", but the drawback is, once the filter (or prefilter) gets coated with drywall dust, the suction drops off dramatically. I'm using a 5.0ah battery, fully charged, and frankly it really doesn't have legs in "HEPA" tasks.
Using it for coarser materials like sawdust or basic dirt it's a bit better. Fine concrete or drywall dust, forget it, don't bother as you'll barely coat the filter and the under powered motor can't draw vacuum through that.
If this was a 36v and had twice the motor, it'd likely be the whip. As is, had I been allowed to "trial run" it, I would've passed on the purchase.
To add, I'm a die hard Makita fan, pro carpenter for over 30 years and have many, many of their tools with umpteen batteries.
This one disappoints.
Verified purchase: YesCondition: New