Dyson Cinetic Big Ball Animal Canister Vacuum Review

The Dyson Cinetic's build quality is just passable. It has a lightweight metal wand and carbon fiber brushroll that feel quite premium, but the plastic used in the rest of its build feels quite fragile. The dirt canister feels like a particularly weak point, like it could crack if dropped or if it hits the corner of a table. Thankfully, the ball design of the vacuum itself has a low center of gravity which helps keep it upright - if it gets knocked over, it orients itself back upright, which helps protect the canister.

However, it isn't possible to clean or change the filter on this vacuum, which could affect its longevity. On the upside, like other Dyson vacuums, it's pretty easy to assemble. The design is intuitive and the parts clip together and come apart without any trouble.

This vacuum is exceptionally easy to maintain. Since the filters aren't removable, you don't have to worry about washing them. You can remove the brushroll from the vacuum head for easy cleaning by using a coin to unlock the mechanism holding it in place. However, if hair gets wrapped around the brushroll, it still needs to be removed manually. Since the brushroll is made of carbon fiber, it's good practice to wash your hands after handling it. The rest of the vacuum can be easily cleaned with a dry cloth. You can also detach the dirt compartment from the cyclone to wash it with cold water if necessary. It's important not to get water on the cyclone since this could damage it. Simply just wiping down the dirt compartment with a dry cloth from time to time should be enough for most uses.

The Dyson Cinetic Big Ball has no recurring costs. It's bagless, and there are no replaceable filters. It isn't even possible to remove the filters from this vacuum at all, so the filter part number is unknown.

If you have any information on the filters this vacuum uses, let us know in the discussions below.

This vacuum's storing capabilities are quite good. Thanks to the removable hose, you can place this canister vacuum in several different ways to help save space. The automatic cord management is also very convenient - there's a button you can press that retracts the cable back into the body of vacuum without having to hold it down.

This vacuum has a good dirt compartment. While the volume isn't specified by the manufacturer, we found the canister holds 0.26 gallons (1L) of uncooked rice up to the max fill line. This is a bit on the smaller side when compared to other canister vacuums such as the Miele Complete C3 Alize PowerLine, but it's still a decent size.

The Dyson Cinetic Big Ball Animal has mediocre range. The cord length is decent, so you should be able to vacuum an entire room without needing to change plugs. However, the hose is on the shorter side, so there's a bit less maneuverability in harder-to-reach spots.

This vacuum is fairly portable. While the vacuum itself is pretty heavy, the actual weight you feel in your hand isn't much at all. There's also a carrying handle on the vacuum so that you can take it from room to room more easily. If you're looking for a canister vacuum that's lighter and easier to carry, consider the BISSELL Zing Bagless Canister.

The Dyson Cinetic Big Ball is a corded vacuum that doesn't use a battery.

This vacuum has a suction release clip which lowers both the suction power and the brushroll speed for use on bare floors or delicate fabrics like curtains. The power button is also very easy to access with your foot.

The Dyson Cinetic Big Ball Animal Vacuum comes with a lot of different tools, brushes, and accessories. These vary depending on which variant of this vacuum you purchase, and in which country. The U.S. model of the Cinetic Big Ball Animal comes with a crevice/brush combination tool, a turbo brush that Dyson calls the 'Tangle Free Turbine Tool', a stair/upholstery tool, and a stiff bristle brush. There's also a quick-release clip to attach some of these accessories to the vacuum wand.

There are no alternative configurations for this canister vacuum. If you're looking for a canister vacuum with an alternative configuration for cleaning tight spaces such as within a car, check out the Miele Classic C1 or the Shark Navigator Lift-Away Deluxe NV360.

The Dyson Cinetic Big Ball Animal's bare floor performance with the included brush head is mediocre overall. While it does an excellent job picking up both pet hair and small debris like rice, it's terrible at handling larger debris like cereal. The cereal just gets pushed around by the vacuum, and even if you lift the brush head to try and capture the pieces underneath, they tend to get stuck near the opening of the head and clog the vacuum. If you prefer a canister vacuum with much better performance on bare floors, check out the NaceCare HVR 200 Henry.

Note that there's an optional hard floor tool that you can purchase separately, and even comes included with some variants. Although we didn't test it, we'd expect it to improve this vacuum's bare floor performance.

The Dyson Cinetic Big Ball Animal does an okay job on low-pile carpet. It picks up an excellent amount of pet hair and does a great job handling finer debris like baking soda, too. However, sand poses a significant challenge. It tends to get stuck on the brush head's wheels, and as they spin, the sand generates a lot of static, which makes even more sand just end up sticking on top of the brush head, instead of inside the vacuum. If you want a vacuum that cleans better on low-pile carpet, then check out the Dyson Ball Animal 2.

This vacuum performs alright on high-pile carpet. It still does an excellent job handling pet hair, and even handles finer debris like baking soda remarkably well. However, it struggles a lot to effectively pick up sand, especially as the dirt compartment fills up more. If you're looking for a canister vacuum with an even better performance on high-pile carpet, check out the Eureka Whirlwind Bagless Canister.

This vacuum has excellent maneuverability. The ball-shaped wheel design enables it to move around the room with ease as you're vacuuming. Using the wand, it's possible to reach quite far underneath furniture like couches and tables, but you still need to crouch down a bit. It's very easy to clean on top of furniture by detaching the hose from the wand, and the hose is long enough to properly clean around a deep-seated couch without lifting the canister. Unfortunately, it has a hard time around light rugs. Even with the suction release activated, the tassels tend to get sucked up into the brush head. On the upside, it doesn't have the same issue around electric cords laying around.

This vacuum doesn't have any automation features.