The look on my mum’s face when I walked through the front door with the Dyson V11™ Absolute was nothing short of mesmerised. With the lightweight body in one hand and a bag of assorted attachments in the other, it was clear I was now her favourite person in the house (even if it’s just the two of us).
The long awaited Dyson V11™ Absolute cord-free vacuum – available from Harvey Norman – has been heavily rumoured to possess incredible suction. I’m happy to confirm those rumours are indeed fact. But let’s see how it performed with our Dyson V11™ review.
Dyson V11™ Absolute Attachments and Additions
Dyson generously provided a selection of attachments for every nook and cranny. From wide flooring attachments to smaller, gentler tools, they have clearly thought of everything! Each tool connects to the longer arm piece with ease or directly onto the main body for close range use. The attachments are lightweight including the charger, which was simple to use.
The most noticeable difference between the Dyson Cyclone V10™ and the Dyson V11™ Absolute is the futuristic built-in LCD screen. This allowed me to easily toggle between the three power modes while also displaying current performance, remaining run-time and alerts such as when a blockage has occurred.
Its three power modes have been reinvigorated since the Dyson Cyclone V10™, with power modes 1, 2 and Max upgraded to Eco, Auto and Boost mode.
Eco mode functions at a duller volume yet still picks up dirt with ease while conserving battery life. Auto mode is the standard power mode that works well for large areas of varying floor types. In Auto Mode the suction power adjusts automatically thanks to the Dynamic Load Sensing technology in the High Torque cleaner head. Meanwhile, Boost mode is perfect for thicker carpets and heavy-traffic areas like car mats or pet beds.
How does the Dyson V11™ Absolute perform on floors?
My house has a variety of floor types and furniture surfaces, which proved ideal for testing each of the 9 attachments the Dyson V11™ Absolute includes. The High Torque Cleaner attachment was a great place to start, picking up the general crumbs and stray grass strands that always find their way onto the floor. The High Torque cleaner head, featuring soft, anti-static carbon fibre filaments, did a fantastic job of capturing dirt from the hard tile floor and grout crevices between them. It glided across the floor with ease thanks to the clever swivel neck design, sucking up every unwanted particle instead of pushing it around like my mum’s usual barrel vacuum. When we came to the living room rug, the Dyson V11™ intelligently optimised power and run-time after sensing a denser flooring type where the stiff nylon bristles gripped deep into the carpet to remove ground-in dirt.
Dust Busting
Being a keen reader, I have a lot of books which sit proudly on high, wall-mounted bookshelves. Unless I’m replacing a book for a new one not too much happens here so dust settles quickly and goes unnoticed until Saturday rolls around for the weekly clean with furniture polish and a microfiber cloth. However with the Dyson Mini Soft Dusting Brush attachment, additional chemicals and dusting equipment are no longer necessary. The suction was gentle and evenly distributed through the non-abrasive bristle to thoroughly pick up dust and meticulously clean even the most angular of spaces.
Dyson V11™ Specialist Attachments
Another favourite attachment to trial was the Soft Roller Cleaner Head. Covered in soft woven nylon and anti-static carbon fibre filaments, the Soft Roller Cleaner Head is perfect for removing finer dust particles from delicate hard floor surfaces so it was the obvious choice for timber areas that needed special care.
The Crevice Tool worked wonders at getting between couch cushions, small gaps between furniture and the wall, along skirting boards and along cupboard railings while the Combination Tool was a handy all-rounder for collecting stray crumbs on kitchen counters and also for removing tough dust from air conditioner filters. Just slide down the bristled part and in one swift sweep dust disappears right before your eyes! With so many attachments to choose from, the handy Wand Storage Clip meant that while on the go I could carry two extra tools in addition to the one I was already using. It truly is a powerful vacuum cleaner.
Case Study: Man(’s Best Friend) vs. Machine
And now to put the Dyson V11™ Absolute vacuum cleaner to the ultimate test: everyone, meet Max! Max is a 1-year-old Labrador Retriever who is still learning to share the couch in the man-cave with his human companions. Against the rolled brown upholstery, his fur expertly finds every crevice to hide in but would it hold up against the powerful suction of the Mini Motorised Tool?
Small yet mighty, it fit perfectly between fabric folds making it the ideal tool to suck up loose crumbs, dirt, dust, pet hair and all the other mysterious things that find their way between the couch cushions. It even worked wonders extracting dust embedded into the cushions which I couldn’t even tell was there!
Cleaning the Cleaner
When it comes to emptying the Dyson V11™, the ‘point and shoot’ bin hygienically ejects dust and debris deep into the trash in one swift action, while the separate advanced filter captures 99.97% of particles as small as 0.3 microns.*
Dyson V11™ Absolute: The Final Verdict
The Dyson V11™ possesses up to 60 minutes of fade-free power^ with Dyson’s most powerful battery and, powered by the Dyson digital motor V11™, this cord-free vacuum has 20% more suction power than the Dyson Cyclone V10™ vacuum#. Even with the extra power, the acoustic material absorbs vibrations, while a post-motor filter and an acoustic baffle reduce volume further. Overall, in my opinion, this is one of the best cordless vacuums on the market.
If you want to get your hands on this fabulous piece of technology, you can shop the Dyson V11™ online or head into your local Harvey Norman store to chat to our friendly staff and test one out for yourself.
^Applies in Eco mode when using a non-motorised tool.
#Suction tested to IEC 62885-2 CL 5.8 at the inlet, tested in Boost mode.
*Tested against ASTM F1977-04 (particles sized 0.3-0.5 microns), tested in Boost mode.