I Dyson PencilVac it was one of the most interesting cordless vacuums I saw it last year, mostly because it doesn’t look like any other cordless vacuum I’ve seen. I called it “the lightest and smallest cordless vacuum I’ve ever used.” In 2026, that is still true, and finally available for purchase in the US for $599.
Design is the real innovation here. The PencilVac weighs only 4 pounds and feels more like handling a mop or broom than a cordless vacuum. I used it in Dyson’s Soho showroom for a while and was impressed with its organization and ease of use. In terms of dimensions, it is 45.7 inches tall, 8.1 inches tall and 1.5 inches wide. It can flatten up to 3.7 inches to fit into tight spaces and under furniture, and it comes with green LED lights on both the front and back to help you spot dust.
Emptying the PencilVac removes dust and debris like a plunger or syringe.
The dustbin, despite being small at 0.02 litres, uses a unique separation system that presses down the dust when you click, which is like the idea behind V16 for Piston beasts pressing the lever. The ejection is a bit different, with a syringe-like plunger that shoots dust into the dust bin, and should reduce messy messes or the need to reach in with your fingers to dislodge stuck pieces of debris.
In terms of other specs, the PencilVac uses two FluffyCone cleaning heads, unique angled heads designed to prevent hair curling. In theory, the PencilVac should clean well, thanks to its two brush rollers (a total of four cones on the brush bar), designed to avoid entanglement and clean equally in back and forth movements. 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 need to test it to know for sure.
Watch this: I spoke to James Dyson about Product Design and the Lightest Nethine Vacuum on the Market
We plan to test the PencilVac in CNET’s Louisville lab to see how it goes, or to do that, we’ll need to adjust some of our lab tests to accommodate it because with a nozzle diameter of 1.5 inches wide, the PencilVac will be the smallest we’ve ever tested, and our tests are currently designed for a wider nozzle diameter.
The PencilVac is designed to be versatile, getting under furniture, around tight corners and up to ceilings.
Price and availability
At $599, the PencilVac may sound like it’s on the higher side of a cordless vacuum; we’ve got more on our best-for-under-$400 list, and best of all, the Eureka ReactiSense 440it costs just $180 at full price.
However, with Dyson, you’re really paying for the design, and relative to the high-end vacuums in its lineup, like the $850 Dyson V15 Detect Absolute, it’s not out of line with our expectations. Outside hand held vacuumsyou probably won’t find a cordless vacuum this versatile until Dyson’s competitors start making them.
