Our Rating:
Key Features:
3,800 Pa of Suction Power
150 Minutes Battery Life
Multi-floor mapping
Lidar Navigation
Impressively Capable Cleaning Robot with a lot of Promise
The OKP L1 robot vacuum comes in at a price point lower than the market leaders while offering 3800 Pa suction and many of the features we love about more expensive bots. It is also one of the first robots I’ve tested that successfully vacuumed my high-pile shag carpet without getting stuck.
But the L1 isn’t without its faults. Poor translations, bugs in the app, and a map that can’t be broken down into separate rooms make it less user-friendly. But all of these are simple tech problems that will likely be fixed with future software updates.
Given how well this striking blue robot cleans and what it already has to offer, we say buy now while the price is so reasonable. Because once these glitches are fixed, this OKP robot is likely to rise in popularity and that price point is going to rise with it.
Pros
- Smaller body gets into tight spaces and takes up less room
- LiDAR mapping is fast and accurate
- 3800 Pa suction on high
- Large 500ml dustbin
- Manages well on high-pile carpet
- Long runtime up to 150 minutes
Cons
- Map cannot be broken down into separate rooms
- Small obstacle avoidance is non-existent
- Cleaning pattern is not overly efficient
- Smartphone app is buggy
- Poor translations make notifications hard to understand
Should You Buy It?
If you’re looking for a reasonably priced robot that can clean both hard flooring and thicker carpets, this is a great buy.
It has all the important cleaning features of the more familiar brands and LiDAR technology for quick, accurate mapping.
Disclosure: It is important you understand that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. All opinions are our own we pride ourselves on keeping our articles fair and balanced. For more info see our disclosure statement.
OKP L1 Robot Vacuum Overview
Below you can find a brief table outlining the key specifications of the OKP L1 robot vacuum cleaner.
The information presented is based on empirical data obtained through our rigorous testing conducted in real-life situations.
Read on for more information.
| Suction Power | 3800 Pa |
| Speeds | 3 (silent, standard, powerful) |
| Dustbin Volume | 500 mL |
| Battery Size | 19 V |
| Battery Life | 150 minutes on low |
| Smart Home Connectivity | Alexa, Google Assistant |
| Noise Level (low/high) | 59 dB / 68 dB |
| Navigation Type | LiDAR |
| Mapping | Multi-floor |
| Cleaning Options | Sweep only |
| Size | 12.99″ across x 3.74″ tall |
OKP specializes in robot vacuums for the home. The company currently has 6 robo vacs to choose from including two with LiDAR navigation technology.
The L1 is the third highest-priced of the group. Its successor, the L3, has many of the same features but utilizes an auto-empty dock for hands-free dustbin cleaning. But the title of most expensive OKP goes to the C5 model, which includes a video-call camera so you can check in on pets from anywhere and a low-profile design to clean those hard-to-reach places.
A few of the standout features of the L1 model include:
- Advanced FreeMove 3.0 Lidar Navigation
- Voice control with Alexa and Google Assistant
- Multi-floor mapping with automatic map recognition
- Multiple cleaning modes, including spot, area, and full
- Large 500mL dustbin while maintaining a smaller body than competitors
- Multi-surface cleaning including thick carpets
- No-clog design optimal for pet hair removal
- Long battery life
- A striking matte blue finish
While we love the unique look of this colorful robot, it’s the price that really got our attention. It offers a ton of features at a far more reasonable price point than many.
The OKP L1 comes with a lot of promise, but how does it perform in a real home setting? I had a chance to test the OKP L1 robot vacuum myself to find out.
Below, you’ll find the results of my many cleaning tests, learn what I liked and disliked about this well-priced bot, and see my full OKP L1 robot vacuum review.
How The L1 Robot Vacuum Performs
The CPK L1 comes with an extra filter, prefilter, and side brush. It was well-packaged and looked great straight out of the box.
As I have done with the many robot vacuums I have reviewed, I put this blue beauty straight to the test.
Cleaning Performance
To test the L1’s cleaning performance, I set up a number of assessments. I also spent plenty of time watching the robot clean the floors as it would in a normal home situation and tested all the various cleaning modes.
Overall, this model performed better than average when used in normal cleaning situations. It left the hard flooring and carpets looking reasonably clean and didn’t miss any spots. The spot-cleaning mode, which performs multiple passes over the selected area, was especially effective for messes.
During general cleanings, it managed to pick up a lot of hair, smaller particles, and even some large beads. It didn’t collect a ton of fine dust and the brush had a lot of hair tangled around it after just one cleaning, but the floors were visibly cleaner.
While I was very happy with the real-world household cleaning results, the L1 performed less impressively during some of the focused tests.
Hard Flooring Dog Hair Test
The L1 did a fairly good job cleaning up dog hair on hard flooring surfaces. Like other vacs, the side vents pushed a lot of the hair around which led to some being missed. But it did quickly remove about 80% of the hair after one pass.
NOTE: This test was performed in standard power mode.
This vacuum would be a good choice for users with pets and tile, hardwood, or laminate floor surfaces in their homes. It won’t pick up everything in a single pass but it will leave your floors looking much cleaner.
Hard Flooring Sand Test
The L1 was less effective at picking up sand. After one pass, it only managed to collect about 60% of the grains and left streaks of sand in its wake. This test was done on the highest power setting due to the heavy nature of sand grains.
If sand and dirt are a common problem in your home, this vacuum may not be powerful enough to keep your floors pristine. But it does a decent job if you use it daily.
Low-Pile Carpet Test
The L1 performed about average on low-pile carpets. It picked up a decent amount of visible hair and some of the larger lightweight and heavyweight debris but also left some visible debris behind. The suction was strong enough to stand up the carpet fibers to make the area look freshly vacuumed.
As with most vacuums I’ve tested, this one does a good job cleaning carpets at the “surface level.” For a true deep clean, you’ll still need to bust out the push vacuum.
High-Pile Carpet Test
The results for the high-pile carpet test (using my shag rug) were similar. Much of the visible debris was removed but not all of it. And it was able to fluff up the fibers but the look was not as uniform as what a real vacuum could accomplish. But the robot was able to complete the test without erroring out, which was a major accomplishment.
The L1 is one of the only robo vacs I’ve tested that didn’t repeatedly get stuck on the high-pile carpet. Most of the time, the anti-drop sensors trip and the vacuum needs to be removed by hand. But this vac was able to clean the entire rug without problems, which is pretty amazing.
If you have shag carpets in your house, the L1 is the best option I’ve found. It won’t deep clean them, but it does a good job of making them look refreshed.
Navigation
The L1 boasts state-of-the-art FreeMove 3.0 LiDAR navigation, which enabled it to promptly and precisely map out my single-story home.
Although the initial mapping process took longer than expected, the subsequent cleanings demonstrated noticeable improvements in efficiency. While it may not be as consistent as some other LiDAR vacuums I’ve tested, I am optimistic about the L1’s potential with future software updates.
The OKP L1 is what I would call “tenacious” when it comes to obstacles. It would yield quickly to large barriers like walls and furniture without bumping. But shorter obstacles like thresholds, cables, and thin table legs were charged repeatedly and either conquered or eventually abandoned.
This tenacity helps the L1 not miss areas but it also makes it not a great fit for homes with fragile furniture or clutter on the floor.
Obstacle Avoidance Test
In the staged obstacle avoidance test, the L1 showed no propensity for avoiding small obstacles. Toys, legos, and other items between 1 and 3 inches were run over and pushed around. Slightly larger items were avoided when the robot came at them head-on, but run over if not encountered on center.
I wouldn’t recommend the L1 for homes with a lot of toys on the ground. It would also be disastrous in homes where pet messes are a problem.
Battery Life
The OKP L1 vacuum has a fairly impressive battery life. On low, it can run for 150 minutes before needing to charge. On standard, this is closer to 120 minutes. Compared to other vacuums, it does not cover as much ground as quickly, though, especially when mapping.
Given these factors, it can only clean around 1400 square feet per charge. But it does include an option for continuous cleaning that allows it to resume the same cleaning task after full battery power is restored.
Usability
The vacuum itself is very user-friendly. The large dustbin allows it to clean more square footage without emptying and helps the bot maintain full suction longer. All the controls and parts on the robot are easy to use.
It’s the smartphone app that really lowers this robot’s usability rating.
Like many bots in this price range, some of the prompts are poorly translated. This makes it harder to get set up and hard to understand what is happening when the robot errors out while cleaning.
But the bigger issue was that there were a lot of bugs in the app. The volume control for the robot doesn’t work (and it is stuck on a really loud setting!), not all cleanings were saved to the record, and the speeds are mislabelled.
The maps allow you to set no-go zones but are not otherwise customizable. You can’t separate the space into rooms which means you can’t clean by room or set a cleaning order.
But all of these issues would be easy enough to fix with an upgrade.
The app itself is intuitive and easy to navigate. With these bugs improved, the product would be much more user-friendly.
Build Quality
I really do like the look of the L1. The matte finish is unique and the color really sets it apart from all the boring black and white robots on the market. It is also very compact and smaller than most robots but has a larger dustbin than average.
The look may not fit the decor of all homes. But, if you don’t mind a little pizzazz, it’s a great choice. And the smaller size makes it easier to place the charging dock in the home.
The plastic used in the dust bin feels lighter and thinner than others. But this may be because it was designed to be clear so you can see how full the bin is.
It is hard to say how long this robot will last but it does come with a 1-year warranty, which is a good sign. Overall, the build quality seems fitting for the price point.
OKP L1 Alternatives
The OKP L1 provides good functionality and decent cleaning power. And its small size, unique look, large dustbin, and ability to clean high-pile carpets make it a great fit for smaller homes with multi-flooring types and shag rugs.
But it also has some drawbacks that may not make it right for you. If you want a robot vacuum that can navigate effortlessly around obstacles or that has more cleaning functionality, there are other options in this price bracket.
The Yeedi Vac 2 Pro has better obstacle avoidance capabilities than the L1. It senses and moves around objects as small as 1 inch and is less likely to get tangled in cords. It has a lower suction rating but does an equally good job cleaning hard flooring and low-pile carpets.
For more cleaning power, we like the Shellbot SL60. It offers a higher 4,000 Pa suction, automatic carpet boost, and can mop as well as vacuum. This LiDAR bot isn’t as capable on high-pile carpets as the L1 but it does an amazing job cleaning most other surfaces.
| OKP L1 | YeediVac 2 Pro | Shallbot SL60 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Navigation Type | LiDAR | Visual SLAM | LiDAR |
| Cleaning Functionality | Vacuum | Vacuum and mop | Vacuum and mop |
| Suction | 3800 Pa | 3000 Pa | 4000 Pa |
| Price | $$ | $$ | $$ |
Final Thoughts
While the OKP L1 has a few bugs that need to be worked out, it is a solid robot overall. It cleans well on a variety of surfaces and is one of the few robots we’ve tried that can handle shag carpet. It also has a unique look and compact size that we appreciate.
With a few updates, this robot vacuum would be an amazing buy. We suggest investing in yours now before these upgrades kick in and the price of this blue bot goes up!
To purchase one today or learn more about what the OKP L1 robot vacuum has to offer, click here.
