I tried world's thinnest vacuum at Dyson's labs – skinny ‘PencilVac' is the SAS of cleaning gear with three killer perks

Sean Keach, Head of Technology and Science
Published: Invalid Date,
AM I really looking forward to cleaning?
Dyson has achieved two impossible feats: making me thrilled about the idea of tidying the floor, and inventing the world's slimmest vacuum. I'm not sure which is more impressive.
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It's called the PencilVac, and I've had a go with it behind closed doors at Dyson's Oxfordshire labs.
Before I even grabbed the thing, I was blown away. Surely this is just a broom in disguise? Is Sir James Dyson having me on?
It measures a frankly ludicrous 38mm across. That's about three Dairy Milk bars stacked on top of each other.
BIN-CREDIBLE!
All of the usual Dyson tech – the batteries, bin, and motor – has been crammed into the handle.
So you've got battery cells at the top, followed by the computer system, then a shrunken motor that's Dyson's fastest yet.
Next comes the bin, which uses a new compression system to fit five times more dust than its apparent 0.08-litre capacity.
After all, Dyson tells me that most of a 'full' bin is usually air – so there's plenty of room for squashing.
Then there's a dust separation mechanism, brush bars, and a Fluffycones cleaner head with a cone design that shifts long hair off to the side – so it can be sucked back up instead of requiring you to cut it out with scissors.
You don't see most of this, of course. PencilVac just looks like a Dyson that's been hitting the treadmill.
I'LL BE...VAC
Naturally it all sounds like a vacuum cleaning dream, so I grab the handle and away I go.
Watch Sir James Dyson unveil secret PencilVac, world's slimmest vacuum cleaner
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It's feathery light and easy to manoeuvre.
Dyson has built a kind of vacuum cleaning assault course for me that I whizz along effortlessly. I suspect my success is down to the gadget's hi-tech design and not my own cleaning skill – but they don't crush my dreams.
This course has straights and hairpin bends – the Nürburgring of vacuuming.
And at the end is a low shelf that I drop straight under. This thing lays almost flat – which is no surprise, given that is pretty much is flat.
DYSON PENCILVAC – THE TECH SPECS
Here's what you need to know...
Size: 38mm x 226mm x 1,160mm (W x L x H)
Weight: 1.8 kilos
Motor: Dyson Hyperdymium 140k motor
Motor RPM: 140,000
Filtration: Up to 99.99% (dow to 0.3 microns)
Runtime: Up to 30 minutes
Charge time: Four hours
Cleaner Head: Fluffycones cleaner head (for detangling long hair and to-edge cleaning)
Accessories: Rotating combi-crevice tool / conical hair screw for mattresses and stairs / magnetic floor-charging dock
Picture Credit: Dyson
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It feels like a tactical weapon: the sort of thing that SAS squaddies would use if dust mites were the baddies.
Helping this image is a built-in laser that exposes dirt and debris. It's the vacuuming equivalent of night vision goggles and a red-dot sight.
I dart between objects with stunning agility. I was born to do this.
The room fades away. I daydream about running off with it, and living out my days as a kind of vacuuming sensei, cleaning the most complicated floor-spaces I can find.
But I can't become Dyson's Mr Miyagi just yet, because the PencilVac isn't out until 2026, and still doesn't have a UK price.
SIR JAMES DYSON SPEAKS TO THE SUN
Here's what famed British inventor Sir James Dyson told The Sun's Sean Keach...
Does PencilVac mark the beginning of a whole new era for vacuum cleaner design?
Yes, it's a reinvention of the format of the vacuum cleaner – our third reinvention in fact!
We started off by removing the bag to ensure vacuums didn't lose suction.
Then we pioneered the simplicity and ease of cleaning with really powerful battery-powered cordless vacuums, which were lighter and much easier to use.
Now, with the Dyson PencilVac, we're taking it a stage further, pioneering a new way to clean.
All the technology is contained in a very slim handle that is just 38mm in diameter. The new Fluffycones cleaner head floats across floors making it very manoeuvrable as you clean; all while it detangles long hair, so you don't have to worry about that.
A vacuum cleaner this thin must have seemed impossible for years – when did you first realise it was possible to actually manufacture a working device like this?
When something seems impossible, it makes us as engineers want to solve it all the more! Especially if people say, 'It can't be done.'
I've wanted to make a vacuum like the Dyson PencilVac for many years. But it required us to miniaturise everything about the product – which is a huge task.
The diameter of our hair tools was the inspiration. Through lots of research, we realised that 38mm is the optimal size for most people to hold, and so this was the diameter chosen for our hair tools like the Supersonic hair dryer and Airwrap multi-styler and dryer.
In order to fit it in the handle of the machine, we had to reengineer every component of the motor – down to the micron – while increasing its speed to 140,000RPM and maximising its power density for high-performance.
It was clear that we couldn't use cyclones for the dust separation, because they were too big for the 38mm diameter, so we had to develop something entirely new. The new slim, in-line format meant we could use dust compression technology in a small diameter, but over a long area to maximise the bin capacity, all while ensuring effective filtration performance and no loss of suction.
What was the biggest challenge to overcome in building the PencilVac?
Developing the new Fluffycones cleaner head was perhaps the greatest challenge we faced – but also the most rewarding! We wanted to develop a cleaner head that would detangle hair, clean right up to skirting boards, and pick up dust and debris in all directions – a cleaner head that would solve many frustrations with existing cleaner heads.
The new Fluffycones cleaner head features four conical brush bars. The challenge was engineering the drive system to ensure that all four cones, which are powered by two motors and four epicyclic gear boxes, spin at the same, consistent speed while maintaining its 7.5-degree angle for optimal pick-up performance. I'm delighted not only that we managed this, but in doing so made a vacuum cleaner which is a joy to use.
Who do you see PencilVac being the perfect vacuum cleaner for?
Once you've used it, and felt it float effortlessly across the floor, you'll realise it's unlike anything that has come before. It may be the only vacuum cleaner you need!
Picture Credit: Dyson
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CLEAN-UP TIME
It's a thrilling bit of kit, which might be the first time that's ever been said about a vacuum cleaner.
This thing is easy to use, takes up very little space, and gets into difficult nooks and crannies. It feels purpose-built for British homes.
It'll make cleaning under and around the dining table an absolute breeze. A treat, even.
It really is the SAS of cleaning gear: it's light and agile for tactical cleaning operations, it dispatches long hairs with ruthless efficiency, and it has whole-house endurance with a 30-minute runtime.
I can already see myself arguing with my wife over who gets to use the PencilVac – but no matter who does, everyone's a winner. Maybe that's the real Dyson magic.
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