Review: Dyson V8 Absolute

When my boyfriend and I were moving into our apartment together, we each brought along our own vacuum. For far too long, we had two vacuums sitting side-by-side in our living room and it drove me absolutely crazy. Two vacuums! Could you imagine?

…And then, suddenly,  within a few weeks we had none. I mean, here I was complaining about how ridiculous it was to have two vacuums and before I knew it I was in the market for a new one. Before I was annoyed, but now I was downright heated! I had to research new vacuums and find the best one for our apartment.

My parents had a Dyson Animal for years that worked well, so I figured I’d use Dyson as a starting point. I had remembered about seeing a presentation of the cordless Dyson V6 on QVC during the holidays. As is the way of the world, the sales were over by that time, but we had still been impressed. It was an odd-looking “stick” vacuum, unlike the upright machines we were accustomed to, that could also quickly transform into a handheld dustbuster type of thing.

Soon after, my boyfriend and I begged my parents to take us with them on their next Costco trip so we could look around. Sure enough, we found a Dyson V8 (the newer model). We had liked the V6 especially because of the sales on it, but knew the V8 had better battery life. Unfortunately, the one at Costco was a Dyson V8 Animal – which doesn’t come with all the bells and whistles we had seen of and researched prior. We were particularly upset that it didn’t include the fluffy roller head attachment which helped sell us on this vacuum.

So I reached out to Dyson. I have to tell you: It is always worth it to contact customer support. I explained our situation, and asked if we could purchase the attachment separately (and if it would work with our model). It did, but the customer support representative told me she could do me better. Due to my loyalty to the Dyson brand, she offered us a discount on the V8 Absolute – direct from Dyson.com. It included the fluffy roller head, and free attachments for ordering directly through Dyson. Wow-wee!

Performance

I have to admit: I was skeptical that the V8 Absolute was going to be able to last, battery-wise, for a full cleaning of our apartment. I was pleasantly surprised! On a full charge, we can vacuum the entire apartment with charge left over for higher, hard-to-reach spots or our couch.

In terms of suction power, there are two modes: the regular or “powerful” mode and the stronger, “MAX,” mode. Generally, I don’t find us needing to use the MAX mode often. We mostly use it to such up stubborn hair or threads stuck to our couch that don’t want to come up under the normal mode. Occasionally we’ll use it to deep clean our area rugs. Other than that, the standard power mode works perfectly and lasts about 40 minutes.

The comparison between what our last two vacuums picked up from one session and what the V8 Absolute picks up was well worth the price we paid. Plus, it’s much nicer to rest after cleaning house knowing you actually cleaned the house. The evidence is in the bin!

What It Comes With

The V8 Absolute comes with 7 tools/attachments. There are two head-types: the motorhead (for use on rugs and carpeting) and the soft roller cleaner head, or the “fluffy roller head” in our household (for use on tile and hardwood flooring). These heads are incredible. The motorhead works pretty much as advertised, and can pop-out of its enclosing if you need to clear debris (as I did after accidentally sucking up faux spiderweb Halloween decorations). The fluffy roller head, however, is a piece of art. It’s soft to touch, so you’d expect it not to do much of anything but push dirt and debris around your floor. That’s not the case. This thing can pick up dirt and dust no problem, but also larger items like cereal.

There are also four quick-release tools: the mini soft dusting brush, the mini motorized tool, the crevice tool, and the combination tool. Those last two are the ones we use the most (especially the combination tool which provides the optional use of bristles.

Plus, there’s the docking station, which lets you mount your V8 Absolute to the wall for charging and/or convenient access. We mounted ours out of the way in our kitchen, and it’s so nice to be able to quickly grab it and clean up after a sudden mess. One morning while making my cereal for breakfast, the bag somehow popped at the bottom while I was opening it. Some cereal exploded onto the floor, along with all of that bottom-of-the-bag cereal dust. The V8 took care of it within seconds, and I was enjoying breakfast in no time.

Additional Tools

There are other tools available for the V8. We also have the Up-Top Adaptor (adjustible angles for high areas), the wide-nozzle tool (perfect for the mattress), and the extension hose. There’s also a tote bag designed to house the assorted available tools, which is the perfect size (but honestly should have more pockets).

Filtration

The V8 Absolute comes with two washable filters, which I unfortunately just became aware of while writing this review. Apparently, they should be washed monthly (oops!) and can easily be done with water from the kitchen faucet. It needs to dry for at least 24 hours after washing, but other than that it seems super painless!

Here’s a short video demonstrating the process:

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Newer Model

I should say that there is, as of now, a newer model on the market: The V10. We’ve had our V8 for about a year, so I felt like it was the perfect time to review.

One of my favorite YouTubers, Justine Ezarik (better known as iJustine), recently unboxed the new Dyson V10 Absolute on her YouTube channel. The V10 has a modified design which allegedly makes it easier to empty the bin, as well as slightly better battery life – but other than that it doesn’t seem like there is a huge difference between the V10 and the V8. If you’d like to watch Justine’s unboxing video and see the V10 in action, you can do that here.

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Are you in the market for a new vacuum? Have thoughts or questions about the V8 Absolute? Let me know in the comments!