I have had several hand held vacs over the years and found them not very good. However I tried this Dyson some years ago and it is by far the best hand held vac that I have had. It works pretty well although obviously not as good as a normal vac. It is handy to use and easy to maintain. It has also been reliable and is still going strong. Of the type I think it excellent. It was a bit expensive but has been worth the money in thr long run. Battery life is a bit short and it needs charging up after 10 mins use. However that is not a big problem and I would certainly recommend this item to potential buyers.

I've had a selection of hand held vacuums over the years, the most recent a £50 black and decker rechargeable one. We kept it for about 3 years and used it about 3 times.

The suction on it was just short of getting a baby gnat to breath in slightly. It would struggle to pick up the smallest of hairs, let alone anything larger. Utterly useless.

We have cats and small children, so we needed something to keep the floors really clean whilst we had crawling babies in the house - so thought we'd try the Dyson DC31 Animal as it did receive great reviews.

I'm very impressed indeed.

Yes, its VERY expensive for a handheld (£170 in stores £128 online) but you kind of get what you pay for.

Its very powerful, very lightweight (no point in having a heavy handheld as you can't use it) and I really like the design of it.

Its a pain that the charge only lasts 10 mins or so but Id rather that than it last an hour but doesnt pick anything up.

Its pricey but worth it is my summary - would recommend.

I am a massive Dyson fan so did not have any reservations in choosing a Dyson handheld over others. I can appreciate, though, that other people may hesitate to choose a £130 handheld over others that may be £100 cheaper but still popular. Let me assure you: this product offers guaranteed value-for-money.

10-minutes of 'moderate' Dyson suction alone is fantastic - the standard suction power is so much stronger than that offered by other manufacturers' models and is consistent for the entire 10-minute charge. At the push-of-a-button, though, suction increases to 65AW, which I believe is just a little less than the power offered by the Dyson City cylinder cleaner; a big boast.

Why people complain about issues with car-cleaning, I do not know. I have a moderately sized car and cleaned it thoroughly, removing masses of mud patches and Christmas tree needles, in about five minutes, on the lower setting! The crevice tool is longer than that provided on my Dyson cylinder and it, combined with the other attachments, allow for very thorough cleaning.

The Motorhead tool is exceptional and certainly worth the added cost. When using the Dyson on furniture, you really feel the cleaner's immense power - the fabric is lifted into the cleaner and you might be fooled into thinking you're cleaning with a full-size machine.

Honestly, you won't regret this purchase. Nothing about the DC31 Animal could be better. Well, actually, some pads under the cleaner would be nice - mine's got a tinsy bit scratched from being placed on hard surfaces.

Had a small problem with our Dyson handvac...Customer service were excellent and got it sorted immediately as it was still under their 2 year guarantee. Their service was first class.