Dyson’s new $599 cordless stick vacuum, the PencilVac Fluffycones, offers a unique approach to home cleaning. While many stick vacuums can be top-heavy, bulky, or prone to clogging and battery issues, this model stands out with its innovative design.
Dyson’s new lightweight vacuum has no handle and maneuvers more like a Swiffer than a vacuum.
The name “PencilVac Fluffycones” accurately describes this meticulously engineered device. It is exceptionally thin and light, resembling a pencil, and features fluffy, cone-shaped rollers that glide effortlessly across hard floors.
This vacuum is not designed to clean an entire home, as it does not handle carpets. However, its slim profile and remarkable maneuverability make it an excellent complement to a robot vacuum. A robot vacuum can manage the primary cleaning and mopping of floors, while the lightweight PencilVac, housed in its magnetic charging dock, is readily available for quick touch-ups, stairs, and baseboards.
PencilVac Fluffycones
Dyson’s PencilVac is a superskinny stick vacuum and an engineering marvel. While it won’t clean your whole house, it’s a simple, stylish option for quick touch-ups and other small tasks.
Marketed by Dyson as “the world’s slimmest vacuum cleaner,” the PencilVac integrates all its components within its 1.5-inch-diameter handle, which spans the vacuum’s entire length. This compact design houses the electronics, battery, dustbin, and a small 28mm-diameter motor. This motor spins at 140,000 RPM, generating 55 air watts of suction.
Notably, this is the same motor found in Dyson’s Supersonic R hair dryer, and the handle shares a similar width, creating a sensation akin to using a reverse hair dryer for floor cleaning.
Weighing less than four pounds, the PencilVac is exceptionally easy to handle, comparable to a broom or Swiffer. Its maneuverability is enhanced by four caster rollers, allowing it to pivot in multiple directions with ease.
The four fluffycones rotate in opposite directions to push debris into the vacuum.
The PencilVac’s other distinctive feature is its fluffycones — four fluffy, cone-shaped roller bars located in the vacuum’s head. This design aims to guide long hair down the cones and away from the vacuum’s edge, where it can then be efficiently sucked up. This mechanism generally performs well, though very thick bundles of hair may occasionally pose a challenge.
While the PencilVac looks and moves like a broom, its vacuuming performance is also somewhat similar. Its suction power is half that of Dyson’s entry-level cordless stick vacuum, the V8. It excels at picking up dust, small hair clumps, and light debris such as cereal or dried oatmeal. However, it may struggle with thicker or heavier messes.
This vacuum is particularly effective for cleaning stairs due to its light weight and maneuverability.
This limited suction power reinforces its role as a supplementary tool to a robot vacuum that handles regular floor cleaning. Dyson’s promotional materials also suggest its appeal as a stylish option for those residing in meticulously maintained apartments.
The PencilVac is unlikely to serve as a primary vacuum for a whole house, especially if carpets or rugs are present. Nevertheless, for quick clean-ups and tackling dust on stairs—tasks that robot vacuums either struggle with or cannot perform at all (at least not yet)—it provides an effective, albeit premium-priced, solution.
The vacuum features dual green LED detection lights that effectively illuminate dirt on the floor.
Its ease of use on stairs is notable, being less cumbersome than many other stick vacuums. Its compact, slim charging dock can be conveniently placed in areas like kitchens or bathrooms, where a powerful, handheld cleaning tool might be desired.
The PencilVac’s magnetic charging stand is compact, discreet, and simple to use.
The vacuum offers superior maneuverability compared to typical stick vacuums, smoothly pivoting around furniture legs and lying completely flat to reach under sofas and beds.
For more detailed cleaning, the PencilVac includes a crevice tool/dusting attachment. This accessory performs well on baseboards, windowsills, and can extend to reach light fixtures and cobwebbed corners, accessing spaces that robot vacuums often cannot, such as behind a TV console.
The absence of a traditional handle is a design choice that quickly feels natural, making the device feel much like using a broom.
The primary limitations are its suction power and runtime. It is not a powerful vacuum compared to other Dyson stick models and struggles with larger dirt clumps or anything beyond light dust. As noted, it is ineffective on carpeted surfaces.
The battery provides approximately 30 minutes of runtime on low power and about 20 minutes on medium, which is often the preferred setting. A boost mode is available for additional power. These runtimes make it suitable for quick tasks rather than extensive whole-house cleaning.
The PencilVac is Dyson’s first stick vacuum to connect to the My Dyson app. Currently, the app’s functionality is limited to software updates and filter-cleaning notifications. It uses Bluetooth, requiring proximity to the vacuum for updates, and has been observed to repeatedly request permanent location access without a clear justification.
The PencilVac is an excellent lightweight machine for lightweight tasks.
Given its limited suction, short battery life, and inability to clean carpets, the PencilVac Fluffycones is clearly not intended as a primary whole-home cleaning device. For users seeking a comprehensive house cleaner in this price range, Dyson’s V8 Absolute presents a more suitable alternative. The V8 Absolute weighs under six pounds, offers twice the suction, and despite being slightly less maneuverable, effectively cleans all dirt, carpets, and baseboards.
However, the PencilVac embodies Dyson’s signature style: an intricately engineered device that, while perhaps not strictly necessary for all, offers a compelling and satisfying user experience.
