Polaris Vac-Sweep 280 Pressure-Side Pool Cleaner

Our take

The Polaris Vac-Sweep 280 Pressure-Side Pool Cleaner is a pressure-side cleaner driven by your pool’s return line from Polaris. It cleans the floor and walls, navigates at random, turning when it bumps into a wall, and has no app.

On paper it scores 5.3 out of 10 (basic) against other pressure-side cleaners. Its strongest areas are cleaning coverage (7.0) and pool size (5.0). Where it gives ground: navigation (4.0) and warranty (4.0). Random navigation: it can miss spots and take longer to cover the pool.

The best price we found is $599 at Leslie's. The typical pressure-side cleaner we track costs $949.99, so this one is cheaper than most. For what it does, its value score is 10.0 out of 10.

If you want waterline scrubbing, the cheapest we track with it is the Pentair Kreepy Krauly Platinum Pressure-Side Pool Cleaner at $949.99.

Bottom line: a basic pick for buyers who want the most features per dollar and low running cost and nothing to charge.