Dad’s short answer: Heavier than a vacuum, and they get heavier as you work — the dirty tank fills with everything you pull out of the carpet. Good ones are engineered so the weight rides on wheels and doesn't fight you. Bad ones feel like pushing a lawnmower through sand.

Why the weight changes mid-job

You start with a full clean tank and an empty dirty tank. As you work, water moves from one to the other, and the dirty water is heavier because it's carrying everything that was in your carpet.

So a machine that feels manageable in the store aisle empty is a different machine three-quarters of the way through a living room. That's worth knowing before you buy, especially if stairs or a bad back are part of your situation.

On the upright I scored well, being genuinely light to push back and forth was one of the things I singled out, and it's a bigger deal than the spec sheet makes it sound. A machine that's a chore to push doesn't get used.

What actually decides how it feels

Wheel size and placement. Big rear wheels carrying the weight makes an enormous difference over small casters.

Whether the brushes help pull the machine forward, which several designs do and which takes most of the effort out of the forward stroke.

Handle height and the angle it reclines to. If you're tall or short, this matters more than the raw weight number.

And the stairs question: if you have to carry it between floors, look at the weight figure seriously, and check whether the tanks come off so you can carry it in pieces. That one detail can decide whether an upright works in a two-story house at all.

Dad’s Take: Weight matters less than wheels and balance. A well-balanced heavy machine beats a light one that fights you.