Cordless vacuums are lighter than upright or corded vacuums but still have heavyweight cleaning power. Some of the best cordless vacuums I’ve tested come from Dyson. The company features prominently on our list of the best cordless vacuums, earning spots for dust-busting and wet-dry mopping, even though its models tend to be on the pricier side.
Dyson’s new PencilVac, now available for sale in the US, is different. As the name suggests, the PencilVac is shaped a lot like a pencil. It felt more like holding a broom than a vacuum. It’s also the lightest and thinnest cordless vacuum I’ve ever used, measuring just 38 millimeters in diameter and weighing less than 4 pounds (1.8 kilograms). The entire motor (a Hyperdymium 140k motor) is somehow small enough to fit into the handle, which isn’t any bigger than the rest of the vacuum.
While cordless vacuums are easier to maneuver than corded ones, they can be notably top-heavy, with some as heavy as 12 pounds, and even the lighter ones usually weigh around 6 or 7 pounds.
Key specs:
- 38mm diameter and weighs less than 4 pounds (1.8kg)
- Four conical Fluffycones cleaner heads that can detangle long hair
- Dyson Hyperdymium 140k motor, 34% more power dense with 55 air watts of suction
- A dust separation system can capture 99.99% of particles as small as 0.3 microns
- Dust compression system to compress dust in a 0.08-liter dustbin
- Connects to the MyDyson app to monitor battery and filter maintenance
- Dust illuminating green LEDs on both sides
- 60-minute replaceable battery pack
- Magnetic charging dock with tool storage
Using the PencilVac
Swiping the brush head rollers around the wood floor in Dyson’s showroom took minimal effort, and part of that comes from the brush head design. Rather than the standard single or dual brush roller, the PencilVac has four conical brush bars (in an array of two on each side). They’re designed to eject hair as it’s picked up and prevent it from wrapping around and tangling the brush bars. The front bar rotates in one direction while the rear ones rotate in the opposite direction, in theory making cleaning more comprehensive.
The dustbin fills up quickly, but it’s easy to empty
I briefly used the vacuum in Dyson’s showroom to clean up biscuit crumbs from the floor. The green LED lights are a feature you’ll find on the Dyson V15 Detect as well, and they make it easy to see dust and other debris. The mess was clean in a few swipes, with the dustbin successfully compacting the crumbs into a tightly packed mass. It was fascinating to see all the dirt collecting right at the top of the dustbin. Dyson claims that despite only having a 0.08-liter capacity, the new dustbin design can pack five times the dust and debris into the same space.
That might be true, but I noticed that the dustbin filled up quickly and required immediate emptying between each demonstration. For reference, the average size of a dustbin on a cordless vacuum is usually between 0.5 liters on the small end and as much as one liter on the bigger end.
I just don’t see the PencilVac being a main vacuum for people in big households with pets and kids, though it can make a nice supplement to a more mainstream vacuum since it’s so light and easy to use.
Eject the vacuum like a syringe
On the plus side, emptying the dustbin is easy with a unique plunger-style ejection system that allows you to eject dust directly into the trash without needing to shake out or tap the dustbin. A few tools are included, like the combi-crevice and conical hair screw tool, and may lend it more to light cleaning tasks, by helping you get into tight spaces and awkward gaps and pull out hair from carpets, sofas and mattresses.
The PencilVac comes with a magnetic charging dock, but unlike some competitors like the Shark Clean & Empty, it won’t self-empty. This is also Dyson’s first connected vacuum, allowing you to pair it with the MyDyson app to monitor things like battery life and filter maintenance.
Price and availability
The Dyson PencilVac is available in the US via Dyson for $599. The price makes it less expensive than the top-tier models of Dyson’s lineup, like the $850 Dyson V15 Detect Absolute and $1,150 Gen5 Outsize (at full price), but more costly than many of our top picks for cordless vacuums like the $180 Eureka ReactiSense 440. I’m looking forward to testing it in our Louisville lab to see how it compares to other thin and lightweight options as well as beefier models in cleaning performance.
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