Dyson Outsize Vacuum Review

This vacuum is reasonably well-built. It looks fairly premium, with easily accessible controls on top of the vacuum and a prominent display screen on top of the body that displays maintenance alerts, estimated battery life, and the current power mode. There's also a rubber strip near the top of the vacuum that lets you rest it against a wall so that it doesn't slip and fall over. Unfortunately, the vacuum's primarily plastic construction isn't especially robust. While its clear plastic dirt compartment gives you a rough estimate of remaining capacity, it also feels fragile and could crack if you drop it. The vacuum's wheels are made of plastic, not denser rubber. Thankfully, the vacuum itself is very easy to put together or reconfigure thanks to the easy-clip mechanisms, with assembly being a quick process.

This vacuum has a fairly high number of parts that require regular maintenance, but they're all easy to access.

• Dirt compartment: The dirt compartment is connected to the main body of the vacuum. You can open it by pulling the red release valve on its top surface to drop collected debris into a trash can when needed. If you're looking for a stick vacuum that has a self-emptying function to reduce hands-on maintenance requirements, you could consider the Samsung Bespoke Jet.
• High Torque XL cleaner head: Pressing the red release button on the side of the vacuum head allows you to slide out the brushroll. You can remove hair wraps as necessary, though you should clean the brushroll with cold water frequently.
• Laser Slim Fluffy cleaner head: Similar to the High Torque main brushroll, you can press the red button on the side of the vacuum head to slide the brush roll from its housing. You should regularly clean it under cold water and wipe off the laser sensor lens with a clean, soft, lint-free cloth.
• Turbo brushroll: The turbo brushroll can be removed by pressing the release button on the side of the vacuum head. You should clean it under cold water.
• Filter: The filter is placed near the vacuum exhaust and is removed by twisting it counterclockwise to release it from its housing. It should be washed under cold water at least once a month or whenever the maintenance light indicates that it needs cleaning.

All parts that you can wash under cold water should be left to dry for at least 24 hours before being re-inserted.

This vacuum incurs minimal recurring costs. Its main filter won't need replacing as long as you regularly maintain it. That said, you can buy a replacement unit from the manufacturer's website, seen here.

This vacuum is reasonably easy to store. While it's visibly larger and heavier than the Dyson V11, its overall footprint, when stowed upright, isn't that much bigger. It comes with a wand clip that allows for onboard storage of two tools and also has a wall-mounted docking station with slots for two other additional accessories.

This vacuum's dirt compartment is very spacious. It's significantly larger than that of the standard Dyson V11, comparable to some smaller upright models. As such, you won't need to empty it very often. It's made of clear plastic, too, so you know how close it is to max capacity at all times.

• Dyson Outsize vacuum
• Vacuum body/Dirt compartment
• Post-motor HEPA filter
• Main High Torque Brush vacuum head
• Main High Torque Brush vacuum brushroll
• Wand
• 2x Batteries
• User Guide
• Various tools and brushes
  • Laser Slim Fluffy™ tool
  • Soft dusting brush
  • Stubborn dirt brush
  • Upholstery brush/Hard bristle brush combination tool
  • Hair screw turbo brush
  • Crevice tool
  • Wand clip
• Docking station
  • Docking station
  • Installation manual with mounting screws
  • 2x chargers

This is a cordless vacuum, so the range is really only limited by the remaining battery life.

The Dyson Outsize is decently portable. It's a little heavier than the Dyson V11 and doesn't feel as light in your hand, but its integrated carrying handle makes it reasonably easy to pick up and move. If you'd prefer a more portable vacuum, check out the Dyson Micro 1.5kg.

This vacuum delivers impressive battery life. Since it comes with two batteries, you can quickly and easily swap one out for a charged unit. Using two fully charged batteries results in more than two and a half hours of runtime in its energy-efficient 'Eco' mode, which will be more than enough for cleaning most large spaces. Using its more powerful 'Boost' mode drops its total runtime to just under 20 minutes, though that will be sufficient for dealing with smaller, more stubborn messes.

The Dyson Outsize has a couple of quality-of-life features. Like the standard Dyson V11, it has an 'Auto' power mode that automatically adjusts the vacuum's suction to different surface types. However, you still need to rotate the gate on its head to make it easier to push around on surfaces like rugs or carpeting. That said, unlike the newer Dyson Gen5outsize, it lacks a particle sensor and an on/off power button; instead, it uses a more conventional trigger.

The Dyson Outsize comes with a broad selection of tools and accessories. It has a few unique tools, including its conical hair screw turbo brush, which cleans pet hair from different surfaces. It also has a Laser Slim Fluffy™ tool with a soft roller and an integrated laser light to help see small particles from bare floors. The combination tool cleans messes on upholstery and features an all-surface dusting brush. There's also a brush with very hard bristles for dislodging especially stubborn dirt and another with softer bristles for dusting off delicate surfaces. You can also use its crevice tool to tackle messes in tight spots. While it doesn't have a dedicated extension wand, all of the included accessories can fit the main wand to help you clean hard-to-reach places.

You can use the Dyson Outsize as a rather bulky handheld vacuum by removing its main wand and fitting the tool of your choice in its place.

This vacuum delivers great performance on hard floors with its Laser Slim Fluffy cleaner head. The soft roller collects larger debris like rice or cereal with little issue. However, like the Dyson V15 Detect, which comes with a similarly designed hard floor head, finer material like sand can be caught at the back of the head and dragged around when pulling it backward.

This vacuum delivers passable performance on high-pile carpets when used with its multi-surface High-Torque XL head. It doesn't have too much trouble dealing with large- or medium-sized debris like cereal or rice, though some can be pushed forward. However, its floorhead doesn't provide enough agitation on carpets to work out finer debris like sand that has been embedded deep within carpet fibers, especially compared to the multi-surface Digital Motorbar floorhead bundled with the Dyson V15 Detect.

This vacuum's performance on low-pile carpets is mediocre. As with its performance on high-pile carpets, it's decent when it comes to clearing away large- and medium-sized debris, but you'll need to make another pass or two to fully clear away any remaining material.

The vacuum's pet hair pickup performance on low-pile carpets is exceptional when fitted with its High Torque XL floorhead. This attachment's brushroll has stiff enough bristles to thoroughly agitate carpet fibers and lift away both long and short strands of hair.

This vacuum has good suction power. The manufacturer advertises it as having a 220 AW suction motor, slightly up on the 185 AW Dyson V11. In the real world, the difference is negligible, and it generates good sealing on a variety of surface types, helping to suck up debris wedged deep within crevices. If you want a similar vacuum with an even stronger suction force, check out the Dyson Gen5outsize/Gen5outsize Absolute.

The Dyson Outsize delivers good airflow performance. It gets pretty close to the Dyson V15 Detect in this regard, the latter being one of the more potent cordless models on the market. It won't have any trouble dealing with most kinds of household debris.

This vacuum isn't too loud. It makes a slightly less high-pitched noise than the Dyson V8, which won't be especially noticeable if you run the vacuum in an enclosed room.

This vacuum is decently maneuverable. It's heavier and bulkier than other Dyson stick vacuums, like the Dyson V8, which makes it a little harder to move around, though it can still navigate fairly cramped spaces. Since its handle is underneath the main body of the vacuum, you need to crouch very low to the ground to thoroughly clean under couches, tables, and other low-lying furniture. The vacuum itself is also a little on the tall side, so shorter users may find themselves lifting their shoulders when cleaning close to themselves. Cleaning on top of furniture is a little easier, though its bulky size can make it challenging for some to carry handheld for extended periods. Unfortunately, due to its very high suction force, it's difficult to push around on high-pile carpets and can even drag them around if you don't stand on them to keep them in place.

This vacuum does a good job of handling pet hair on upholstered surfaces when used with its turbo brush attachment. It clears long strands of hair without too much difficulty but leaves some shorter strands on the very edges of the path of its tool. Its bulky form factor makes using it as a handheld vacuum very awkward.

Air filtration performance is good. Like most of Dyson's other vacuums, the manufacturer advertises the Outsize's whole machine filtration system as able to trap 99.99% of particles as small as 0.3 microns.

This vacuum does an excellent job of clearing away debris in crevices. Its relatively powerful suction motor, combined with the fact that its fluffy roller floorhead generates a tight seal with hard floors, enables it to clear away debris in both shallow and deep cracks.

This vacuum does a terrible job of scrubbing away stains on bare floors when used with its Laser Slim floorhead, which isn't surprising since this isn't what it's intended for.

This vacuum can't be used to clean liquid spills.