Dyson DC25 Blueprint impressions: is the 'Ball' worth it?
By Darren Murph 
posted Oct 27th 2009 10:16AM
posted Oct 27th 2009 10:16AM
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First off, we should mention that the DC25 Blueprint - Limited Edition is downright gorgeous. From a design standpoint, it's hard to not fall in love here. The white is stunning, and the curves are in all the right places. We know -- that sounds tremendously odd when referring to a gadget that cleans the dust and debris from your den, but it's true. Assembly took all of four minutes (a few snaps here, a few clicks here), and off we went. Our first negative vibe was from the power cable; Dyson's cheaper DC23 has a retractable power cable, whereas this bugger has a traditional "just hanging there" cable. Why not implement the brilliant cable management system on the DC23 into this vac? Or all of your vacs, honestly.
After grumbling for a bit over that, we eventually plugged it in and fired it up. In unscientific testing, we found this machine to be noticeably more noisy than the DC23, though folks who clean while jamming to their MP3 player won't much mind. The mechanism for reclining the vac is just beautifully intuitive; you simply press the large blue handle on the rear with your foot, and the wheels slide up allowing you to tilt it back as far as you please. Standing it back upright is just as simple; just tilt the handle forward and wait for two solid clicks. The bundled attachments all worked well enough, though the extension handle is in an odd place. You actually have to stand the machine upright, remove the handle altogether and clip an attachment onto the rod that tucks away behind the handle structure. It's a somewhat convoluted process, though we suspect Dyson anticipates that you'll use your upright for "upright duties" while using your hand vac for those hard-to-reach places. That's not a valid excuse for the design choice here, though.
So, how'd the ball work? In a word, well. Moving the machine forward and back was incredibly simple, requiring little to no effort even in thicker carpet. It had no issues going from carpet to rugs to hardwood floors, and suction remained as it transitioned from surface to surface. The ball, however, didn't really blow us away. It's supposed to make maneuvering your vacuum way, way easier, though we didn't really find it as revolutionary as we had hoped. We still generally made the same movements, and while it did make cornering a touch simpler, you still end up walking directly behind the vac sooner or later. Don't get us wrong -- it's a stellar design, but it's not as world-changing as Dyson would have you believe. If you could get this machine for under three bills, we'd say it's worth springing for, but we can't really justify the lofty price tag here on the addition of a ball alone.
All told, the DC25 Blueprint just struck us as too pricey for what it is. Is the suction amazing, even after extended use? No doubt. Is the design incredible? Clearly. But the full package just doesn't scream "value" at $530. Unless you've got oodles of spare cash to blow, we'd probably recommend one of Dyson's cheaper options (such as the DC23 Turbinehead). We can't argue with the quality and performance of the company's vacs, but it just feels like Dyson's trying to get away with charging a higher-than-acceptable premium here because of the paint job. Not that we haven't seen companies play that card before, but at the end of the day, there's no need to put spinners and a spoiler on a machine that cleans up your guest room. If you catch our drift.
Cinderella would love this!!!
Or Snowhite.
Someday my Vacuum will come
Someday I'll find some gloves
It's an F'n VACUUM CLEANER! No vacuum cleaner is worth over $100. I can buy the current vacuum cleaner that I own (a Dirt Devil, which does a spectacular job) for $40. That means I can REPLACE it 13 times before I get into the $530 this thing costs.
@Slappy Wag:
After my wife and I got tired of buying new vacuums every year or two because they would break, we decided to give in and buy a DC14 animal. After almost 6 years of owning it, is it worth the nearly $500 we paid for it? Absolutely.
I was extremely dubious at first, but considering I was ready to throw down almost $200 to replace a less than two year old vacuum and the Dyson's price included a 5 year warranty from Sears, the replacement cost of buying 2-3 cheaper vacuums during that time was nearly the same. I figured this way at the very least I wouldn't have to worry about it.
Then I used it. The old vacuum could still be coaxed into working on occasion, so I ran it over a patch of floor that was visibly clean, then ran the DC14 over the same patch of floor. The old vacuum (a $200 hoover, if I recall) bagged nearly nothing, and the DC14 picked up a considerable amount of pet fur and just general grim from the carpet. The first run through the house required the hopper to be emptied nearly every room from stuff the hoover missed on clean bags. The suction on the self retracting hose (a wonderful design in itself) is amazing and the attachments did quick work of pet hair on furniture. The attachments mostly all snap onto the body securely so they're not likely to be misplaced. The cord storage mechanism is well designed as well.
Obviously your mileage may vary, and if you don't have pets or frequent house visitors maybe you don't abuse your vacuums like we do. For me, it's totally worth it. When this thing dies (and that seems a while off, it's built like a tank) I'll have no problem throwing down another $500 on a new one.
I second Nule's comments. I happened to get a DC14 animal for about $250 during a great sale at Khols. I do, however, find Dyson's comments when hawking the ball to be deplorable; most vacuums have independent axles for each wheel and are therefore much more maneuverable than his sphere on an axle which cannot even rotate in place. I found it hilarious when a Hoover rep came to my door with their $400 machine and had trouble competing with our Dyson. I did my best not to laugh when all he could pick up after the Dyson was a sprinkling of dust on the filters; mine was also a lot quieter. I've already had it for over a year and it's been far better than any vacuum I've ever used including the expensive Hoovers. I'm not looking forward to having to find a repairman in 4 years or so, but nothing lasts forever.
As for the DC25, due to the design and the axis of rotation for the handle, it feels much heavier while vacuuming. The machine itself is lighter than the DC14, but not the handle. I tried both out in the store and just couldn't see spending $50 more for a smaller capacity vacuum that is less maneuverable and puts more strain on the shoulders and back.
I'll third Nule and Slappy's comment. Going on 6 years for my non ball Dyson. Tired of replacing $200 units every 1 to 2 years. Dropped the coin on a Dyson at Costco. I could not be happier with it. It still works as good as it did when I bought it.
I got an old school purple dyson without the ball design. Best vacuum cleaner ever. We used to use Orek's and I can vividly remember the day I bought the Dyson, I vacuumed my bedroom with the Orek XL then with the Dyson, and the big D picked up tons of dirt the Orek left behind. They are pricey, but def. worth it in my eyes. And the way the hose is on my back of my model, it makes it real easy to vacuum the car.
Hmm... I get low ranked because I buy a $50 vacuum cleaner every couple years. You guys go right ahead and spend $550 on a vacuum cleaner. What happens when you run your warranty out? Oop.. you buy a new one or repair the old. That puts you in another $550 in less than 6 years. If I purchase a $50 vacuum every two years that does the job just fine, I spend less than $550 over the period of 26 years.
Simple math, people. I guess you're tired of saving money as well as purchasing a new vacuum.
YOU FAIL
@ Slappywag
obviously you dont look for deals. because i've been using my DC07 $199 dyson for 6 years. i dont think it'll ever die. seems like a smart investment for me.
@ Slappywag
obviously you dont look for deals. because i've been using my DC07 $199 dyson for 6 years. i dont think it'll ever die. seems like a smart investment for me.
I've had a bagless Dirt Devil with rear casters for nearly 8 years ago for about $200. It works awesome. I've had to replace the brush belt once because I jammed the brush with loose clothes and such. Having casters it moves extremely freely. When the brushes are running it nearly hovers and you can even swing it side to side. When we moved into our new house it was vacuumed by the people leaving who had to shaggy dogs and then we had all the carpets professionally cleaned. It still filled the canister with every use for the first month we lived here. Paying $500 for a vacuum is ridiculous just don't buy one for $50 and expect it to run forever though I can say our $200 unit has been well worth it.
Careful MacBandit, you are trying to inject logic and common sense into this. Logic and common sense clearly do not apply here if people are willing to spend $550 on a vacuum cleaner. See, the Dyson name has a niche market rooted in the stupidity of people willing to spend that much on a vacuum. So be it. I shall keep purchasing my $40-50 Dirt Devils and getting a brand new vacuum that I do not have to replace parts on every couple years. This is the same mentality that buys the crap that Billy Mays used to sell before his untimely death.
Oh, and Angell, I am a cheap bastard. I always look for the cheapest way to do something. It is pretty apparent that you do not. I understand that a vacuum is something that will get dirty and eventually need parts or need to be replaced. It is a fact of life. Why should I pay an exhorbitant (obscene) amount of money for that when my $40-50 Dirt Devil does the job the same as the $550 (or even the $200) vacuum?
I bet more than half of these morons are financing these vacuums right along with their expensive Cheetos purchase at 23% interest, costing themselves even more money.
Slappy, go away, no one wants to listen to your sloppy crap mouth anymore. If a Geo Metro lasted 10 years you would still buy it because it gets you to work?
You still clearly miss the point, you General Disarray wannabe. It's an F'N VACUUM CLEANER!
"So, how'd the ball work? In a word, good."
Good is an adjective. Adjectives modify nouns.
"To work" is a verb. Adverbs modify verbs.
The word you're looking for is "well".
I have to wonder how well this vacuum can handle LONG hair from N long-haired females running around brushing their hair where-ever they happen to be.
The killer of three vacuums so far in my household has been hair wrapped (and wrapped and wrapped) around the rotating carpet-beating brushes. Managed to replace one vacuum's brush unit to get "like new" again, but what a pain!
[BTW - at about $600 for THIS vacuum, one could buy THREE perfectly usable vacuums and simply keep the spares in a closet...is it thus economical to buy this one?]
Your English is well!
and the life you're searching for is "lonely"
Your English, is like well good innit
@Freakin ljit:
As a DC14 owner that lives with two long-haired females and two cats that shed copiously, I will say that eventually hair will jam around the brush. This is worse when you have a mix of carpet and hard flooring (the vacuum works great on hard floors too, one of the major selling points for us when we got it) as the brush doesn't spin in that mode, so hair can accumulate then become tangled when you switch it back to carpet. When sufficient hair builds up to the point where I feel it's impacting performance I simply remove the cover over the brush, and use a pair of scissors to cut the excess hair loose. There's even a groove in the brush holder which I believe is there to facilitate this process. It takes maybe 5-10 minutes and then it's as good as new.
Since this is my second comment on this topic, I'll point out that I'm not a shill for Dyson, I work as an enterprise application designer/developer (see my name .org for proof). I just happen to really like this vacuum, and feel that it really ended up being a good value for me and my family.
You'd think by now someone would have figured out a mechanism for automatically chopping the hair from the roller. I am constantly having to cut it in a similar manner.
BTW: Nule, we love your HL7 stuff, use it heavily here for scraping labs out of a captive LIS...
@henry:
Heh, small world, or small internet or something. Glad you like the software.
If you have to ask, then you cant afford "the ball". Am not spending all my black Friday, core i7 laptop money on a vacuum cleaner, no matter how good it sucks.
But it sucks so hard!
It loses sucktion over time like all bagless vacuum (hoovers) as they all get clogged, so no good at sucking in 2 years when it sucks worse than paris hilton!
Regardless of how well anything sucks at the start it always tappers off over time, its just a trick to get you suckered into keeping it around.
@ Ocean
I have one of the older ball models and it's been great. There is a foam filter that needs to be rinsed every 6 months or so. I've had mine for about 4 years and it works as well now as the day I bought it. Much better than my previous Hoover Elite at about 1/2 the cost. The range of attachments for the wand is pretty good, but they are for the most part more expensive than they should be. No buyers remorse here.
@ myself -- I guess I should be more clear. The Hoover was 1/2 the cost of the ball.
I'm sure you can get it for a lot less than 500 in a short while...
I bought the DC15 for around $200 from sears after PM'ing to WorstBuy's clearance price 3+ years ago... gotta love that 110% price guarantee offers ;)
@kal326
"Regardless of how well anything sucks at the start it always tappers off over time, its just a trick to get you suckered into keeping it around."
Every married man knows this.
@kal326
"Regardless of how well anything sucks at the start it always tappers off over time, its just a trick to get you suckered into keeping it around."
Every married man knows this.
$529.99 what an over priced hoover, whos buying it?
It's not a Hoover, therefore it can't be an overpriced one...
Actually in the UK and Ireland Vacuum cleaners are also known as hoovers including dysons, henry hoovers, dirt hoovers, goblin hoovers and other makes because of hoover former dominance in the first half of the 20th century, everyone here in the UK and Ireland call them hoovers instead of vacuum cleaners!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hoover_Company
@ Ocean Clak 34th - You are mainly right, except when they're Dysons. Then we call them Dysons it is a rare case of a product breaking the standard colloquialism.
Being from the UK I realise people genericise the name Hoover, but that doesn't mean it's correct.
Anyway, my surname is Dyson and for some reason it pisses me off when people use the term Hoover instead of vacuum cleaner. I think it's because of the million and one times I say my name to someone on the phone, and instead of asking for a spelling, the standard response is "like the Hoover?".
You can use an regular vacuum and then Resolve... that Resolve cleaning spray works great to clean carpets...
Anyways... TILE FOR THE WIN!!!!!!!!!!
Not in winter, no.
Or for just plopping yourself down wherever you feel like it.
I dnt see any point in spending so much money for something that lives off sucking dirt. Unless you do it as a business!
What's particularly revealing is that people who DO vacuum as a business (maids, hotel staff, etc.) invariably use regular bag vacuums (very robust, higher end models), not Dysons. They know better. I think we've all been duped by the bagless craze. I'm reminded of this every time I go outside to the trash can to empty my bagless vacuum's trash bin, and find myself standing in the cloud of dust that rises up from the trash can. In the name of saving a few pennies on bags, I've got to deal with emptying these messy bagless bins.
These days, my solution is to use my Roomba 500 as much as possible. If I'm going to spend a lot of money on a vacuum, it's going to do the job FOR me. As long as I run it often and keep it clean, it does a great job. I don't mind cleaning it by hand since I didn't actually have to DO the vacuuming.
Aaaaah, but can it not flood the room with "stinky pet/dust smell" when you run it after it has set up in a closet for a week. Find me one that can do that, and I am in.
I seriously wonder why the US market prefer upright vacuum models over canisters. Uprights are noisy, harder to control (you have to push/pull the whole thing versus just the hose on canisters), harder to fit into tight spots etc. In Europe, upright vacuums practically does not exist. Even Dyson, being a European company, did not have any upright models in the beginning, they came up with them later, just for US market.
In the UK (which is in Europe, last time I checked), uprights are very common. In fact Dyson's first model, the DC01, was an upright.
My DC01 is still going strong!
It's the American way?
Im from uk and uprights are very rare
...but you don't have to move a canister around separately, which is a turn off with canisters. I don't see either design as meeting the great hope of a product that takes no effort and cleans up without us being involved. Both canisters and uprights have obvious pluses to their users while neither are perfect.
Once you chimpanzies evolve into standing, walking human beings, then you will understand the benefit of an upright!
@Ocean Clak 34th
I am also from the UK and everyone I know has an upright. In fact if you go into comet etc there are more upright cleaners than cylinder cleaners. Which UK are you from exactly? If you go to the argos site there is the following information
Upright bagless vacuum cleaners (50)
Cylinder bagless vacuum cleaners (47)
Which suggests that uprights are hardly rare in the UK.
Uprights in the south east of england (south london area) exclude dysons ive only seen about 20 in my life time compared to hundreds of cylinder, ive only known 4 people with uprights compared to hundreds maybe thousands with cylinders and thats also including schools and hospital etc
@ Coolblue & Ocean Clak 34th - I'm from the south west and agree with O C 34th, maybe uprights are a Northern thing, unless you're a Southerner Coolblue