Shark Vacuums Overview

Headquartered in Canada, Shark is one the leading vacuum producers in the U.S. market. Over the last decade, they have aggressively competed with Dyson for the top spot. They continue to innovate in the bagless vacuum sector, namely with their DuoClean and Zero-M technology.

In this article, we explain the different types of vacuum cleaners and technologies made by Shark and take a look at how they perform.

This page is an overview and you’ll find links to more detailed reviews of the different vacuum series from Shark.

We also take a look at how they match up with the competition.

Use the links below to navigate to your interests.

Page Contents

Shark Vacuum Summary

It can be incredibly confusing trying to decipher which Shark vacuum is right for you. Especially if you’re not familiar with their technologies and naming conventions.

Shark makes 4 different types of vacuums:

• Uprights
• Corded Stick
• Cordless Stick
• Robot

They have a huge selection of uprights and its one of their largest product categories. No surprise there since uprights have been around much longer than the newer and more compact vacuum types.

Shark’s uprights are unique in that all of them have the Lift-Away feature. You’re basically able to transform the upright into a canister vacuum where you hold the canister in one hand while pushing around the cleaner head with the other.

We think this feature is excellent and it gets the bulky canister out of the way if you need to vacuum under a bed or other furniture. Vacuuming stairs are also much more comfortable in Lift-Away form.

The real advantage comes from being able to have the power and capacity of an upright and make it just as maneuverable and easy-to-use as their corded stick vacuums.

Using the vacuum’s cleaner head in Lift-Away mode requires having the “Powered Lift-Away” feature, instead of simply “Lift-Away.” Powered means you can power the cleaner head motor with the handle and hose, while the plain Lift-Away can only transform into the canister and be used with non-powered attachments, such as a dusting brush or crevice tool.

What about the corded stick vacuums?

This type of vacuum isn’t too common, but if you like the form factor of the Shark ION or Dyson cordless stick vacuums, then imagine that but never having to worry about the battery dying or needing to charge it.

With the cordless stick vacuums from Shark, you can expect to get about 20 to 30 minutes of runtime from a single battery pack. The two models we’ve recommended below come with two battery packs. For most people, this is enough time to vacuum majority of their home or at least hit all the high traffic areas.

The dustbin capacity on the corded stick vacuums is generally larger than the cordless models, but it’s not a huge difference unless you opt for one of the higher-capacity corded models. Either way, you will most likely need to empty the dustbin before depleting both batteries, and with the cordless models you will need to keep an eye on the dustbin.

Shark Vacuum Technologies & Design

Right now, it’s all about the DuoClean and Zero-M features. Here’s an example of the combination cleaner head with Zero-M and DuoClean brushrolls.

The paint-roller-like DuoClean brushroll grabs larger debris and brushes off the fine dust from bare floors and pulls it into the suction area. This works really well. You can watch this video below to see the Shark APEX AZ1002 in action.

The Zero-M comb and brush guard does a great job of keeping hair off the brushroll. It’s not perfect, but it’s way ahead of the competition.

In addition to these brushrolls, the overall design of the new cleaner heads seems to provide better suction ability despite some of the newer vacuums having less power than their predecessors.

We suspect one factor in this improvement is the row of bristles that surrounded the cleaner head opening. It helps keep debris from getting thrown behind the brushroll and limits airflow from this area, which in turn concentrates the suction towards the front of the vacuum.

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If you’re at all unsure about which upright you should buy, then we recommend going with the Shark APEX Series. It’s the most powerful, fully-featured upright you can buy from Shark. Not only that, we think it’s better than the competition.

The APEX uprights are on the heavier side, so if weight and size is a concern, then consider a corded stick vacuum. You can get the Zero-M or DuoClean cleaner heads, but on a smaller form factor vacuum.

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In general, the corded stick vacuums have a slightly bulkier body than the cordless models. They have similar weights, but the cordless P50 model, at 12 lbs, is actually almost as heavy as the Shark Navigator Speed ZU561. One of the common complaints with this new style of stick vacuum is that they can’t stand up on their own. Even if they could, they would be incredibly top heavy and easy to knock over. I can guarantee the number of complaints of knocking over their vacuum only to have the body crack and shatter would skyrocket if this were a feature. Shark has a remedy for this problem with the new MultiFlex feature that allows the vacuum’s wand to bend and let the vacuum rest just above the cleaner head. This lowers the center of gravity and is a simple way to solve this problem. The Shark Cordless F80 has the MultiFlex feature and is our top pick. The Hoover Linx, pictured below in the middle, is a stick vacuum that’s been around a long time and is something most people are accustomed to. They look like a miniature upright. The Shark Rocket, and similarly the Dyson cordless vacuums, have this new design that has the guts of the vacuum right in your hand with a long pipe extending to the cleaner head.

Upright	Cordless Stick	Corded Stick

In the past, one of the basic vacuum features that you would lose with a stick vacuum, like the Hoover Linx, is the detachable hose with an assortment of attachments to be used for above-the-floor cleaning. The design of the Shark Rocket and similar stick vacuums let you put accessories directly on the handheld. That means you get added versatility with the smaller stick vacuum form factor.

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One thing to keep in mind with Shark’s cordless vacuums, is that they mostly quote runtimes as the combined runtime if you use two batteries for the models that include 2 batteries. The two models we’ve recommended here do include two batteries.

The amount of runtime you get depends on if you’re using the vacuum as a handheld, on carpet, or on bare floors. You get the most time using it as a handheld since it doesn’t have to power a brushroll. Carpet provides more resistance for the brushroll, so it has a shorter runtime than on bare flooring.

Depending on how often you vacuum you may find that you have to empty the dustbin more than once during a vacuuming session. The thing about cordless vacuums is that it’s much easier to get started vacuuming and you might find yourself vacuuming more frequently than you did before when you had to drag out the big upright.

More frequent vacuuming means you won’t be filling up the dustbin quite so fast.

Here’s a quick glance at the weight of some of Sharks other vacuums and some competitors.

Shark Rocket DuoClean Ultra-Light	Shark ION F80 MultiFLEX	Dyson V10	Hoover Linx	Shark APEX DuoClean Zero-M Powered Lift-Away	Shark Navigator Zero-M Lift-Away Speed
Corded Stick	Cordless Stick	Cordless Stick	Cordless Stick	Full-Size Upright	Compact Upright
10 lbs	8.7 lbs	6 lbs	7.3 lbs	16 lbs	13.4 lbs
Model# HV382	Model# IF281	Model# 180846-01	Model# BH50020PC	Model# AZ1002	Model# ZU561

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