Testing the Dreame X50 Ultra | Photo Griffin Kerwin Mountain Weekly News
Living in Jackson, Wyoming, keeping a home clean is a full-time job. Between the mud season, the snow tracked in from the resort, and the general debris that comes with an active mountain lifestyle, our floors take a beating.
For years, I relied on local cleaning services. But with housekeepers in Jackson now charging upwards of $200 a pop, that expense adds up fast. I finally decided to look for a tech solution. I’ve seen the hype around the Dreame X50 Ultra at CES the past few years—it’s some of the most popular tech on the floor—so I decided to give it a shot.
I’ll be honest right out of the gate: this was the first robot vacuum I have ever tried, and I am not a tech wizard. In fact, it took three of us to figure out how to get this thing working initially. We were all newbies to this level of automation, so your mileage may vary (YMMV), but once we got over that initial learning curve, the results were nothing short of epic.
The Setup and The “Lift”
Once we got the unit online (shoutout to Dreame’s customer service, who were incredibly helpful in getting us up and running), watching it work autonomously was actually really fun.
The standout feature for me is the navigation. My cabin has a mix of hardwood floors and a specific raised rug that is really special to me. Usually, I’d be terrified a robot would get stuck on it or chew it up. The X50 Ultra has this wild VersaLift technology—it literally has retractable legs. It can lift itself up (up to 2.36 inches) to glide over thresholds and thick rugs. It moved around the kitchen with ease, transitioned to the living room, and handled that rug like a pro.
Power and Performance
In a mountain home, we aren’t just dealing with dust; we are dealing with dirt, pine needles, and elk hair. The X50 Ultra boasts 20,000Pa of suction power, which is just a fancy way of saying it doesn’t leave anything behind.
It also features a DuoBrush system that is designed to prevent hair tangles. If you have dogs or just people with long hair in the house, you know the struggle of cutting hair out of a vacuum roller. This thing handles hair up to nearly a foot long without choking.
But the real game-changer is the mopping. This isn’t just a wet swiffer pad dragging dirt around. It uses hot water (176°F) to wash its own mops at the base station. It scrubs the floor, goes back to the dock, cleans itself, and goes back out. My kitchen floor gets a nice buff cleaning weekly now, and I haven’t lifted a finger.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
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Epic Navigation: The chassis lift capability is real and works on thick rugs.
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ROI: Saves thousands on professional cleaning services over the course of a year.
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Customer Service: responsive and helpful during setup.
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Pet/Mess Friendly: High suction and anti-tangle brushes are a must for mountain homes.
Cons:
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Setup: If you are new to smart home tech, bring a friend (or two) to help you get started.
Overall Impression
The sticker price on these premium robots can look steep at ($1199.99) for the Dream X50 Ultra, but you have to look at the math.
If you are paying $200 for a housekeeper, this unit pays for itself in just a few months. It runs on my schedule, it maps the house perfectly (avoiding ski boots and charging cables), and it keeps the place looking dialed day in and day out.
For a first-time user, the tech was a bit intimidating at first, but the payoff has been huge. It’s quiet, it’s powerful, and it allows me to spend more time skiing and less time scrubbing floors. This was my first robot vacuum, but it definitely won’t be my last.
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