REVIEW – I may have too many vacuum cleaners. There’s one for the upstairs, another for downstairs, and a few handheld units around the house. I wondered if the new Dyson Humdinger would be a handheld vacuum to rule them all?
What is it?
The Dyson Humdinger is billed as the most powerful, lightweight handheld vacuum that traps 99.99% of microscopic particles with no loss of suction. If you’re familiar with Dyson’s products, the Humdinger looks like one of their full size cordless models, but shrunken down. 
What’s in the box?
- The vacuum with air filter attached
- Mini motorized brush tool attachment
- Combination crevice tool attachment
- Hard surface attachment
- Wall dock and charger
- Mounting screws
Hardware specs
- Up to 20 minutes of runtime (listed)
- Lithium ion battery
- 2.1 pounds
- 105,000 rpm motor
Design and features
At first glance, the Humdinger looks like a cartoon ray gun. Speaking of guns, notice the lack of a trigger common to other Dyson products.
The air filter detaches from the back end with a quick twist.
There’s a red lever that allows you to unlock the dust bin. The front “door” is spring loaded and pops open.
Instead of a trigger, the Humdinger uses a power on/off button, and a “MAX” button for the high suction setting. No more constant squeezing of the trigger.
The Humdinger comes with three attachments that should handle most of your cleaning needs.
Note that the Humdinger tools are smaller and may not be interchangeable with other Dyson tools. They don’t fit my V8 and V10. Speaking of other Dysons, here are some “family portraits” for a size comparison:
The Humdinger and the V8, side by side.
The Humdinger and the V10, side by side.
The mini motorized brush tool attachment has an adjustable angle, and disassembles for easy cleaning.
This long crevice tool has a sliding brush tip. Clever!
Here, the hard surface tool is docked next to the crevice tool in the charging dock.
Setup
Speaking of docks, the Dyson vacuums let you charge on the dock by snaking the cable behind the dock…
…Or by plugging the cord directly to the base of the vacuum.
When charging, a small LED on the battery glows blue.
Performance
It’s a Dyson! Most handheld vacuums “suck” (good or bad) but the motorized, rotating brush really makes quick work of messes. It’s what makes the difference.
Due to the design of the bin, stringy debris like hair can get wrapped up and not always eject when you want it to, as shown in this picture. I had to fish out the gunk by hand. You can also completely detach the dust bin as well, which is an extra step.
I ran the Humdinger at the normal and MAX speeds to see how long it lasted:
Runtime (normal): 27 minutes
Runtime (MAX): 7 minutes, 48 seconds
It was interesting to see that the tested runtime at normal exceeded the listed 20 minutes.
Next, I decided to test the loudness of the Humdinger versus the motley crew of vacuum cleaners I own. To do this, I set up a microphone 3 feet away in my recording booth. Each vacuum was tested with their respective “crevice” tool attached.
The contenders are:
BLACK + DECKER 20V MAX handheld vacuum
Shark WV201 WANDVAC handheld vacuum
Dyson V8 (full size stick cordless)
Dyson V10 (full size stick cordless)
It appears the Humdinger runs quieter at the regular speed than the Shark or Black and Decker handhelds, but the full size Dyson V8 and V10 are quieter still (on Low). Only the Dyson V10 was louder on High than the Humdinger on Max.
What I like
- Motorized brush tool
- Light
- Quieter than my other handheld vacuum cleaners (on the regular speed)
What I’d change
- The bin does get caught up with hair
- Does not work with other Dyson tools
Final thoughts
The Dyson Humdinger really reminds me of their larger stick vacuums but shrunken down. With the rotating, motorized brush tool, the Humdinger easily outperforms my other handheld vacuums. It’s also several times more expensive than my much cheaper handhelds. If I had to start over again, I’d just stick to one Humdinger to rule them all for those quick, small jobs.
Price: $299.99
Where to buy: Dyson, Target, Best Buy
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Dyson.
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Andy- do you know if the humdinger has been discontinued? I want one so bad but can’t find one anywhere….
I have not seen it lately either
Andy- do you know if the humdinger has been discontinued?
Update: I was able to order one from Dyson.com last week and she is being delivered today (August 2, 2023). Covid supply chain black hole?? I hope so.
I purchased a Humdinger and find it a decent handheld. The product did not come with the docking station. I have spent hours trying to get a response from Dyson–cant get through on the phone to “customer support”; cant get the online chat to work on their site; there is no way to email them. After weeks, i finally got a brief response on their facebook page from some Dyson rep saying the item was discontinued. I requested the part number and rep said there is none. This i am sure is not true since if Dyson made it once, there’s a part number. Any suggestions as to how i can get a dock for this? I bought one for a different Dyson and of course, nothing fit. Thanks.
That’s too bad you can’t get a dock. I can’t imagine why they wouldn’t have parts. I wonder why yours did not come with a dock?