Shark Rocket Vs Dyson Cordless Vacuums

The Shark Rocket and Dyson V6 (and V8) Series vacuums look very much alike, but have one major difference:

The Shark Rocket is not cordless.

They look a lot alike, obviously, and that’s why people tend to want to compare them. They have the same style and form-factor that appeals to people looking for a quick solution to small vacuuming problems.

The cord can be a deal breaker, and may make your decision to get the Dyson easier (the Dyson V6 Motorhead or Animal are a good starting point). You’re only going to get 15 minutes of use with the Dyson V6 vacuums or 25 minutes with the Dyson V8. For some people, that’s also a deal breaker.

If you’re not completely turned away at this point, consider this:

Like the Dyson cordless vacuums, the Shark Rocket has a dock that attaches to the wall. This makes storage much easier and it’s nearby when you need it.

Now, what if you located the dock next to a plug in the room you need it the most? It’s not quite as easy as just pulling the trigger on the Dyson, but this can help alleviate the trouble of getting it out of the closet then finding a plug. You get 30 feet of cord, which means you shouldn’t have any trouble at least being able to clean the room the Shark is stored in without swapping plugs.

This has some obvious problems:

• You may not have wall space free near a plug.
• Doesn’t look pretty.

Still, think about where you might want to mount the dock and see if this is a solution for you. If you’re still here keeping reading for more details about the differences between the Dyson vs Shark.

I also think it is a more fair comparison to look at the Shark Rocket and the Dyson Ball Uprights. Both are corded, but have different form factors.

Shark Rocket Ultra-Light Vs. Dyson V6 Motorhead

The Motorhead is, what I consider, to the the entry level Dyson 2-in-1. In 2017, the pricing and features are such that the Dyson V6 Cord Free just doesn’t make sense with the low price of the Motorhead. So this is a good place to start for comparing the entry-level Shark Rocket and Dyson V6 Series.

Trade offs.

These two vacuum look similar, but have many features that are the complete opposite of one another. Some good, some bad.

Just picking them up you will notice the Shark Rocket can’t stand up on its own. If you’re vacuuming and find you need to move something, then you might have to set the vacuum down. This can be really annoying.

Both of them have the wall docking station. So getting started vacuuming is quick and storage is simple.

Pull the trigger?

This was one of the bigger complaints many people gave about the Dyson 2-in-1 vacuums. You have to constantly keep the trigger pulled to keep the vacuum on. Now, this actually makes a whole lot of sense when you think about it.

Saving a few seconds here and there as you move across a room means the relatively short battery life (20 minutes) of the Dyson is used mostly for cleaning. I think this was a good call on Dyson’s part, but many people find the trigger to be annoying.

Shark has no reason to worry with a trigger since the Rocket is corded, so simply pick one of the 2 speed settings and you’re ready to go.

There isn’t a clear winner as far as filtration quality goes, but the Dyson filter is much simpler and will last longer. The Shark filter can be washed, but you may notice it deteriorating and need to replace it. It’s also more complicated than the Dyson filter, which just pops out of the top.

The Shark Rocket has an additional floor attachment for cleaning bare flooring. Honestly, it’s optional and the primary cleaner head works fine on bare flooring. You may want to use the Dust-Away attachment if you notice you have a lot of dust still clinging to the floor. The microfiber pads can be washed, but like the filters, you will eventually need to buy replacements.

Another common complain about these 2-in-1 vacuums is the size of the dustbin. With the Dyson, you’ve only got 15-20 minutes and will likely fill up the dustbin every time you use it. The Shark, on the other hand, will run until you forget to pay your electric bill. The dustbins aren’t that much different, so expect to be emptying it just as often as you would the Dyson. That means multiple times per use if you’re vacuuming a large area. None of this should be surprising, as it’s just part of the form-factor of these vacuum cleaners.

What’s the bottom line?

They are both great vacuums. If you can get past the cord on the Shark Rocket, then you can get an excellent vacuum for roughly half the price of the Dyson V6 Motorhead. If you don’t have much space to clean, or are just looking for an occasional spot cleaning and touch-up cleaning behind your primary vacuum, then the Dyson V6 Motorhead is a good option.

Shark Rocket TruePet Vs. Dyson V6 Animal

In case the name didn’t give it away, these two vacuums specialize in cleaning households with pets.

So what does that mean, really?

For most vacuums, it just means they come with some sort of handheld motorized brush attachment that helps get pet hair off of furniture or carpet. It’s really even better than that since cleaning carpeted stairs or vehicle interiors is usually hopeless without some sort of brush to agitate debris away from the upholstery.

The Dyson V6 Animal is essentially the same vacuum as the V6 Motorhead, but it comes with the aforementioned mini motorized brush. Same battery, same direct-drive cleaner head, same filter, and same dustbin capacity. But roughly $100 more expensive than the V6 Motorhead.

Shark gives you a mini motorized brush with the TruePet, but they also doubled the size of the dustbin compared to the Rocket HV300.

Shark added another convenient feature with the foot release of the cleaner head. It makes switching to cleaning above the floor much easier.

Other than that you get the same filtration and cleaner head as the cheaper Dyson and Shark models above.

The price increase for the Shark Rocket TruePet is much less than that of the Dyson V6 Animal over the previous model. So you can see where if you were willing to deal with the cord you get back some of those features you had to give up to get the convenient size and form factor of these 2-in-1 vacuums.

What’s the bottom lin?

The mini motorized brushes help significantly when cleaning upholstery, vehicles, stairs, or curtains. All of these 2-in-1’s are capable of having the 10″ cleaning head attached directly to the hand vac, which can then be used like the mini motorized brush.

So the benefit of the mini motorized brush is the “mini” part. It will fit into tighter spaces, such as vehicles and couches. But if you prefer the cordless Dyson and think the standard cleaner head is enough, then it would make sense to go for the Dyson V6 Motorhead. The Shark Rocket TruePet, however, has the larger dustbin for not much more money than the base model Shark Rocket. I would probably set the Shark Rocket TruePet as my starting point if I was leaning toward the Shark line of vacuums.

Shark Rocket Complete DuoClean Vs. Dyson V8 Absolute

The Dyson V8 Absolute is the most positively reviewed cordless vacuum that Dyson makes. It sets the bar high as far as 2-in-1’s go.

Right out of the gate I can say the filtration of the Dyson V8 Absolute is superior to the Shark Rocket DuoClean. It has the standard washable cylinder filter found in the other V6 vacuums, but also has a HEPA exhaust filter. It’s also just more convenient to remove and clean. Honestly, Shark just doesn’t emphasize its filtration enough.

Shark’s DuoClean brushroll is a nice addition and helps get fine dust off of bare flooring. Dyson also gives you a separate brushroll designed for bare floors. They both work well. The Shark “brushroll garage” gives you quick access to both brushrolls so keeping tangles removed is easy. The Dyson is accessed from the bottom, as usual. Keeping hair cut free from the brushrolls is important to not only make sure they rotate properly, but to keep from straining the motor and causing failure.

The most notable upgrades Dyson made with the V8 Absolute is the longer run time and hygienic dustbin. You get 40 minutes using just the handheld and 25 minutes using it with the standard cleaner head. I can guarantee you the dustbin will fill up at least once, probably twice, during that time. This isn’t so much a weakness of the Dyson, but just a part of the form factor of a 2-in-1. You’ll have to deal with the same problem with the Shark dustbin.

Now:

The mechanism Dyson built into the V8 Absolute for emptying the dustbin is by far the best of any bagless vacuum (aside from the other Dysons with the same feature). You know how every bagless vacuum manufacturer, even Dyson on many of their older models, claim that you simply need to push a button to release the dustbin? Well usually it’s a complete lie. You always end up pulling tangled hair and dust out with your hands.

Well, Dyson actually got it right this time. The entire handheld body lifts out of the dustbin, which then pushes the debris off of the center cylinder that houses the filter. Seriously, it really works. You do still get the cloud of dust that rises out of the trash can, but the only way to get rid of that is to go back to a bag vacuum.