Dyson DC38 Multi Floor Lightweight Dyson Ball Cylinder Vacuum Cleaner

The first big surprise with the Dyson DC38 is how small it is, the second surprise is how powerful it is - this must be the Mighty Mouse of vacuum cleaners! Years ago we had one of the early Dyson cylinder-style vacuum cleaners and although it looked good the performance and build quality wasn't that impressive - the expensive filters had to be regularly replaced, the latches holding components together didn't. Thankfully Dyson seem to have solved all of these earlier issues - there are washable 'lifetime' filters now and all the latches really latch - and overall the build quality is excellent, so finally function is following form?

The DC38 is surprisingly manoeuvrable thanks to a clever central steering mechanism - wherever you go in the house the DC38 seems to follow faithfully in your footsteps rarely bumping into things. There are lots of thoughtful details - like a cord rewind function which has been calibrated with just the right tension to allow the cord to be pulled out without simultaneously sending the whole cleaner scuttling across the floor. Yet, in use, it takes the slightest flick of the wrist to make the DC38 scamper along behind you like a lovesick puppy. It's clear that significant time and ingenuity went into getting these things right.

At first the brush head seems too small compared to other cleaners but in operation you see the sense of it - it's about the width of a single tread on a staircase and that makes cleaning the stairs a simple two-swipe-per-step job. It also means the head fits into many nooks and crannies other heads won't, so you don't have to keep removing or changing tools to get the job done. It's surprisingly low and flat too and disappears under many pieces of furniture without you having to bend down. The curtain attachment and multi-tool supplied are useful and come with a carrier which snaps onto the pipe and holds them securely until needed. I'm quite tall and one of my bugbears with vacuums is the pipe never seems to extend long enough, meaning I have to stoop over while using them, but this never felt like a problem with the DC38. However the flexible hose seems a bit short - if you're using one of the hand tools to dust something above shoulder-height you have to keep picking up the whole cleaner to reach.

Emptying the dust-drum is easy, if not quite as clean and simple as the Dyson promo-video makes it look, but because the drum is quite small you might find yourself doing it more often then you'd like. I took the DC38 on a working tour of our 4 bedroom house and that pretty much filled it to capacity - grit and dust aren't a problem but it fills much quicker if you have a moulting pet or lots of fluffy rugs. Sometimes it's not enough just to release the trapdoor-style base and you have to also remove the clear plastic outer drum to free any fluff stuck under there - this is more awkward and messy than you'd like. There are two filter units onboard which must be hand-washed regularly, Dyson suggest doing it monthly under normal usage. You have to remove one of the wheels to extract the filter which protects the motor, which sounds more awkward than it actually is, the clever design makes it straightforward - you just have to remember to actually do it!

It seems clear Dyson are aiming the DC38 at people with smaller homes who might be short of storage space but who don't want to compromise on performance and they've nailed it. It's extremely well designed, it sucks like a very sucky sucking thing and it's so dinky you can un-click the hose and pipe from the main unit and store the whole lot under the kitchen sink. If you have a larger home and/or don't want to be emptying the drum so often I'd consider one of the full-sized versions, which seem to be available at the same price, but otherwise it's a great little unit. Admittedly it's not exactly cheap but the price does include a full 5 year parts and labour guarantee, which might cost a lot extra with some other cleaners.

This is the first Dyson product I have owned and despite very polarised opinions, I was determined to give it a fair trial. I've used all sorts of vacuum cleaners over the years from uprights to the `central vac' systems in some North American houses. I'm no more the expert in vacuum cleaning than any other householder but for the last 12 years I have had faultless and inexpensive service out of a basic Numatic Henry model that was given to me second-hand by a cleaner who was retiring. She told me she'd tried them all and never found better than the Henry for value and performance. But enough of that... what of the DC 38.

First of all, the Dyson is nicely packaged and easy to assemble (perhaps easier if you don't try to follow the slightly obtuse diagrams!). You soon end up with a light, manoeuvrable and rather hi-tech looking device ready to go.

Pros :
The suction is very powerful and at times I was glad of the little trigger in the handle which bypasses the cleaning head to let you lift it off the ground more easily. So it does a good job at its primary function.

The ball design is very manoeuvrable. It follows you around without much effort.

The various cleaning head attachments are well sized for the nooks and crannies and the main cleaning head works particularly well on stairs and getting underneath furniture.

The cable retractor seems effective and there are coloured markings on the cable to warn you when you've nearly run out.

The light weight makes it very suitable for anyone who struggles getting a heavy vac up and down stairs.

Emptying/cleaning are all relatively easy without much fiddle though actually cleaning the inside of the vacuum is potentially quite messy and if you're like me you'll end up having to use the vacuum immediately after to pick up what you spilled!

Cons :
Price. This is three times the cost of a new Henry and the same price as the bigger brother model, the DC39. Even if you really like Dyson, be sure you want the dinky version.

The volume of the dust collector is so small that you'll be emptying it on nearly every use. Ecological this may be but hardly convenient. I get many weeks out of each Henry bag and they're about 40p a go so hardly costly. A few pounds a year at most. Certainly not the kind of cost savings that the Dyson advertising material would have you believe.

The main cleaning head really is rather small if you have to clean larger rooms. It comes into its own in smaller spaces, staircases and would be pretty good for cleaning the car but if you can justify the space for a larger model then you'll save a lot of time and elbow grease.

It can topple over quite easily being so light and not having a particularly low centre of gravity.

The cable is only 5m to fit into the small body of the vacuum so you may need an extension.

I also get the general feel with Dyson products that they are over-designed. Some people may like all the gizmos and engineering jargon but I prefer the KISS approach to engineering (and I am an engineer).

Overall I am underwhelmed by a product that claims so much.

This is the second Dyson I've owned -the previous being (and still is) an upright- and only serves to confirm my opinion that if you want a vacuum cleaner then Dyson is the best. You can see all the specs above so I'll skip them and get right down to basics.

Opening the box. This requires a little effort, though that isn't a criticism just an observation. At least it's secure.

Unpacking. Needless to say it's in several pieces, each wrapped separately with all but one being in plastic wrap, the other in card. There's no fiddly tape, you just pull the plastic out one end and slide it off the part. Nice and easy.

Fitting it together. Resisting the temptation of thinking it looks easy, I looked at the operating manual which consists of several diagrams but no words. I confess I'm a word person and like to see things next to a diagram like: Slot tube A into socket B. Hmm. I stared at the diagram and stared at the various parts as I worked out which was which and made a start.I have to confess it was quite easy. I got briefly stuck trying to press a button which didn't seem accessible until realised I had to press a different button release a catch which separated the ball from the drum. This isn't Dyson's fault, it's mine for being thick. For anyone used to working from diagrams it's a doddle. Everything you need to know is there, it just takes some of us (well, me) a little longer to work out than others. The various accompanying tools are fitted onto a separate unit which clips neatly onto the main hard plastic tube (or whatever it's called). Replacing the suction heads (or...) is again easy and effortless.

There are some helpful instructions -in words!- on how to use it safely. Like don't try to suck up anything that's on fire and, similarly, don't try and suck up water, etc. Got it!

Using it. Well it rolls around okay with virtually no effort required. Switch it on and the first thing you notice is how relatively quiet it is compared to any other vacuum cleaner you've ever used including an upright Dyson, though it was loud enough to still scare the crap out of my cats. It's great for getting under chairs and couches as long as the legs raise them a few inches off the ground and it glides over carpets, mats and hard floors. I tried in on the stairs and it was better than the upright and had a longer reach. Press the button to rewind the flex (after switching it off first) it goes in smoothly and easily without whipping round and hitting your knuckles, though Dyson do recommend holding it as a precaution.

What more can I say? This is an extremely well designed piece of equipment that does everything Dyson claim for it and does it well. If you want this type of vacuum cleaner I really don't think you can do better and I'm delighted to have one.