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the Dyson PencilVac is one of the most interesting cordless vacuums I saw it last year, mainly because it was unlike any other cordless vacuum I’ve seen. I call it “the lightest and thinnest cordless vacuum I’ve ever used.” In 2026, that will still be true, and it will be at last available for purchase in the US for $599.
The design is the real innovation here. The PencilVac weighs only 4 pounds and looks more like holding a mop or broom than a cordless vacuum. I used it in Dyson’s Soho showroom for a while and was impressed with its maneuverability and ease of use. In terms of dimensions, it is 45.7 inches long, 8.1 inches tall and just 1.5 inches wide. It can flatten to 3.7 inches to get into tight spaces and under furniture, and has green LED lights on the front and back to help you spot dust.
Emptying the PencilVac will remove dust and debris such as the plunger or syringe.
The trash can, despite being as small as 0.02 gallons, uses a unique linear separation system that compresses the dust as you vacuum, similar to the idea behind the V16 Piston Animal’s compression lever. The ejection is slightly different, with a plunger-like syringe that puts the dust in the bin, and should minimize dirt getting everywhere or the need to reach with your fingers to remove sticky bits of waste.
In terms of other specs, the PencilVac uses two FluffyCone cleaning heads, different conical heads designed to prevent hair from getting tangled. In theory, the PencilVac should clean well, thanks to its double brush rollers (a total of four cones for the brush bar), designed to avoid shock and clean equally well with a back-and-forth movement. In terms of performance, Dyson says it has a 140krpm Dyson Hyperdymium motor and 55 air watts of suction power, so we don’t expect it to match the 240-air watts V15 Detect Absolute in terms of pickup performance, but we’ll have to put it to the test to know for sure.
Check it out: I spoke with James Dyson About Product Design and the Lightest and Thinnest Vacuum on the Market
We plan to test the PencilVac at CNET’s Louisville lab to see how it does, however to do that, we’ll have to modify some of our lab tests for the pickup because with a nozzle width of 1.5 inches in diameter, the PencilVac is the narrowest we’ve tested, and our tests are currently designed for a wider nozzle width.
The PencilVac is designed to be versatile, getting under furniture, around tight corners and even up to the ceiling.
Price and availability
At $599, the PencilVac may seem like it’s on the high side for a cordless vacuum; we’ve got a lot on our best list that’ll run you under $400, and our best overall, the Eureka ReactiSense 440only costs $180 full price.
However, with Dyson, you’re really paying for design, and relative to the top-tier vacuums in its line, like the $850 Dyson V15 Detect Absolute, it falls short of what we’d expect. Outside of handheld vacuumsyou probably won’t find a cordless vacuum this versatile until Dyson’s competitors start making them.
