When was the last time you really had a good conversation about vacuum technology? I am willing to bet, if you’ve talked with anyone about vacuum cleaners or handhelds and they were overly excited about the subject, odds are they were proud owners of a Dyson upright or handheld vacuum cleaner. I may be wrong, but the last few dudes and dudettes I spoke with about vacuums were grinning from ear to ear over their recent vacuuming enjoyment.

Yes, I am the proud owner of the purple, plastic, ‘Animal’ vacuum made by Dyson and yes I do love to vacuum…now more than ever. And yes, I am still amazed at the amount of dirt and cat hair this device rips from my carpets weekly. I am a firm believer in Dyson vacuum technology and now I turned to their handheld version, the Dyson Root 6 DC16.

I really have to blame my Uncle Ben for putting the Dyson bug back into my head. During a recent visit, he purposely and tactically, displayed his Dyson Root 6 on his dining room table…as if to say, “Before you leave….check out my new, futuristic looking, space-blaster, Dyson handheld. His demonstration and pitch overwhelmed me so much, within days of returning from Holiday Break, I magically found one lying on my doorstep as if it was delivered from the God of Air. And let me tell you….I feel like I can defend freedom with this vacuum in my hands!

In the image of it’s robust, plastic father, the Dyson Root 6 displays the same attention to form-factor and easily set the mark as the best handheld vacuum I’ve ever owned. Once you get through days of just staring at this cosmic device, you finally break the trance and seek out opportunities to use it again and gain. I soon found myself waiting for the recharge light to illuminate green after every use in order to arm myself for my next global struggle. Out of the box, it was pretty much ready to go. Basically, there are three parts….the main sucking and dirt collector piece (the chassis), the attachment nozzles and the battery (including the recharger). That is it. It takes about 3 hours to reach full charge (3 times faster than a standard handheld) and you get about 6-10 minutes of use. Now, I realize that is not a lot of time, but that is the standard amount of time for most handhelds. Besides, if you are spending more than that, maybe it’s best to get out the plug-in vacuum. From a weight perspective, it’s a little heavy, but not overly heavy according to my wife’s input. The best design feature is how they balanced the weight. It feels very comfortable in your hand. It has a pistol-grip type handle and a trigger for turning the vacuum on and off. No hard switch….just release the trigger to turn off. This action may actually save a bit of battery life compared to other switch operated handhelds. When I asked my wife what her major concerns were, she was curious if the battery life would give our quickly over time like our last one did. I agree, this is something I care about, but there’s nothing I can do about until the battery loses life from recharging cycles. We shall have to wait and see how well it performs over it’s lifespan.

How well does it suck, you ask? This Dyson handheld really sucks…..in a good way! I was shocked at how much power is packed into this ‘Berber Blaster.’ It was great at handling our Christmas tree mess and cleaning the carpeted stairs with the motorized brush bar. Did I forget to mention it comes with an adapter so you can use your Dyson upright wands and tools? That is a cool feature since I also own the Dyson Car Care kit. The Dyson Root 6 will definitely come in handy when it comes time for the Spring car cleaning. What about the cost? Yes, it is a bit on the expensive side, but with what I spent on the last three handhelds, I could’ve made up the difference with one of these. So, if you happen to be looking for a handheld vacuum that is built for durability, fast recharging cycles and really does suck, you may want to invest in a Dyson Root 6 DC 16. At the very least, as you vacuum, you’ll truly feel like you’re fighting-off alien invaders and preventing world domination. It helps to keep your mind off the physical act of cleaning and vacuuming.

*The Dyson Model Number described in this article is the Dyson Root 6 DC16.