The Dyson PencilVac is the most unusual looking vacuum I’ve seen. It’s also one of the most genuinely innovative. The USP here is that all the insides have been shrunk down so they fit entirely within the handle – which itself is just 1.5 inches / under 4cm in diameter. This makes it ultra-compact and very lightweight.
It also boasts an odd-looking floorhead, with four cone-shaped, entirely soft rollers. The tapering shape of the rollers is designed to be better at tackling long hair – the strands should make their way towards the narrow end, where they can drop off in a clump, ready to be vacuumed up.
There are plenty of cool-sounding features here, but what’s it like to actually use? How does it compare to the rest of the best Dyson vacuums on the market? I’ve been testing one out at home for a couple of weeks – you’ll have to fit tight for my full review, but here’s my take so far…
1. It’s incredibly nimble and light
The PencilVac really is a dream to maneuver. It feels very light in the hand, and pivots like a dream. You feel like you can really fling it around in a way that’s not possible with traditional stick vacuums. Because the two pairs of rollers rotate in opposite directions, you can attack dirt from either side of the floorhead.
The wand can lie completely flat to the ground for cleaning right under furniture, and if you take the floorhead off and add a detail tool it’s also pretty good for clearing the cobwebs in your coving, no matter how high your ceilings are.
2. The grip takes a bit of getting used to
There’s no handle here… or perhaps there’s only handle, if you want to think of it that way. Either way, the grip is different to that of a traditional vacuum. You hold the PencilVac more like a broom, except it’s wider and heavier than a broom handle would be.
I got used to this new grip pretty quickly and didn’t find it a hindrance, but I do think it’s less secure to hold than a traditional vacuum handle would be. If you were considering the PencilVac as a lightweight option because you have mobility or motor issues, that’s worth knowing.
3. It works great on hard floors
Based on my early tests, the suction (which is much less powerful than the rest of the lineup) is ample for clearing dust and pet hair from hard floors. I’ve been using it on the big tiles in my kitchen, and it’s ideal for this. However, the soft rollers combined with this lower suction mean it’s not well-suited to carpet.
4. The battery life might be an issue
At a maximum of 30 minutes per charge – dropping to 20 if you use the Med suction mode – the PencilVac isn’t really for whole-home cleans. It’s enough to do a kitchen and a couple of bathrooms, though, so if that’s all the hard flooring in your home then you’re golden. I think Dyson probably envisages this one as being for speedy cleanups rather than lengthy sessions.
5. That angled floorhead is annoying
While in general I really like the new Fluffycones floorhead – and not just because it appears to float across the floor in a snazzy, space-age kind of way – the fact that the front edge comes to a slight point is not ideal. It means it can’t sit flush to the edge of a wall.
Thankfully, the side edges can do this, so if you go in from the side you can still get a thorough edge clean. Still, this isn’t always possible, and I’d have preferred to be able to approach from any angle.
A not-straight front edge was also an issue with the All Floors Cones Sense floorhead that accompanies Dyson’s latest flagship – the V16 Piston Animal – was one of my big complaints with that machine.
If you do decide the Dyson PencilVac is the vacuum for you, it’s already available to buy direct from Dyson in the UK and Australia, and it costs £429.99 / AU$949. US pricing and release date are TBC.
