Dyson’s newest cordless stick is finally here, and it’s unlike anything else in the company’s lineup. The PencilVac is impossibly slender, with its dustbin and motor tucked into the extension tube, and it’s built to disappear into tight spaces and modern interiors. The question for shoppers is simple: does radical thinness at $599 deliver enough cleaning power to justify the price?
A New Form Factor Built For Minimalists
By integrating the dustbin into the wand and embedding the motor inside a tube roughly 1.5 inches wide, Dyson has produced its smallest—and, the company says, fastest—motor to date. It spins up to 140,000 RPM and is rated at 50 air watts (AW) of suction. That engineering lets the PencilVac stay thin and featherlight without the bulbous canister that defines most stick vacs.
The cleaning head is equally unconventional. Instead of a traditional roller, Dyson uses “Fluffycones” (yes, that’s the trademark) that counter-rotate to minimize hair wrapping. The head also features green illumination both in front and behind, so debris is highlighted whether you push or pull. For design-focused homes where a vacuum often lives in plain sight, the PencilVac is clearly meant to be the sleek option you won’t mind leaving out.
Power Trade-Offs You Should Consider Before Buying
Fifty air watts is a notable number because it frames expectations. For context, Dyson’s most powerful sticks regularly exceed 200 AW in boost mode, and midrange models often land around the low-to-mid triple digits. Air watts aren’t the only measure that matters—airflow, floorhead design, and seal quality all play big roles—but they’re a useful shorthand for raw draw.
What this means in real use: the PencilVac is likely to excel on hard floors, quick pickups, and light rugs, especially with its hair-detangling cones and dual-direction cleaning. It is less likely to dethrone a high-powered stick or corded vacuum for deep-cleaning thick carpets or lifting embedded pet dander. Independent testing from organizations like Consumer Reports has repeatedly found that higher-AW models outperform on medium and high-pile carpet; it’s reasonable to expect similar dynamics here.
Ergonomics and Everyday Living in Real Homes
Where the PencilVac could win hearts is agility. The super-slim tube and lighter weight should make ceiling fans, curtains, shelves, and stair treads feel less like a chore. The thin profile also slips between chair legs and under low sofas—places chunkier sticks can’t reach. Dyson’s green illumination has proven genuinely useful for spotting dust on hard floors, and the rear light helps during back-and-forth passes without constantly rotating the head.
There are practical trade-offs. An in-wand dustbin is clever, but it will be smaller than the large canisters on full-size sticks, meaning more frequent empties in larger homes. If you routinely clear heavy shedding from multiple pets, you’ll hit that capacity ceiling faster. Noise, filtration, and runtime will matter too. Dyson typically employs multi-stage filtration and seals well, but the compact format may limit battery size. Expect runtime to vary widely by suction mode and floor type, as with any cordless stick.
How the $599 Price Stacks Up Against Rivals
At $599, the PencilVac sits squarely in premium territory for a secondary vacuum and on the high end for a primary one with modest suction specs. Flagship Dyson sticks often range higher, but they deliver far more power and larger bins. Meanwhile, midrange cordless competitors from brands like Shark, Tineco, and Samsung can be found between $300 and $500, frequently with stronger carpet performance, albeit in bulkier designs.
So what are you paying for? Material science and industrial design, principally: a motor small enough to live in the wand, a bin you barely notice, and a head that tackles hair while illuminating dust in both directions. If your cleaning needs revolve around fast daily maintenance on hard floors, that combination could be more meaningful than raw watts. If you need a deep-clean workhorse, better value exists elsewhere.
Who Should Buy It and Who Should Wait to Upgrade
Buy if you live in a smaller space, have mostly hard floors, want a vacuum that’s easy to wield above your head, and care about how a device looks when it isn’t in a closet. The PencilVac’s Fluffycones and bidirectional cleaning make it particularly suited to long hair and everyday crumb patrol in kitchens and living areas.
Skip—or pair it with a more powerful model—if you have wall-to-wall carpeting, multiple shedding pets, or a large home that demands long sessions between bin empties. For those scenarios, higher-AW sticks or a corded upright will stretch your dollar further on deep cleaning.
Bottom Line: Sleek Design Over Raw Suction Power
Dyson’s PencilVac is a thoughtful piece of engineering and the most elegant take yet on the minimalist stick vacuum. At $599, it’s worth it for people who value design, maneuverability, and smart hard-floor features over brute force. For everyone else, the same money will buy more suction and capacity—just not this level of sleekness.