Dyson Gen5outsize Absolute Cordless Vacuum Review

About the Dyson Gen5outsize Absolute Cordless Vacuum

• Dimensions: 50” x 11.5” x 12.6” (H x L x D)
• Weight: 8.6 pounds
• Battery life: 15 minutes on Boost, 70 minutes on Eco
• Filter: HEPA filter
• Manual

The Dyson Gen5outsize Absolute is a cordless stick vacuum with a dust bin that is 150% larger than other Dyson cordless. It comes with Fluffy Optic and Digital Motorbar XL cleaner heads, as well as a built-in crevice tool and dusting tool, hair screw tool, and combination tool.

It also comes with two rechargeable batteries, allowing for up to 140 minutes of runtime.

What we like

This Dyson cordless vacuum can clean a variety of surfaces

The Dyson Gen5outsize Absolute includes specialized attachments for cleaning nearly any vacuuming situation.

The Fluffy Optic brush impressed us the most. It has soft nylon and carbon bristles, which allows it to deal with dust stuck to bare floors. It also has an angled laser to illuminate fine particles. LED headlights, a common feature of cordless vacuums, can wash out dust, making the addition of a laser a very innovative solution to getting the best clean.

For a more all-purpose cleaner, you can use the Digital Motorbar. During our carpet cleaning test, it picked up 80% of the testing dirt we laid out for it in a single pass. We also test out the anti-tangle design on pet hair. We fed it Bernese Mountain dog hair, and the brush head remained unclogged.

It has a long battery life

If it’s been a while since you’ve purchased a Dyson cordless vacuum, you might be surprised that the company has made major strides in its battery technology.

The results of our battery testing show that the Gen5 batteries are around 50% longer lasting than the Dyson from just a few years ago. The Dyson Gen5outsize Absolute can clean in Boost mode (the maximum setting) for roughly 15 minutes and around 70 minutes in Eco.

The latest generation of Dyson also comes with an extra battery, which helps give you more cleaning time and increases the lifespan. Batteries are one of the most common points of failure on a cordless vacuum, so the ability to swap it out with a backup increases the odds of the Outsize cleaning for years to come.

Quality of life features make it easier to use

This Dyson vacuum has a few things that are a big upgrade over previous models. First, the Dyson Gen5outsize Absolute leaves behind the trigger start, like previous Dyson cordless vacuums, and uses a toggle system instead. So, instead of holding down a trigger, you push a power button on the back of the unit. During our usability tests, we experienced less hand fatigue.

Finally, the Outsize has an LCD screen on the back. It can tell you everything from how much time you have left on the battery to what type of dirt your vacuum picks up in real time. This is particularly useful when something goes wrong because the screen can display helpful troubleshooting info.

What we don’t like

It’s heavy and bulky (for a cordless)

The Outsize tips the scales at around 8.6 pounds—about 30% heavier than the average cordless vacuum. Because of the increased heaviness, you may struggle to lift it to clean higher spaces like curtains and ceiling fans.

Part of that is because Outsize has a large dustbin, which is well-suited for floors. While that means more time between emptying, it does mean that this vacuum has trouble getting into tight spaces like car seats.

Lots of attachments can be helpful, but also a hassle

We tested the Absolute package, which comes with six attachments. While it's nice to have the option of dusting and hair removal tools, we know most will become lost in your storage closet. If you’re the type of person who uses vacuum attachments once in a blue moon, you should check out some of the other Dyson packages.

Storing this Dyson vacuum is a problem because the dock requires you to drill into the wall. While this is par for the course for Dyson, brands like LG and Samsung have made huge strides with freestanding docks.

What consumers are saying?

We reviewed the Dyson Gen5outsize Absolute right after its release, so there are only a handful of consumer reviews. On Dyson’s site, there are 22 reviews, with an average rating of 4.8 stars out of 5. Consumers like the hair removal prowess and large dustbin. However, they did complain about the unit’s weight, which we also experienced.

Should you buy the Dyson Gen5outsize Absolute Cordless Vacuum?

Yes, especially if you’re a Dyson fan

The Dyson Gen5outsize Absolute brings all your favorite things about Dyson cordless vacuums of the past and combines them with the latest technologies. It has great suction power and excellent battery life. The number of useful attachments is also impressive. However, storage for this Dyson vacuum is a bit finicky.

If you want a vacuum that completely solves that problem, check out the Samsung Bespoke Jet AI.

With its impressive battery life, the Dyson Gen5outsize Absolute is for a household with ample floor space. It proved to be a great cleaner in our lab tests. It comes with a Fluffy Optic head which excels at cleaning hardwood and a Digital Motorbar XL for carpets and other surfaces. Each of these heads picked up more than 80% of our testing dirt in a single pass.

Not only is it great at cleaning, but it also has the stamina to match. This Dyson comes with two rechargeable batteries that will let you clean for up to 30 minutes on the Boost setting or over two hours on Eco. To top it all off, the Dyson Gen5outsize Absolute carries a 64-ounce dustbin which translates to more time cleaning and less time emptying.

The last thing we’ll shout out is the hair screw tool, which can deal with mountains of dog hair without getting tangles or clumps.

Overall, we recommend the Dyson Gen5outsize Absolute for a large household that likes to do their cleaning on set days.