My parents had an ancient Kirby when I was a kid. Weighed like 30 pounds. They are solid, but as has been said, their marketing is brutal. Rainbow? Give me a friggin' break. That is about as BS of a scam as I have seen. Sure it works, but a Dyson does just as good a job (if not better) for a fraction of the price. Dyson gets the nod in my house because we have stairs and it is a quality unit that works. I have had mine for 8 years. Mind you, we have 7 dogs and 6 cats. and 3 kids. Dyson gets it done for far less than any of the others.