In today article, we continue to compare 2 Dyson cordless vacuums, the Dyson V8 Animal vs Absolute.
After a lot of tests over the last week, it is found that there were a lot of reasons to prefer the V8 even to some of the more expensive models. Furthermore, it is noted that we have reviewed the V8 Absolute in the past, which is the same basic vacuum but with a soft roller head.
Thus, this article will take a look at both Dyson V8 Animal & Absolute
Dyson V8 animal vs Absolute: Power
Starting with the pros, the Dyson V8 still stands the test of time when it comes to power. We tested pressure and air flow at various places on the vacuum in both its low and high power modes.
In the result, it’s still more powerful than most of cordless stick vacuum we have personally tested, even so, it has just a little bit more power than the V7 tested last week. When you combine that power with its newer floor head design, it is slightly better for hard floors than the V7 was.
Moreover, the V8 did better in the crevice pickup test where it outperformed the V7 on both low and high power modes. Like the precessor, a major pro of the V8 is it’s carpet cleaning ability.
In our opinion, we actually prefer these older Dyson such as the V7 and V8 to the newer models in carpets vacuuming because they have a smoother pickup with all types and sizes of debris while they don’t seem to have any issues with clogging even with larger debris.
The newer style Dyson’s have heads equally good for hard floors and carpets so they accomplished that to a large degree but they do lose a little bit when it comes to carpet cleaning.
Dyson V8 animal vs Absolute: Filtration
This is a major upgrade from last week when it is found that in the base model of the V7 the motorhead was not a sealed HEPA system. Even though, there are some V7 models with or without, both the V8 models are sealed HEPA systems. Thus, you won’t be breathing in what you are trying to vacuum up.
Dyson V8 animal vs Absolute: Design
We also prefer the lightweight of the V8 over the newer models, which actually can be tiring on the forearm. Dyson, in general, is good at distributing that weight on their cordless vacuums. However, in this typical example, V8 is almost two full pounds lighter than the newest Dyson.
Indeed, that makes a big difference and it’s more in line with what people are expecting from a cordless stick vacuum. It’s ease of use was really good too. It handled well in tight spaces and under furniture.
In addition to the crevice tool, combo tool and wall Mount, both the V8 animal and the V8 absolute come with the mini motorized brush, which is great for upholstery stairs or cars.
The battery life was really better than the V7 by a few percentage points so there was also an increase in power as we’ve seen.
Dyson V8 animal vs Absolute: Pros
The Dyson V8 was also slightly better with hair tangles. In our tests, there were no tangles with one gram of seven inch human hair and minimal tangles at one gram of fourteen inches. All of above statistics is better than average for cordless vacuums in general.
Also, the noise level of V7 and V8 are much quieter than the newer Dyson’s, especially on their max power mode. The final pro is well-building. They are solid, long lasting vacuums that gain some of the best customer satisfaction scores in the industry.
After several years, reviewers and customers are still praising them.
Dyson V8 animal vs Absolute: Cons
However, it can’t all be good news because there are still cons and limitation. Despite the cleaner head on the V8 being slightly better than the V7 was with hard floors, it still wasn’t what we would call good.
Like the V7, it could pick up fine debris really well, but anything bigger was pretty much challenging. As mentioned, it had no problem with larger debris on carpet, but with hard surfaces, it’s a different story. The V8 absolute version comes with a soft roller cleaner head as well as the standard head which are one of the best ways to fix this.
They can pick up pretty much anything you throw at them. In conclusion, if you have more than about 30% of hard floors in your home, it would be highly recommended the V8 absolute over others cause you can have the option to switch out these heads.
It is also worth mentioning that though prices change all the time, the absolute version goes on sale all the time and it is sometimes actually cheaper than the V8 animal. Next, the carpet deep cleaning tests were just a tad below the V7 which I chucked up to the extra air holes on the V8 cleaner head.
However, in any case, 96% on high power isn’t a bad score on this test by any means, but it is worth mentioning. The final con is the price. These Dyson are well-built and some of the best cordless vacuums out there, but they are a bit costly.
Dyson V8 animal vs Absolute: Our Final verdict
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At the end of the day, though there isn’t a lot to pick on with the V8 animal or the absolute, it is certainly that their handling and weight are more enjoyable than more expensive Dyson’s. They typically don’t have as much power or battery life as the newer ones but if you have a smaller house or an apartment, these V8 are not a bad choice
