Dyson DC34

Why I purchased this item

We had a hand-held hoover on our wedding list, it was around £50 and had brilliant reviews. I wanted a hand-held hoover so that I could hoover the stairs quickly and hoover the car quickly. Our kind and well-wishing friends decided they wanted to buy us a hand-held Dyson instead which cost over £100 (between several of them). We were thrilled to bits, but I was also a little sceptical, knowing that hand-held hoovers vary a lot with their "suck" capacity for want of a better phrase. I apologise in advance, I realise this is a vacuum not a hoover, but it is not in my vocabulary to be calling this a vaccum!

What do I get?

You get a hand held hoover, which is bagless technology as per all Dysons. You also get a charger, a long nozzle for getting into nooks and crannies and a nozzle with a brush on the end for...well I'm not sure really!

What I like about it

Very little. However, the bagless technology and see-through plastic is good as you can see when the hoover is full. I like the design, it looks trendy. I really don't have anything else good to say about this hoover.

What I don't like about it

Well, where do I start. The "suck" capacity is average I would say. Sometimes it does well at picking bits up, other times, not so great. We have this thing on charge for hours on end, sometimes it works for half an hour, other times it cuts out after five seconds. It is therefore basically useless to us as it is completely unreliable. You keep your finger on a red button to start the hoover and whilst this is in a good place, there is no option to keep the hoover on (as per a hairdryer) so you have to keep your finger on the 'trigger' the entire time you are hoovering which becomes a little cumbersome as the item can get a little heavy after a while. The long nozzle provided is the best of the two and the one that we use most often. The nozzle with the furry brush bits on, I'm still uncertain why we would need that and consequently don't use it. The long nozzle isn't particularly well made, I feel it is a little bit flimsy. It takes ages to do one stair with the hoover as it either misses bits frequently or dies a grim death within seconds. It seems to be better in the car (in terms of picking bits up), perhaps this is as the crumbs/bits aren't engrained in the carpet. It was terrible for pet hair.

Would I buy it again

No way hosanna! I wish I could take it back. My view of Dyson products has completely changed following this one incident. I do keep wondering if I should call Dyson but as I have no receipt for the item, I have no proof of when I bought it. Save your money and get a hand-held hoover with really good reviews. At over £100, I feel my friends have been ripped off.