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I never thought I’d be using words like chic and stylish to describe a vacuum – after all, I don’t particularly like cleaning and certainly don’t find the act of vacuuming particularly sophisticated.
After testing the PencilVac Fluffycones (the name in itself is quite mad) though, I’ve decided this really is the best way to describe Dyson’s latest cleaner.
I was fortunate enough to get a sneak peek of this unusual vacuum last year at a Dyson briefing and during that (albeit) short time, I was really excited to get my hands on it for a full review.
This was for two reasons – one it’s extremely lightweight and easy to manoeuvre – all in all it weighs just 1.8kg and two, it’s specifically designed for use on hard floors, which is what makes up the majority of my house.
In the past I’ve had trouble choosing the right vacuum for myself, as I find cleaning quite tricky – so I was hoping this might be the answer to my cleaning woes.
However, at £429.99 for a tiny vacuum that is not supposed to be used on carpet, can you really justify the price of this Dyson or is it just an expensive gimmick?
The Dyson PencilVac comes in a tiny box
It looks super sleek in my home
Dyson PencilVac Fluffycones
Product Specs
- Capacity0.8L
- Min/max run time8 minutes/24 minutes
- Weight1.8kg
What we love
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Ease of useReally easy to manoeuvre around the room
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WeightSuper lightweight, ideal for older people/those with impaired mobility
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DesignSleek, modern and unobtrusive
What could be better
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PriceToo expensive for most people
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CapacityOn the small side, so not suited to larger homes
Our verdict
While I personally loved the Dyson PencilVac vacuum, I can’t in good conscience give it a full 5/5 stars. It’s simply too expensive for what it is. However, I was genuinely very impressed by this latest model and in reality, it doesn’t really go wrong if you take the cost out of it.
Like most of Dyson’s recent releases, it’s designed with a specific user in mind and I think that user might be me. I’m disabled and have quite bad spatial awareness and motor skills, so I find vacuuming quite tricky and cumbersome, even if the vacuum is described as lightweight and easy to use.
With the PencilVac Fluffycones, I was blown away. It’s so easy to use and allows me to whizz around my home in minutes to do a quick clean. While it doesn’t have a very ergonomic handle, I personally didn’t find it difficult to hold, but if you do have grip issues, you might find it tiresome over long periods. I was also really easily able to reach high places in my home, something I could never do with other vacuums due to their weight and size.
This tiny little stick can pick up a decent amount of dust too. It uses a high amount of air pressure to compact dust, meaning it’s less likely to get clogged as you go along. It tackled the mountains of pet and human hair on my hard floor with ease too, due to its anti-tangle tech.
Is this going to give you the most thorough, deepest clean in a large home? No. For that, I’d suggest a corded model like the Shark Lift Away Upright or Vax LiftOut Reach Pet. However, as far as cordless vacuums go, it’s pretty decent and I would seriously consider it if, like me, you find cleaning quite difficult day to day.
How we test
At the Daily Mail we put every vacuum we test through a series of repeatable tests, as well as real-world testing where we use the products in our home over several weeks.
For the PencilVac, I tested it across my home on hard floors and low pile rugs, rather than carpet, as that is what the vacuum is designed for.
While I wasn’t expecting it to pass our debris tests with flying colours, I still put it up against pet hair, human hair and rice to see how much it could really pick up.
The PencilVac shining a light on hidden dirt and dust during testing
As well as these tests I assessed battery life and compared this to other vacuums we’ve tested, ease of use and general build quality.
All of this helped me to get an overall picture of how good the Dyson was and whether it’s worth your money.
Dyson PencilVac Fluffycones review
Performance
In day-to-day use on hard floors, I found the PencilVac to be super smooth and controlled when moving in every direction.
It picks up fine dust and general debris without much effort and because it’s so lightweight, it’s easy to do a quick pass around a room without giving yourself a major workout. It’s also much better at edge cleaning than the Dyson V16 Piston due to its more standard head shape. However, corners were still a little tricky for it.
While the PencilVac was fine with a fair amount of human and cat hair spread out, I found it didn’t do well with clumps, as the thinner tube means it’s more prone to clogging.
Similarly, when faced with chunkier debris or anything that needs agitation (like a heavy pile rug), it isn’t as good. In my tests it was fine on day to day bits but when I threw rice in front of it, it pushed some of it away, rather than picking it up.
It’s easy to do a quick pass around a room without giving yourself a major workout.
This isn’t surprising given the design and that it’s not marketed as such a vacuum, but it does mean you might want a beefier model if you have carpets or regularly deal with larger messes.
I found suction to be adequate for its size but it doesn’t compete with full-size cordless models in terms of pure power. Battery life is also suited to quick whip rounds, so if you’re someone who doesn’t like to pick up the vacuum every few days, it might not be for you.
In day to day use, I found battery life averaged at around 20ish minutes in eco mode and around eight minutes on its highest setting. Not amazing but not awful.
Design and features
The body is extremely slimline compared to other cordless vacuums, to the point where it almost doesn’t feel like a vacuum at all. This is perfect for if, like me, you find vacuums to be ugly and cumbersome.
In fact, I’d be more than happy to have this always on display in my home. It doesn’t take up much space but if you’d rather not have it out, its design makes it easy to store away too. Ideal for smaller homes and flats.
Everything you get with the Dyson PencilVac Fluffycones.
Four fluffy rollers means this vacuum is easy to manoeuvre in any direction.
The Fluffycones floorhead is designed specifically for hard floors and has four individual soft rollers that help it glide around tricky spaces with ease. I had no issues zipping around furniture, under my sofas and along the edges of my home.
Dyson’s signature green dust lights are also present on both the front and back of the vacuum, which is genuinely useful and a bit terrifying at times, when you see how dusty your home really is.
Charging is easy while the vacuum sits on its stand.
The 0.8L dustbin is compact, so it needs emptying more often than larger cordless vacuums. However, the emptying mechanism on the PencilVac is one of the easiest I’ve used and has obviously been thoughtfully designed to reduce contact with debris.
Value for money
It’s very expensive. There’s no getting away from that. At £429.99 it sits firmly at the premium end of the market.
Unfortunately, that is the cost of Dyson’s precision engineering and features. You are paying for the super slim design, the lightweight frame, power and manoeuvrability. There are cordless vacuums available for less money that offer similar suction and broader cleaning capability but they don’t come close to the PencilVac’s ease of use.
The value comes down to how you plan to use it. If you want something lightweight for regular hard-floor maintenance and you already have another vacuum for deeper cleans, it can justify its place. If you are looking for a single vacuum to handle every surface in your home, it is harder to make the case on price alone.
I was able to reach high surfaces for cleaning, even though I’m just short of 5ft
How does it compare to similar products
When compared to Dyson V15 Detect Absolute or Dyson V16 Piston, the difference is really about power and versatility. Those models are designed to cope with carpets and deep cleaning, with stronger suction and longer run times. The PencilVac is more specialised. It’s lightweight and easier to grab for a quick clean.
Models from other brands, like the Shark Stratos, offer more all-round performance. Shark models tend to focus on accessories and features, like adaptability across carpets and hard floors. They are bulkier, though and aren’t as well suited to those who struggle with vacuuming.
For me though, the PencilVac sits in a category of its own. It’s not trying to compete on suction or carpet to hard floor cleaning. It is about convenience and maintenance.
Dyson PencilVac Fluffycones
Why trust us
Danielle is a professional product reviewer with specialisms in home and garden products. She’s been testing products for seven years and has reviewed everything from vacuums to air fryers. All of her reviews are impartial, honest and give you a real insight into what a product is actually like to use.
FAQs
Is the PencilVac good for homes with pets?
It will pick up everyday surface pet hair and debris on hard floors quite well, especially with its soft brush design that resists tangles. However, if you’ve got a home full of thick rugs or heavy shedding animals, you’ll probably find more capable all-purpose vacuums with stronger suction and larger capacity better suited to your needs. For spot cleaning around eating areas or living rooms with hardwood, though, it does a good job.
Does the PencilVac work on carpet?
Dyson’s PencilVac is designed to be used on hard floors. It can manage light debris on low-pile rugs but it isn’t designed for deep cleaning on carpets, so performance will be limited compared with larger, dedicated cordless vacuums.
Does it come with accessories?
Like most Dyson vacuums, the PencilVac comes with limited accessories. It has one floor head with quad fluffy rollers and a two in one crevice/brush tool for hard to reach areas and fabrics.
