I bought this as I was tired of lugging around my older canister vacuum and tripping over the power cord and having the canister bump into furniture as I was pulling it along.
This is so light! there is no cord! And it does an excellent job of dealing with my long hair everywhere and the dog's fur everywhere..
I bought and returned three vacuums from other brands before finally just accepting: there's nothing like a Dyson. I'd given the other vacs a good chance - I recently moved into a new place and between moving and the remaining signs of the last tenants, there was plenty of hair/dust/general detritus I needed to clean. I charged up the last vac (which had great reviews online) and did multiple passes before accepting that it just didn't seem to do the job on both hardwood and carpet. when I got my Dyson, I did a fast pass through the place and it filled the canister right away. it's definitely an investment, but I feel better in my home and I know I won't need to replace it any time soon.
I love my new Dyson v8. So much easier on my back than the sweeping motion of a broom. It amazes me how much it picks up. I am a very happy with my Dyson!