Dyson DC24 Vacuum Cleaner

What it is: Even those of you who wouldn't consider yourselves vacuum cleaner fetishists have heard of Dyson's line -- you know, the one you see advertised on TV, that promises to change your (vacuuming) life. Well, the ambitious designers at Dyson have released their latest, greatest, and, quite possibly, lightest -- the D24 -- and it's a significant improvement over past Dyson vacuums. This is the first time the innovative ball has been used in a Dyson model this light and compact. It's less than four feet tall and a foot wide, and weighs just under 12 pounds, which makes it easy to move and maneuver from room to room (or up a few flights of stairs).

Why it's different: Though generally rather awesome, past Dyson vacuum cleaners have suffered from being too heavy and bulky, with buttons hidden in very hard-to-reach (and unintuitive places). The new DC-24 is only 11.6 pounds -- much more powerful than a Dustbuster-style vac, yet far smaller and more maneuverable than a typical upright vacuum cleaner.

What we like: The DC24 uses Dyson's patented new Ball tech -- essentially, a big orange ball that serves as the rolling mechanism for the unit. It's rather revolutionary in terms of the mobility and turning radius: moving a vacuum around your floor has never been this fun. While traditional vacuum cleaners feel like they're stuck on invisible tracks, this one turns and pivots around any household with ease, effortlessly gliding across the floor. Like all Dyson vacs, the DC24 really does live up to the claims of controlled suction – it works on all surfaces with virtually the same suction power. We really noticed the difference when we moved from one surface to another –- the DC24 didn't struggle or even seem like it was adjusting. The canister is super easy to empty (though it fills up very fast, which probably says something about the cleanliness of our floors than anything else). The overall body is small and compact, so if you're not into displaying the well designed vacuum, you can easily store in small places.

What we don't like: The handheld wand -- while improved over previous Dyson iterations -- is still a bit of a struggle to use. The hose conveniently collapses back into its original form when you're not cleaning with it, but is just sorta painful to actually use -- it's not as flexible as we would have liked, and doesn't work symbiotically with the rest of the unit. This might be less of an issue if there was some sort of "lock mode" that prevented the vacuum from moving around, of if the wand were made of a more lightweight, flexible material.

What it costs: $399

Does it live up to the hype? Dyson's DC24 is an awesome vacuum cleaner. It makes cleaning your home something to look forward to (not even just for the anal-retentive among us), and improves significantly upon Dyson's already solid foundation. It's cheaper than other Dyson models by $100, but it's still comes in at a cool four bills -- a bit out of the average vacuum cleaner budget. But the thing comes with lifetime HEPA and washable filters (read: no bags to buy, ever), and a five-year warranty, looks great, feels great, and sucks real hard (in a good way). If you've got the cash, you won't be disappointed.