I wish I didn’t love Dyson’s PencilVac as much as I do – but after three months of testing, I can’t get enough of this quirky cordless

In my time as Ideal Home's Vacuum Expert, I've tested a lot of vacuums. But I can safely say that the Dyson PencilVac Fluffycones Cleaner is unlike anything I've ever tested before. It's taken the floorcare market to a whole new level, and offers new and exciting features and technology in its bid to become one of the best cordless vacuum cleaners.

I've had the pleasure of testing the 'world's slimmest vacuum cleaner' for the past three months, and it's fair to say that it's made a strong impression on me. So, this is everything you need to know about the Dyson PencilVac - and why I think it's one of the best Dyson vacuums out there (if you can get over the elephant in the room).

In a nutshell

The Dyson PencilVac was one of the many new products announced back in September 2025, and it was by far the most innovative. Offering ‘Dyson's fastest Hyperdymium vacuum motor in the world's slimmest vacuum,’ it’s taken the appliance brand in a whole new direction - and I have to admit that it’s an exciting one.

I’ve been testing this model for the past three months, and it’s been a joy to use. At just 1.8kg and 38mm wide, with no visible battery or clunky dust canister, it’s an ultra-slim, lightweight model that can be tucked in a corner for grab-and-go hard floor cleaning. Dyson has also put work into the new swivelling floorhead, and the four soft conical brush bars make it as user-friendly (while still as effective) as possible.

The 30-minute run time has allowed me to clean the entire downstairs of my home multiple times without needing to recharge, and I can confidently say that the new syringe-eject bin-emptying system makes for the most mess-free model I’ve ever tested. The dust capacity also rivals that of much larger and heavier cordless vacuums, yet it’s still a breeze to store thanks to its slimline design and docking station.

Of course, it’s important to note that this vacuum is limited. It has been designed for hard flooring only, which means you’ll still need a secondary vacuum for any carpets or rugs that you may have in your house. And while I can’t deny that it’s extremely good at what it’s designed to do, it’ll only vacuum half of most people’s houses. So, it’s certainly more of a want than a need. However, it’s a want that I now couldn’t live without.

Specifications

• Weight: 1.8kg
• Suction power: 55AW
• Run time: 30 minutes
• Charge time: 3.5 hours
• Bin volume: 0.8L
• Modes: Eco, Medium, Boost
• Noise level (tested by us): 75dB
• In the box: PencilVac Fluffycones Cleaner, combi-crevice tool, docking station/stand
• RRP: £429.99

Unboxing, setting up and first impressions

I didn’t expect the world’s slimmest vacuum cleaner to arrive in a giant box, but the tiny package that turned up on my doorstep still surprised me. The box of the Dyson PencilVac weighed just 4.24kg, and I actually had to double-check it was the right delivery because it looked so small.

But when I realised that the compact box was indeed the Dyson PencilVac, I was eager to open it. I was greeted by a wide range of components encased in a cardboard shell, with each smaller component wrapped in plastic.

This was a little disappointing to see, as I don’t think there’s any need for vacuums to use plastic anymore - Shark hasn’t used plastic in its packaging for many years, after all - and the plastic used for the PencilVac is only sometimes recyclable, depending on your local authority. In my area, it’s not collectable through my curbside pickup, and so I had to take it to the supermarket.

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Nevertheless, I was impressed by the components' overall feel; sometimes, the lighter they are, the cheaper they feel. But everything felt high-quality, and the heaviest component of the lot was actually the long, thin battery.

To assemble, I attached the floorhead to the main stick (which doubles as the dust canister), inserted the battery into the top, and then assembled the stand. This took less than five minutes, with the instructions easily outlined on the box.

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I was actually most excited about the Dyson PencilVac stand, as it’s a far cry from the wall-mounted options available in the past. With the vacuum and the multi-purpose tool in its own home on the stand, the whole setup looks very sleek and compact.

As I have a small home, I appreciated that I could just tuck it in the corner without it getting in the way. You can even wind any extra cable around the base of the dock to keep things extra neat and tidy if needed.

I finished by popping the PencilVac on charge, then downloading the app and linking it up to the vacuum. This was super simple, but after testing the app's features on the new Dyson Piston V16 and the Dyson V8 Cyclone previously, I was dubious about whether I’d actually get any use out of the app.

Using the Dyson PencilVac

As we take our vacuum cleaner testing at Ideal Home very seriously, I always put new models through their paces in the debris test first. This involves throwing various types of debris on the floor - in this case, hard flooring - and seeing how easily the model cleans it up.

So, I threw rice, coffee grounds, porridge oats and flour on my floor. And as this model is famed for its swivelling floorhead, I also threw them down in a way that would test that feature. The result? A seamless and very enjoyable pickup that didn’t leave a speck of anything behind, as shown in the video at the top of the page.

The swivelling head made it extremely easy to manoeuvre, the four conical Fluffycones picked up every speck, and Dyson’s iconic lasers also meant that I could be sure there was nothing left behind.

Overall, I was incredibly impressed with the pickup of this new vacuum, especially as the Dyson PencilVac only offers 55 Air Watts (AW) of suction, which, on paper, is significantly less than the average cordless model. Even the new budget-friendly Dyson V8 Cyclone offers 150AW. But the reality is that 55AW is more than enough for hard floors, as the vacuum doesn’t have to deal with deep carpet fibres and rug bristles.

However, it does take a little practice to become completely comfortable handling it. That’s because the Dyson PencilVac doesn’t have a handle in the way that other vacuums do. The stick is the handle, so you'll have to get used to using it differently. But the more I used it outside of the official tests, the more I realised that I actually really liked this new way of vacuuming.

It’s ideal for hard-surface cleaning, and you can even flatten the vacuum to just 95mm to reach under furniture. I also found the edge cleaning to be very effective, although you need to use the side edge of the floorhead rather than the front, as the conical shape makes front-edge cleaning difficult.

This new cordless vacuum also offers three modes to choose from - Eco, Medium, or Boost. You need to change this yourself (it’s not auto-adjusting like other models), but it’s still nice to have that option. Just be warned that this does affect the battery life. In Eco mode, Dyson promises around 30 minutes, 20 minutes in Medium mode, and 5 minutes in Boost mode.

Personally, I found Eco mode more than enough for everyday cleaning in my home, and the 30-minute run time far more than I needed for the hard floors alone. In fact, I counted that I used the Dyson PencilVac five times before it needed to be charged. It’s worth noting that the battery is also swappable, so you could buy a spare if you wanted to have up to 60 minutes’ run time at a time.

The elephant in the room is that this is a hard floor vacuum, though, and it’s not been designed with rugs or carpets in mind. This does mean that you’ll always need a secondary vacuum for your soft flooring, and during testing, I always had a second on hand for these jobs.

Recently, I spoke to one of the engineers behind the PencilVac about this, and he mentioned that if you really wanted to, you could use it to remove surface-level debris from carpets and rugs, but you shouldn’t expect a deep clean. After all, this model doesn’t have the brush bristles required for this softer flooring - nor did Dyson want it to be a multi-surface vacuum.

After testing the PencilVac on a rug myself, I found this to be true. And if I were in a pinch, I might consider quickly running the PencilVac over it - but, for the most part, I’ll stick to a multi-floor vacuum for that job.

Using the attachments

There’s one tool included with the Dyson PencilVac: the combi-crevice tool. This attaches to the end of the vacuum stick and was surprisingly handy for dusting everything from my skirting boards to my lampshades. It means you don’t have to bend or reach too far to access higher or lower areas, and I found it extremely effective for what I needed.

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If you pull the brush part of the attachment down, it also turns into your normal crevice tool, which can be used to clean cobwebs from the corners of rooms or even down the sides of your sofa. So, it’s multi-use (and can be stored handily on the docking station).

The PencilVac doesn’t offer any more attachments, though, and it doesn’t offer the same handheld capabilities that other cordless vacuums do. But as this will primarily be a secondary vacuum for most people, I don’t necessarily see that as a negative.

Cleaning and maintenance

One of the things I absolutely love about the Dyson PencilVac is the fact that it’s so easy to clean and maintain - and, even after three months, I’m still a little bit obsessed with the bin emptying system.

Unlike every other vacuum out there, the dust is collected within the vacuum stick itself, rather than a designated (and often very bulky) canister. And while it may look small and inconspicuous, there’s space for up to 0.8L of debris in this chamber thanks to the air compression technology. This meant that I could vacuum my entire downstairs multiple times before needing to empty it.

Dyson’s new syringe-eject bin-emptying system is also completely mess-free and extremely satisfying, and I didn’t notice any lingering dust or debris afterwards. It’s worth noting that Dyson recommends tapping off the filter after emptying the bin to remove any remaining dust and washing the filter every month, too.

Aside from this, there’s very little care or maintenance required. The shape of the conical floorhead means there’s no chance of hair getting stuck, and the shroud requires a quick rinse with water now and then to keep it in tip-top shape.

In terms of charge time, I found the 3.5-hour charge time advertised by Dyson to be accurate (in fact, I measured that it took just over 3 hours), and I loved the fact that it could be charged on the stand where everything else is stored. This meant it could stay in one place during testing, without taking up too much space in my home.

The one thing I will say, though, is that the app is a little redundant - as per my predictions. And while I will admit that having how-to articles and cleaning and maintenance information stored on your phone is handy to have, it’s nothing you can’t find online anyway. And personally, I don’t really have a need to know how long my last cleaning session lasted. However, some people may enjoy this extra perk.

How does it rate online?

The Dyson PencilVac is a relatively new addition to the Dyson family, so the reviews are very few and far between. However, at the time of writing, it has an average rating of 4.4 stars out of 5 across 50 reviews on the Dyson website.

Happy customers rave about the cordless vacuum's ultra-slim size, how lightweight it is, and its manoeuvrability. One reviewer also wrote, ‘Although small and compact, it compacts the debris really well. The green light shows up every speck of dust! It’s surprising how much dust there is that you can’t see!’

However, some customers do have niggles about the short run time and the price of the appliance.

Verdict: Should you buy the Dyson PencilVac?

Although it may be my job to test vacuum cleaners, I tend to base my overall verdict on how well the vacuum fits into my lifestyle - and whether I actually want to use it once my official two-week testing period has come to an end. So, the fact that I’ve now been using the Dyson PencilVac in my home almost daily for the past three months says a lot.

I genuinely enjoy grabbing this ultra-thin and ultra-lightweight cordless vacuum from its little stand in the corner of my dining room and cleaning up messes as they come. It’s become my dedicated ‘downstairs’ vacuum, and I genuinely can’t fault its ability to clean hard flooring. Plus, it’s extremely manoeuvrable and simple to use.

The swivelling floorhead ensures every inch of the floor is clean, and the syringe-action bin-emptying system offers hygienic, easy emptying that still puts a smile on my face to this day. For those reasons alone, I really do think it’s worth it.

However, I can’t deny that it can only ever really be a second vacuum. It won’t tackle rugs or carpets, and unless you have an entire home decked out in hard flooring, you’ll always need to have another vacuum at home for these cleaning tasks. So, I do think the £429.99 price tag can be off-putting.

But after using it myself and incorporating it into my cleaning routine, I now wouldn’t be without it. So, I’d pay that price again.