How heavy is the Ball Animal 3 to actually use day to day?

At 17.35 lbs with the motor and ball weighted toward the base, most owners find it fine to push across floors but noticeably tiring on stairs or when carrying it between levels. If stairs are a big part of your routine, reviewers suggest looking at the lighter Shark Vertex instead.

Does the self-de-tangling brush really eliminate hair wrap?

Long-term testing found the hair-removal vanes cleared hair up to 14 inches long without wrapping around the brush bar, which is the main upgrade owners cite over older Dyson Animal models that needed a monthly manual cleanout. Very long hair households should still expect occasional spot-checks.

How often do you need to empty the bin?

The 1.7L bin is mid-pack for uprights, so multi-pet or heavy-shedding homes empty it more frequently than machines with larger bins. It's not a dealbreaker, but reviewers note it as a real day-to-day maintenance point compared to bigger-bin rivals.

Is the HEPA filtration worth it for allergies?

Reviewers who tested it in allergy-sensitive households say yes - the machine is whole-body HEPA sealed, capturing 99.99% of particles down to 0.3 microns, so filtered air doesn't leak back into the room the way it can on non-sealed vacuums.

Should I get this or the Shark Vertex AZ2002?

Head-to-head testing rated the Dyson higher overall (9.5/10 vs. 8.7/10) on suction and build quality, but the Shark is lighter, cheaper, and uses a lift-away canister that covers most practical cleaning needs. Buyers focused purely on performance and willing to pay more should choose the Dyson; budget-focused buyers should strongly consider the Shark.

How long is the cord, and is it enough reach?

The cord itself is 35 feet, and combined with the hose and wand extension, reviewers measured about 50 feet of total working radius - enough for most single rooms and staircases without switching outlets, though whole-floor cleaning in larger homes still requires a re-plug.

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Upright

~$549

Dyson

Dyson Ball Animal 3 Complete

Name: Dyson Ball Animal 3 Complete
Brand: Dyson
Price: 549 USD
Availability: InStock

Complete is the top accessory trim of the Ball Animal 3 — same 290AW motor, self-righting Ball steering, and 5-year warranty as the base and Extra trims, but it stacks on a multi-angle brush, carbon fiber soft dusting brush, articulating hard floor tool, mattress tool, and a tool storage bag on top of Extra's turbine and groom tools. It's the exclusive Gold colorway too. If you're not sure you need six extra tools, the base or Extra trim gets you the same cleaning performance for less — Complete is for buyers who want every attachment Dyson makes for this chassis in one box instead of buying them piecemeal later.

Approx. price

~$549

Suction

290 AW

Filtration

Whole-machine HEPA-sealed

Best For

Buyers who want every Ball Animal 3 attachment included instead of bought separately

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Specifications

290 AW

Corded

Whole-machine HEPA-sealed

Bagged

Type

Upright

Dustbin Capacity

1.7 L

App Control

Dimensions

15.5 x 11.0 x 42.2 in

Weight

17.3 lbs

Warranty

5 years

Highlights

Most tools of any Ball Animal 3 trimExclusive Gold colorwayIncludes dedicated tool storage bag

Pros

✓Most complete accessory kit of any Ball Animal 3 trim — mattress tool, hard floor tool, extra brushes
✓Same 290AW motor and 5-year warranty as every other Ball Animal 3 trim
✓Tool storage bag keeps attachments organized instead of loose in a closet
✓Exclusive Gold color if that matters to you
✓Never need to separately buy a hard-floor or mattress tool later

Cons

✗Priced well above the base and Extra trims for tools many buyers won't use often
✗Same corded, 17.3 lb body as the cheaper trims — no performance upgrade for the extra cost
✗No standalone Amazon US listing found at time of research — best bought direct from Dyson
✗Frequently seen on deep clearance ($299.99 at Walmart at time of research), which makes the "real" price hard to pin down

Owner Insights(140 discussions)

The Ball Animal 3 Complete is positioned as Dyson's flagship corded upright, and hands-on long-term testing backs that up: it posted suction and carpet-cleaning scores far above the average upright in its class, and the redesigned head with automatic de-tangling vanes is the feature reviewers keep coming back to as a genuine quality-of-life improvement over earlier Dyson Animal generations. Whole-machine HEPA sealing and adjustable cleaner-head gates round out a machine built specifically around pet-hair and allergen households.

In practice, owners get a 35-foot cord plus hose reach that covers most rooms without re-plugging, a Ball-based steering system that maneuvers around furniture more easily than fixed-wheel uprights, and a brush head that toggles between open and sealed settings depending on whether you're picking up litter or deep-cleaning carpet fibers. The tradeoffs are physical: at 17.35 lbs with top-heavy weight distribution, it's tiring on stairs, it runs loud at 75-80dB, and the 1.7L bin needs frequent emptying in heavy-shedding homes. The base bundle's tool selection is also thinner than pricier Dyson kits.

This is the right buy for pet owners and allergy sufferers in larger homes who want the strongest corded suction Dyson sells and are willing to pay a premium for it. Budget-conscious buyers who tested it against the Shark Vertex AZ2002 found the Shark's lighter weight and lift-away canister design deliver most of the practical benefit for less money, making it the strongest lower-cost alternative; shoppers wanting cordless convenience instead should look at Dyson's own V-series or Gen5detect.

Pros

+The automatic de-tangling brush with hair-removal vanes handled owner-tested hair lengths up to 14 inches without wrapping, which reviewers call the biggest real-world upgrade over older Ball Animal generations that needed a monthly brush-roll haircut
+Adjustable cleaner-head gates let you switch between an open setting for larger debris like litter or cereal and a sealed setting for deep carpet extraction - long-term testers found it pulled embedded grit that Dyson's own previous Animal 2 and several budget uprights left behind
+Whole-machine HEPA sealing captures 99.99% of particles down to 0.3 microns, a repeated highlight in reviews from allergy and asthma households who say dust doesn't blow back into the room
+Ball steering makes tight turns around furniture legs and doorways noticeably easier than fixed-wheel uprights in side-by-side testing
+A 35-foot cord plus wand and hose extension gives roughly 50 feet of working radius, enough to clean a full room, staircase, or car interior without re-plugging as often as shorter-corded rivals
+Lab-measured usable suction came in around six times the tested upright-class average (2.94 kPa vs. 0.48 kPa), and that translated into a carpet-cleaning score reviewers rated far above the class norm
+Dyson backs the machine with a 5-year warranty, and long-term reviewers note the tight build tolerances suggest years of reliable service under normal use

Cons

−At 17.35 lbs with the weight concentrated in the head and ball, it's heavier than the class average, and reviewers single out stairs and above-floor work as the most tiring uses
−Measured operating noise of 75-80dB is loud enough that testers flag it as a problem for shared walls, nap schedules, or apartments
−The base Complete bundle ships with only a combination tool and stair tool - owners who want a crevice tool or mini motorized head for upholstery need to buy separately or step up to a pricier Dyson bundle
−The 1.7L bin sits in the middle of the pack for capacity, so heavy-shedding, multi-pet households empty it more often than bigger-bin rivals like the Shark Vertex
−At full retail price it costs meaningfully more than the Shark Vertex AZ2002, and reviewers who tested both side by side say the Shark's lift-away canister flexibility closes much of the performance gap for a typical home
−It's corded only - owners who want stick-vacuum freedom have to look at Dyson's separate V-series or Gen5detect lineup at significant added cost
−The de-tangling head vanes are a maintenance win but not maintenance-free - reviewers still recommend periodically checking the brush bar and gate mechanism for lodged debris