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We wanted to share our Dyson V11 honest review. We have heard great things about the latest model of the Dyson cordless vacuum and wanted to try it out for ourselves. This is a truly honest review, as we purchased the Dyson V11 with our own money.
Vacuuming has always been a dreaded chore in our house. Pulling out a large heavy vacuum cleaner from a closet then lugging it around the room trying not to get tangled up or run over the cord can be tedious and annoying. Not to mention it’s loud and usually results in some sweating. For these reasons, decided to give the Dyson V11 Torque Drive a shot at making the task of vacuuming a bit easier.
We have attempted to make vacuuming more bearable by investing in a Roomba to handle some of the rooms in our house. Of course it isn’t a complete solution since it is somewhat noisy and doesn’t have the suction power of a standard vacuum.
In our quest for the best tool to compliment a full size Dyson DC33 and a Roomba, we decided on the Dyson V11 Torque Drive.
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After having an overall great experience with the DC33 as far as suction and capabilities go, we knew that a more portable version of a Dyson could be a good choice. The V11 Torque Drive was attractive because of the promise of a quieter, lightweight yet powerful vacuuming experience. We also knew from experience that the engineering claims (no loss of suction, various technological and engineering innovations etc.) of Dyson products usually prove to be accurate. We were also attracted to the product because of its modern industrial design.
The company was started by British inventor, James Dyson, after being frustrated by suction loss in the vacuum cleaners he used. He found that he could completely get rid of suction loss using a cyclone technology that he first saw being used in sawmills. After over 5,000 prototypes and 15 years of development, his first vacuum was complete. From then on, the company has made various vacuum models using the technology, as well as other products ranging from fans to lighting. Dyson has a heavy focus on engineering and functional design, similar in ways to the Simple Human company and their products. Also similar to Simple Human’s founder, James Dyson is often compared to Steve Jobs because of the unique and innovative products the company makes.
Click here to read our review of the Simple Human Voice-Activated Trash Can
The V11 Torque Drive is the company’s latest iteration of its V series line of handheld high powered vacuum cleaners. The Dyson V series line of vacuum cleaners marks the beginning of the end of corded vacuums from the company. In 2018, Dyson announced that they have stopped developing corded vacuums. This reminds us of an announcement by Daimler, parent company of Mercedes-Benz. Last year, they announced they are stopping development of internal combustion engines. Both the auto industry and vacuum industry are changing as batteries become lighter and more powerful. Other vacuum brands will likely follow suit and discontinue cords in favor of more portable, easier to use solutions.
Ever since The V11 Torque Drive was released it has proven to be a very popular household vacuum despite its high price (originally $700 on the Dyson website). The Dyson V11 has taken social media by storm. People can be seen on Youtube and Instagram using the V11 for almost all household vacuuming tasks.
The V11 Torque Drive is currently available in blue, copper and black. Unlike many other vacuums, you can somewhat personalize the appearance of the machine to your individual taste.
It was hard to choose a color, but we ultimately decided to buy the copper.
Out of the box the V11 came with a myriad of tools and attachments. They included seven attachments, a power cord for charging the vacuum and a docking station for wall mounting when not in use. Like most other vacuum cleaners that come with a lot of attachments, you may or may not use all of them, but it’s nice to have them just in case.
When we bought ours, Dyson was also running a special where you could pick 3 additional attachments/accessories as a bonus when we auto-registered the vacuum on the website during purchase.
One of the free accessories we picked was the stand-alone upright docking station (called the “Floor Dok”) . This usually retails for $130! This docking station allows you to store the Dyson V11 upright in an open area or a closet without having to attach the included dock to a wall. The docking station is only available in one color - white with a silver pole. The docking station hides the charging wire, as it feeds through the pole leaving a seamless look. This also allows for easy charging of the V11.
Dyson claims that the system is capable of filtering out 99.97% of dust particles as small as 0.3 microns.
There are 3 power modes for different tasks. You can change between modes quickly using a single button.
The three modes are:
Once the Dyson V11 Torque Drive is charged (approximately 4.5 hours from dead) and ready to go, you will then be able get up to an hour of use out of it before the next charge. This all depends on the power mode you are using as well as the floor type you have. The battery life of the Dyson V11 has been greatly improved compared to the previous iterations.
Depending on the type of floor (like thicker carpet vs. hardwood), the power of the vacuum will adjust accordingly. This is thanks to Dyson’s DLS (Dynamic Load Sensor) technology. After the first use of the V11 on multiple surfaces in one go, you probably won’t mind the extra power consumption in exchange for the perfect amount of suction on each floor type.
Unlike the previous cordless Dyson models, you don’t have to deal with the hassle of changing out the heads for hardwood vs. carpet. This is a huge improvement!
The Dyson V11 Torque Drive is packed with many other innovative pieces of engineering in addition to the DLS technology. To start, the High Torque cleaning head mentioned above has a separate internal digital motor that can spin the brush bar up to 60 times per second. The brush bar has a combination of nylon bristles and carbon fiber filaments (material used in aerospace, exotic cars and auto racing), to prevent static buildup. How neat is this?!
A nice feature the V11 Torque Drive has over its previous variants (and even the V11 Animal) is the color LCD display. The display is fed information and updated in real time from the onboard computer that monitors the system 8,000 times per second. This high level of system monitoring ensures the user has extremely accurate information when it comes to the status of the V11’s performance. Things like current mode, charge level, as well as remaining time vacuuming available in the various modes are some of the most useful pieces of information. This all comes in handy when deciding if you have enough juice to finish the job at hand or vacuum the next room.
The V11 has no bag and can be emptied directly into a trash can. Dyson calls this the “point and shoot” bin. Dyson goes on to advertise this method as hygienic because your hands never have to touch the dirt.
We absolutely love our Dyson V11 Torque Drive!
We are glad we splurged for the new V11 as opposed to getting previous models at a steep discount. The improvements have been significant and worthwhile in our opinion- specifically the battery life, the LCD screen and multi-surface vacuum head.
A great use for the V11 Torque Drive that we did not expect is using it as a car vacuum. It is practical and powerful. The extreme portability of the unit (with any of the short attachments) makes it far easier than the shop vac we previously used. Car cleanup was once a cumbersome operation having to plug in and lug the large corded shop vac around the garage. This task was impossible if the garage was full of cars. The power of the V11 along with the various nozzle attachments makes vacuuming all the crevices and surfaces of vehicles much easier. The shop vac is now only used for more heavy duty tasks in the garage.
Our Dyson V11 was never meant to be our only vacuum and we don’t foresee it replacing the other vacuums we have. The V11 doesn’t realistically have the battery capacity to vacuum our entire house on a single charge. It also does not have a large enough canister. We have found that the V11 is a great supplement to our Roomba, Dyson DC33 (full upright vacuum) and shop vac.
We use the Dyson V11 almost daily in high traffic areas. It’s truly a pleasure to use. It’s lightweight and convenient. It’s also very quiet! We read that it was pretty quiet, but we are pleasantly surprised how quiet it truly is! We can vacuum if someone is sleeping in another room without waking them. Our dogs who hate our other vacuums don’t even react to the Dyson V11! This is the perfect vacuum if you have animals or people in your home who are sensitive to loud noises. It’s also great if you’re living in an apartment or condo, as it’s quiet and doesn’t take up a lot of space.
We love the look of the V11. One thing that’s prevented us from buying one previously is the fact it doesn’t stand upright on its own and is typically attached to the wall with the included wall mount. We don’t have an ideal space for the wall mount and don’t like the idea of putting holes in the wall. It is too permanent for our liking. With the wall mount, you also have the issue of the exposed wires up the wall. We are very happy with the Dyson “Floor Dok”. It’s a less permanent solution to storing and charging the vacuum. It also has a much cleaner look in our opinion, as the charging wires feeds up the pole of the stand. It even holds some extra attachments! Our only (very minor) complaint is that it only comes in one color (white/silver).
The biggest downside to the Dyson V11 is the price, but you can often find it on sale! We snagged ours on sale, but it is still pretty expensive! As long as it holds up well, we think it is worth the money.
The only other major downside to the Dyson V11 Torque Drive that we have found is that emptying the canister can sometimes be messy. Much of the dust the vacuum did so well picking up gets reintroduced in the air with the rapid ejection. We do think the point and shoot emptying system is very practical, but just not as hygienic as claimed. Most of the time we end up emptying the vacuum straight into our compost pile outside so this isn’t such a big issue for us, but just be careful if emptying into an indoor trash can!
-Convenient and easy to use
-Quiet
-Good battery life
-Can move between hardwood and carpet seamlessly (no need to change heads!)
-3 power modes to choose from
-LCD screen gives feedback on battery life left
-Beautifully and thoughtfully designed
-The “point and shoot” bin emptying system is not completely sanitary or good for indoor air quality
-Price
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