Henry Hoover Vs Dyson Ball Multi Floor – Which Cylinder Vacuum Should You Buy?

The “Henry Hoover” by Numatic is one of the UK’s most popular and long-running vacuums. How does it compare to the newer Dyson Ball Multi Floor though? And which provides the best value? Let’s find out…

With its easy-going smile and design that hasn’t changed for years (at least on the outside), the Numatic Henry is one of the UK’s most iconic vacuum cleaners. The vacuum’s powerful suction and no-nonsense design has also made it a favourite for tough jobs.

Unlike the timeless Henry, Dyson vacs change on a regular basis. While the cyclonic technology remains the same, Dyson models are continuously adding advanced features, futuristic designs and innovative tools.

With such a contrast in approaches, it’s natural to wonder whether the Henry can compete with newer Dyson vacuums. Newer isn’t always better, but how do Dyson vacs compare to Henry in terms of performance? Can the veteran from Numatic keep up with the newer kids on the block?

At the time of writing, the Dyson Ball Multi Floor is the closest to Henry in terms of performance and price. It’s a cyclonic cylinder vac with a £200 RRP, bagless design and “Ball” technology for easier steering.​

So, if you’re struggling to choose the best option for your home, keep reading for an in-depth comparison.

Comparison of the Numatic Henry HVR200 and Dyson Ball Multi Floor

The Numatic Henry Hoover and Dyson Ball Multi Floor are both cylinder vacuum cleaners – but that’s where the similarities end. The Dyson is a bagless vac with a push-button emptying system, while the Henry is a bagged model. Here’s a quick comparison table of each vac’s basic features.

Note: For this comparison we are using the Numatic HVR200-11 and Dyson Ball Multi Floor. There are other HVR200 versions available, but the 11 is the most common. Numatic has also released compact Henry models with smaller capacities, but these use a different numbering system. For a full list of the best cylinder vacs, click here.

Design

The design of the Henry HVR200 probably doesn’t need much introduction. It’s a cylinder bagged vacuum with a simple body, extension hose and stainless steel tube. The drum has a huge 9-litre capacity, so you won’t need to empty it as often as a bagless model, and there is on-board storage for the wand.

Like all members of the Numatic family (see here for the full list), Henry is on four caster wheels. These make it easy to pull the vacuum around the home, which is important as the body is quite bulky.​

There are no “frills” or advanced features, but it comes with a long 10-metre cable and cord rewind system. The latter feature is a handy time-saver – especially when the entire cord is unwound. It’s a heavy vacuum at 8kg though, so it’s not the easiest to carry up and down stairs.

One of the advantages of Numatic vacuums is durability. The Henry range is one of the toughest on the market, so if your vac is likely to take a beating then it’s a great choice.

How does the Dyson’s design compare to the Henry though?​

As you would expect, the design of the Dyson is more modern than the Henry. It’s a bagless vacuum with a cyclonic cylinder to separate dust from exhaust air, along with Dyson’s “Ball” technology for greater mobility. Dyson has also included an automatic cable rewind and foot-controlled on/off switch.

​The Ball makes a real difference to the mobility of the Dyson. Henry isn’t difficult to move around the home, but the caster wheels make it easy to accidentally bash into walls and furniture. In contrast, the Multi Floor is simple to control and the Ball can turn with ease.

A downside to the Dyson is that it only has a 6.6 metre cord. This is over three metres shorter than the Henry, so be prepared to change sockets more often.​ The 1.5 litre capacity is also considerably smaller.

We also don’t think the Dyson is as durable as the Henry. Admittedly this is based on the “feel” of the vacuum’s components, rather than extensive long-term testing, but the Multi Floor doesn’t seem as solidly built.​

The Winner: It Depends

The Dyson and Henry have very different designs, so it’s hard to pick a winner in this category. If you want a large capacity, durable design and wide cleaning radius, the Henry is the better choice. For greater mobility and a bagless design, the Dyson is the winner.

Cleaning Performance & Suction Power

Dyson and Numatic are known to produce vacuums with excellent suction power. New EU regulations have forced both to reduce power consumption to around 600W, but this hasn’t greatly affected suction power.

When it comes to all-round cleaning performance, the Ball Multi Floor and Henry do a great job. The combination of suction power and relatively quiet operation – something that hasn’t always been said about Dyson vacs – makes them great for home use.

There are differences in performance between the vacuums though. We’ll get to the details in a moment, but the Dyson provides superior cleaning performance on most surfaces – although the Henry is no slouch either (and also cheaper).

It’s worth noting that neither the Henry or Dyson come with a powered brush bar floorhead. This makes them slower and less effective at removing hair and fluff. If you want a similar vacuum with a powered turbo tool, you’ll need to either buy the Numatic Harry or Dyson’s Big Ball Animal 2.

The Dyson can also be difficult to push on thick carpets due to the strong suction power. There is a pressure trigger to relieve some of the suction though.

Carpets

The Henry does a decent job at cleaning carpets. It’s not the most effective carpet vacuum we’ve seen, but it’s not bad either.

The Dyson Ball Multi Floor, on the other hand, is great at cleaning fine dust in carpets. The strong suction power is well-suited to removing loose grime and other home mess. It can sometimes struggle with fluff that’s stuck in carpet fibres, but for smaller debris it does an excellent job.

Hard Floors

It’s a similar story on hard floors. The Henry does an acceptable job at cleaning floorboards, laminate and tiles without excelling. It struggles to pick up large objects, which can be an issue when cleaning loose cat litter or spilt cereal, but makes quick work of smaller debris.

The Dyson has no such issues. It’s great at cleaning hard floors and has enough suction to remove dirt between floorboards. The floorhead also does a good job at picking up large debris.

Stairs

Both vacuums are relatively heavy and awkward to balance on stairs. They also don’t include a turbo tool, so you’ll need to use the primary floor head for the strongest suction (although Dyson has included a non-motorised stair tool).

The long hose and cord of the Numatic gives it the slight edge in this category though.

​Pet Hair

The lack of a pet turbo tool means neither vacuum is going to make it into our list of the best pet vacs. Despite the lack of a powered brush bar, however, both the Numatic and Dyson do a surprisingly good job at getting rid of hair fibres on carpets or hard floors. Be prepared to take several passes to get rid of fluff and hair though.

If you have a pet that sheds a lot, we recommend choosing a vacuum with better hair pickup. But for small amounts of hair, both vacuums do an acceptable job.​

The Winner: Dyson Ball Multi Floor

The Henry provides decent all-round performance on any surface – but it can’t match the Dyson’s hard floor and carpet pickup. The Dyson’s “Pneumatic” self-sealing floor head is another bonus of this vacuum. Neither vacuum excels at pet hair or balls of fluff though.

Dust Emptying

The Dyson is a bagless vacuum, so it’s always going to be messier to empty. It has a push-button system that makes it quick to empty – but there’s nothing forcing dust and dirt out of the canister. This means balls of fluff and dust can sometimes get stuck.

Changing the Henry’s dust bag is quick and easy – especially as the HepaFlo bags have a self-sealing design. You also don’t need to worry about fluff getting stuck in the canister. The downside is the extra cost of buying bags.

The Winner: Numatic Henry

The self-sealing bags used by the Henry make emptying easy and mess-free. The Dyson is quicker to empty, but fluff can sometimes get stuck and needs to be pulled out by hand.

Filtration

The Henry uses a combination of Numatic’s TriTex filtration system and HepaFlo bags to retain allergens. It’s not the best vacuum when it comes to filtration, but it does a decent job and the bagged design prevents dust escaping when its emptied.

It’s worth noting that Numatic has recently released the Henry Micro, which includes a more effective MicroTex filtration system. This doesn’t come with the standard Henry though.​

Despite the bagless design, the Dyson does a great job at keeping allergens locked inside the machine. This is due to the combination of washable filter and cyclonic action.

Of course, the bagless design means it’s less suitable for allergy sufferers – unless you can get someone else to empty it outside. ​

The Winner: Dyson Ball Multi Floor

The Henry has decent allergen retention and a bagged design that’s great for allergy sufferers. When it comes to filtration, however, the Dyson does an exceptional job at retaining dust, pet dander and other allergens.

Tools & Accessories

The Numatic Henry comes with the company’s AS1 combination kit. This includes several steel extension tubes, a crevice tool, upholstery nozzle (with optional brush) and a dusting brush.

While the Henry’s tools are nothing to write home about, they are solid and built to last. The tools also aren’t stiff to attach.​

The Dyson ​only comes with two tools: a combination tool and stair tool. The lack of a dedicated crevice tool is a drawback, although the combi tool is almost as good. The stair tool is also useful when you don’t want to use the primary floor head.

As we mentioned, neither vacuum includes a turbo tool attachment. Both vacs only have a single floor head – there are no additional hard floor heads.

The Winner: Numatic Henry

Both vacuums only include basic tools, but the Henry wins this category for having more options and a dedicated crevice tool. The Dyson’s stair tool is handy for cleaning steps though.

Price

Dyson has recently made an effort to simplify their range of vacuums. A result of this restructuring is that the Dyson Ball Multi Floor is now the company’s entry-level cylinder vac with an RRP of £199.99.

This is relatively cheap for a Dyson – especially considering the price of competitors such as the Miele Blizzard. It also provides excellent performance for the money.

​At first glance, the Dyson seems to win this category as the Numatic Henry has the same RRP. The Henry is often available for considerably less than £200 though, so if you can find it for under £150 it’s a brilliant vac for the price.

When it comes to cleaning performance, however, the Dyson is the clear winner on nearly all surfaces.

The Winner: Dyson Ball Multi Floor

Both vacuums provide brilliant value for money. While the Dyson is usually a bit more expensive, the performance is worth the extra cost. If you can find the Henry for less than £150 and don’t mind the drawbacks, it’s still a great choice though.

Conclusion

So, we’ve reached the end of our Henry Vs Dyson comparison – but which is the overall winner?

We think the Dyson Ball Multi Floor is the ​better vacuum cleaner – but not by a huge margin. It provides stronger performance on carpets and hard floors, so it justifies the extra price. The Dyson also has better filtration and the new Pneumatic floor head.

That doesn’t mean the Numatic Henry is a bad vacuum though. In fact, it beats the Dyson when it comes to cleaning radius, dust capacity, durability and included tools – plus it’s cheaper. The Dyson Ball Multi Floor is the stronger cleaner, but the Henry can still do a great job.