1 min readDyson released the Car+Boat handheld vacuum cleaner, but despite the name it isn’t safe to use on liquids.
The mini vacuum is ostensibly a Dyson stick vac without the stick part. It includes Dyson’s distinctive colour palette, clear chamber, and 115 Air Watts of suction, along with four interchangeable attachments designed for detail work. Dyson suggests the device is best suited for cleaning your car, boat, and other awkward spaces.
In spite of this suggestion, and the ‘boat’ moniker, the vacuum can’t handle moisture. Tucked away in the FAQs on the product site Dyson says, in no uncertain terms,
“Don’t pick up water or other liquids with your machine.”
Famously, boats do tend to get wet, so that does present a small snag in the marketing.
For us lowly, non-boat havers, the handheld vacuum fills a gap in Dyson’s portfolio. It has the same suction power as the V10, and V12 range, and includes a HEPA filter which is ordinarily reserved for Dyson Complete collections. It weighs in at just 1.9kg, with a dustbin volume of 0.54L which is larger than you get on some of Dyson’s full-length range. As for the accessories you’ll get a mini motorised tool for dislodging stubborn debris, a slotted crevice tool for getting into hard to reach spaces, and a combo tool with a bristle brush and a wide nozzle.
All around it isn’t dissimilar to existing Dyson vacuum cleaners. In most cases the 50 minute battery life is worse than that of a stick vacuum, but the dustbin size is larger. Considering that every Dyson allows you to remove the stick section, and clip attachments directly to the body, this device is a bit of a head scratcher.
It is, however, significantly cheaper than the rest of Dyson’s range. Retailing for $449 it is $200 more affordable than Dyson’s cheapest stick vacuum, the V8 Origin Extra. For now the Car+Boat is a Dyson exclusive product available only directly from the manufacturer.
