I have had many vacuums over the past 30 years. This vacuum is by far my favorite. It picks up great. We have 3 dogs, 3 large parrots & 2 grandchildren. I use the vacuum daily and have had it approximately 2 yrs. The only problem I ever have with it is sometimes the hose gets stuck when you are trying to disconnect it from the body to extend it for using it in crevices etc. I found that this means that when you take it off & use it you are twisting it and it doesn't disconnect easily. So it is a user problem not a design problem. Once I became aware of this I just was more diligent about putting it back correctly. Even my oreck wasn't as good as this vacuum. I highly recommend it.
I love love love this vacuum. My parent have one and I borrowed it to clean my college apartments and still use it on my current apartment. I never realized how much dirt and cat hair there was until I swept with this vacuum and saw that it really sucks up everything. I also love that this vacuum never clogs, no matter how dirty the carpets are. I think its pretty cool that it all comes apart and then back together so easily and has little hidden cleaning tools in it for the small parts.
I have a dog that sheds and the Dyson does pick up hair better than any other vac I've had. I agree that its heavy to carry upstairs. The filter seems to clog more now than it did when I first got it. Not sure why thats happening.