Dyson Digital Slim Vacuum (DC35)

 

Avg. consumer rating = 88/100 

The Dyson Digital Slim is both a handheld and a stick vacuum.  It is driven by a powerful digital motor and comes with a floor tool capable of cleaning both carpet and bare floors.  A long aluminum wand also helps this unit clean from the floor to the ceiling effectively.  It uses lithium ion batteries for fast recharging and fade-free power.  Owners are pleased with the vacuum’s strong suction and build quality but feel it is quite costly and that it falls short in terms of battery power duration.

The Dyson Digital Slim is powered by a Dyson digital motor which, according to Dyson, is very power-efficient and three times faster than a conventional motor.  The Digital Slim, like other Dyson vacuums, uses Dyson’s now famous Root Cyclone technology.  This technology ensures no loss of suction over time and also helps keep filters cleaner longer.  The DC35 provides 28 air watts of suction on the standard setting and 65 air watts of suction in Max mode.

The Digital Slim stick vacuum is designed for both carpet and bare floors (tile, vinyl, wood).  The unit’s motorized floor tool comes with rotating nylon brushes for carpet (capable of 1500 revolutions per minute) and carbon fibre brushes for hard surfaces.  Carbon fibre was used by Dyson because of its anti-static properties.  The floor tool also pivots a full 180 degrees horizontally without losing contact with the floor.  The cleaning path of the DC35 is a rather narrow at 8.5 inches and the floor tool has a velour bumper on the front to cushions walls or furniture from bangs and scrapes. 

The DC35 is capable of cleaning both high and low with the aid of a detachable, aluminum (lightweight) long reach wand.  The wand also enables the unit to vacuum into narrow or hard to reach areas.  The canister is very easy to empty, a claim supported by consumers, and requires the simple pressing of a button.  The canister is also composed of clear plastic so it is easy to determine when emptying is necessary.  It is a little small though at 0.09 gallons (0.35 litres) and there are a few comments regarding the need to frequently empty the canister when cleaning.

The Dyson Digital Slim is cordless and uses a 22.2 Volt lithium ion battery.  Lithium ion batteries output sustained power until they are fully discharged (sometimes called “fade-free power”) and also charge much faster than other batteries.  Dyson indicate that fully charging the Digital Slim takes about 3.5 hours.  The DC35 comes with a power adaptor and battery charger.  There is also a wall mountable bracket for the DC35 and this is a feature many owners appear to like.

The battery provided with the Digital Slim is also ENERGY STAR qualified.  ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy.  The program involves protecting the environment through energy efficient products and practices - so if a product is Energy Star rated then it has met strict energy efficiency guidelines set by both the EPA and US Department of Energy.

The Dyson DC35 weighs about 5 lbs (4.96 to be precise) and some folks find it a little heavy as a handheld.  It comes with both a crevice tool and combination accessory tool (for dusting).  It does not come with HEPA level filtration and the filter is “standard” but, like most Dyson machines, it is washable.  The Dyson Digital Slim stick vacuum carries a 2-year parts and labor manufacturer’s warranty

A review of quality retail sites on the net yields the following group of consumer ratings for the Dyson DC35 Digital Slim. 

Source	Consumer Ratings	#Ratings
Amazon	4.1 stars out of 5	253
QVC	3.3 stars out of 5	16
Best Buy	4.4 stars out of 5	122
Walmart	4.5 stars out of 5	385
Target	4.4 stars out of 5	28
Macy's	4.5 stars out of 5	349

 

Like many of cordless stick vacuums we review the issue of battery life crops up frequently for the DC35.  It is said to get 15 minutes of run time on a single charge which – in the world of battery operated stick vacs – isn’t that bad.  As the DC35 has a high power setting and uses a power nozzle battery life breaks down to: 15 minutes for regular cleaning, 13 minutes with the power nozzle, and 6 minutes on the high power setting.  These kinds of battery time limitations are, unfortunately, frequent in the world of battery operated vacuums but many consumers find this problematic and are disappointed by short battery power duration.

We see two commonly recurring themes regarding consumer comments about stick vacs in general.  1 – Consumers are often disappointed that the vacuum doesn’t seem capable of managing large area cleaning well.  2 – Consumers often feel the batteries just do not last long enough.  These two areas of discontent are relatively common to many stick vacs.  Stick vacuums are generally best for smaller, quick pick up kind of work and often don’t have the power to do the kind of deep cleaning that a full size vacuum will do.  Also, if the stick vac is battery operated, it just won’t have the power longevity to do larger jobs. 

Looking at consumer comments from several quality sources yielded the following common Dyson DC35 likes and dislikes:

PROS
- Very easy to empty the dust canister
- Both a handheld and a stick vacuum
- Strong suction
- Recharges fast
- Lithium ion batteries ensure no drop in power as it is being used
- Build quality is good and it looks great
- Comes with several good tools
- Works relatively well on both carpet and bare floors
- Washable filter
- Comes with wall mountable charging stand
- Fairly quiet

CONS
- Expensive
- A bit heavy as a handheld
- The trigger must be squeezed continuously for the vacuum to work.
- Nozzle not that effective on high pile carpet
- Vacuum will not stand upright on its own
- A number of folks complain about the short battery life, especially on the max setting

Vacuum Video
Following is a 30 second commercial showing the Dyson stick vacuum at work.  It is a commercial so it has a strong sales pitch but a picture is worth 1000 words and it is helpful to see the vacuum and its accessories at work.

Vacuum Manual
You can get additional Dyson Digital Slim details by browsing the manual here.