Dyson214744-01 V8 Absolute Cordless Vacuum

I have been tracking this item for some time and researched reviews including the top consumer magazine, where it was listed as a Best Buy in it's top 5 results. I held back on ordering for price reasons as it is a very expensive item and I had a bad experience with an upright Dyson many years ago. However, I am delighted with this vacuum so far (have been using for one week). It is very easy to put together and the instructions are clear. Although 20% charged on arrival I charged for a further 5 hours, as suggested and it was ready to go. There are a great assortment of tools - 2 floor heads, one mini turbo and 3 tools which I feel is a comprehensive selection. Only two tools can be stored in the docking station and it would have been nice for them all to be housed. However, this is a small matter. Suction power is good and the 40 minute charge is more than adequate for a whole (3-bedroom) house. I haven't had to use the turbo feature. Vacuuming is so much quicker without having to wrestle with leads and hoses and blow-back of air from my cylinder vacuum. The hand unit is well balanced. I was concerned by reviews that stated you had to keep the power button pressed during cleaning as my husband has arthritis and I thought this may become significant. However, it's more of a grip control than a button and quite light to activate which makes it much easier plus you don't have to do the whole house in one go. I found the hand unit brilliant on the stairs and it was easier to manoeuvre and clean thoroughly without leads and hoses to hinder and present a trip hazard. I will save money on bags and filters so overall it will probably be cheaper to run. Dyson recommend you wash the filters in cold water each month for optimum performance. Empting the dust canister is easy and the only time I've had to touch the dust is to remove the small residue which clings to the top of the canister. This hasn't been a problem to remove with a wooden coffee stirrer. I purchased this item from Amazon Marketplace at a much more reasonable price than the big suppliers were offering so I am completely delighted with the price, performance and delivery. Would happily recommend.

Three months on. This machine was well worth the money. Constantly charges. Easy tohold with arthritic hands. The quality is so much better than anything I have ever owned. You actually spend less time hoovering as it picks up dirt so efficiently. That's the bit I like most. Time saved!! Gets under beds easily and the tools click on and off very easily.. another advantage for sore hands.... would not settle for anything else now...

EDIT: After 6 years, still working fine. Original battery. Run time about 30 minutes which is fine for me. All the attachments still going strong. I would say a slight decrease in suction, most likely because I'm not good at cleaning the filters as often as they recommend. Can't find genuine Dyson filters on Amo snd not sure how the fakes would perform, so will get direct from Dyson. £15 after 6 years seems worth it to me. Still recommend.On the first use, it sucked up my rug as it was so powerful and I had to switch off to release. Then I noticed the machine was supplied pre-set to max. When reset to standard it cleans just fine. Max is handy for getting the last bit of dust from my hard floors but not necessary for my carpets. To keep on top of the unrelenting fine grit from my yard that gets traipsed into the utility room and kitchen, I clean little and often so the charge capacity is fine for me. It may not last if I cleaned the whole house top to bottom in one go, but I'm afraid after cleaning one floor I tend to lose interest till another day anyway. Some reviewers commented on the hard-to-empty bin. I found it dead easy using the little red pull thing per the instructions rather than trying to undo it at the bottom. The bin doesn't hold much, but for short cleans every other day it's perfectly adequate. I can do kitchen, utility, dining room, family room (hard floors) and large sitting room (carpet) in 1 charge/1 bin. I have to empty twice when I include the cat beds, as they are full of fluff an other unidentifiable bits and bobs . I thought it would be heavy but it's so well balanced that it takes very little effort to use. Keeping the power button depressed is no problem - you grip with all 4 fingers and the forefinger just happens to hold the power button down. It's really easy to manoeuvre round bends, into corners, under kitchen units and under sitting-room chairs. As a handheld, it was brilliant for doing my dogleg staircase which was always a problem on the bend with the old Dyson ball. A handheld is better for doing the upholstery as well. I've had Dysons since they first came out (only 2 and one is still working!) and liked them apart from the noise (in a previous house with a tall echoey stair well I used ear defenders), but the V8 is much quieter. It didn't disturb the cats at all until I nudged their beds with it and they woke up and saw !hoover! and legged it. It seems to be well made as the traditional corded vacs. I don't think the lightness = flimsy. I've been using it for 2 weeks and I would recommend it.