Customer Reviews

Shark 2-in-1 Cordless Stick Vac and Handheld Vacuum Cleaner

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(45)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(37)
1 star:		(71)

 

 

In my house, we vacuum twice a day. With two big, hairy dogs, and three active kids, there's a lot to suck up.

Tired of lugging the canister vac all over to get rid of the twice-daily accumulation of dog hair tumbleweeds, I set out in search of a cordless vac that could handle the tasks in my house. I was smitten by the reviews and features of the Hoover Linx Cordless Stick Vac, but was concerned about spending nearly $200 on it. So I argued with myselves for a bit (the frugal one and the gotta-have-it-now one) and Frugal won. I purchased the Shark for $70, and brought it home to charge overnight.

My 12-year-old son had first try with it the next morning. He had three complaints off the bat 1) you can't get under low furniture because of the design of the vac (handle doesn't recline completely, and the canister is in the way) 2)you can't turn off the power brush, so small area rugs get sucked up, and 3) dog hair ravels around the brush within minutes, and as a result, the brush just stops turning. He spent 20 minutes.

We charged it back up again, and I tried it the next day to see for myself. My son was right on all counts, found a few more. 1) The collection cup pops off randomly, despite seating it correctly, 2) The brush head tilts backward even with only slight reclining of the handle, causing a big loss of suction, and 3)You can hear the motor begin slow down within 5 minutes of use, as the battery/power fades. I haven't been able to use it for more than 10 minutes without significant loss of suction.

SO, the end of this story is that I am returning the Shark vac, after using it for 3 weeks, and I just placed my order for the Linx. Guess my third 'self' won, after all... (the "you-get-what-you-pay-for" self!)

Incredible suction. I use to have an electrolux which was close to useless. I can't believe people gave it a 41/2 stars. This vac blow it away with suction power! Super easy to empty the dirt and xtra large dust cup make it my preferred choice at any price. At 6999 at target it is really a no brainer.

This cordless vac is wonderful & so easy to use. Incredible suction. I use it to vacuum kitchen--it gets under the cabinets and picks up everything--I have a lot of dog hair. Also use it on my door mats and around them on the patio. Just don't try to pick up anything big. I also use it on my carpet for little jobs. I like not having to get out my Dyson, plug it in, etc. just for small jobs. It is very easy to empty filter and pop back in. I like that it is 2 in 1 and easy to take apart and use as a hand vac with the little attachment.

I have thrown away a lot of money on similar products (the worst was the Swivel Sweeper).

I think it's a great little stick vac that performs well. I've read some of the critical comments and have some rebuttals.

- Please read the manual as it will resolve most "problems" and misconceptions.
- Complaint: The handle does not recline. Solution: It does when you step on the head while pressing the handle down.
- Complaint: The collection cup pops off randomly. Solution: Make sure it clicks when you put in on.
- Complaint: Power fades too quickly after about 10 minutes. Solution: Manual notes that the battery should be charged for 24 hours when first charged. After that, the charge will last progressive longer with each charge. My only complaints here are that it doesn't specify how long it should be charged after the initial charge and it doesn't estimate how long the charge will last. Also, the red indicator light remains on while charging but there is no indication when it is fully charged. The battery should be left in the charger (and charging) when it is not in the vac and the charger should be unplugged when the battery is not in it (and charging).
- Complaint: It is too noisy. Solution: there are 2 levels of power. Low for bare floors and high (noisier) for carpets. If you use the higher level for floors, it will be noisier.
- Complaint: Not enough suction. Solution: It seems to have plenty for light vacuuming. Remember, it's a stick vac and not a full sized power vacuum.
- Complaint: Hair wraps around brush. Solution: True, but not overly so in my experience. I'm bald but my cat is not. I believe this "problem" would occur with any vac.
- Problem: The debris cup is too small so it requires more frequent emptying that a regular vacuum bag. Solution: True, but it is a stick vac.
- Problem: It's too complicated to use the hand vac option. Solution: REALLY! The manual and printed directions on the vac itself seem clear enough to me.
- Problem: When to change the filter. Solution: Each time the battery wears down and you are recharging it.

I just moved into my first house and I have lots of bare floor space; I wanted to upgrade from a regular broom. I'm so glad I bought this product. It has a great battery life, it's easy to empty and clean the filters and I love that it converts into a hand-vac. It's fantastic on the tile and does well for light carpet cleaning. For me, it's completely worth the money!
UPDATE: I've had this product for about two years now, and I'm still liking it. The battery has already started to shorten (a very tiny bit) its useful charge, but I haven't been great about running it all the way down and keeping it on the charger, either. It still has great suction and works well, especially along the front when you try to get little things against the wall or the cabinets. It's extremely easy to clean compared to my big bagless vacuum, and I feel like I'll never have to replace the little filters it came with because they clean up well. The only thing: I now have a 1 year old, and I have to clean up the kitchen floor several times each day. Sometimes it really is easier to just pull out a broom because the Shark battery isn't charged or I left the battery on and it's running down. But when I'm not "spot cleaning," it's so nice for cleaning my entire kitchen and dining area once or twice a week.

Easy to assemble comes with very clear instructions. This Shark is a very well made product. The vac is shipped with no charge in the battery which is normal. We followed the instructions and charged the battery for 24 hours prior to use. Perhaps those reviewers who complained of short battery life did not do this. We are very happy with the Shark Pro and highly recommend . It is mighty little power house of a vac for fast clean ups to both rugs and hard surface floors. As always amazon.com excels in service.

Good battery life so far (two weeks). Great Suction. Remove the rug brush and substitute a small crevice tool to get the spiders that move in this time of year. BUT wear bunny muffs when you use it. All that power makes what seems like enough noise to damage hearing over time.

This is with out a doubt the best little vacuum around. I was in the market for something light weight and powerful due to a couple of shoulder surgeries. My old vacuum was very heavy and would barely pick up anything on my Berber carpet,leaving me tired,frustrated,and in lots of pain. I read the reviews,and decided to try it,and I'm so glad I did. My husband looked at it,then at me,and said that won't pick up anything,boy was he wrong. I charged the battery,and turned it on,and WOW!! I had the whole house including kitchen,and bathroom floors done in less than 30 minutes. I was amazed,it cleaned better than some of the more expensive ones I've tried,and best of all no pain. This is one powerful little cleaner,the swivel head made it easy to get under,around,and in between those hard to reach places that a big vacuum misses. I figured I'd have to use the attachment to get close to the base boards,but it sucked the dirt right up without it. I love this vacuum,and the price was great,and very well worth it and more. I highly recommend this to anyone who might be looking for something light weight,and powerful. Shark has a winner with this one.

This vacuum is pretty annoying. I don't mind that it doesn't run very long, I only got it to quickly clean up crumbs, and frankly if I am going to bother vacuuming the whole house I should use a better one altogether. I have wood floors, so carpets aren't really an issue for me.

However. The filter clogs very very easily. Hair wraps around the brush and it stops moving. Then after I get that going again, I have to clean the filter. Any tiny piece of plastic (candy wrappers, a small piece of paper etc) will immediately clog the filter. So then you have to clean the filter in order to continue vacuuming.

Basically, it goes like this, oops I sucked up a candy wrapper or paper, empty the filter and canister. Whoops now I've sucked up some hair, gotta cut it off the brush so that it will start spinning. Okay, four seconds of successful vacuuming. Oops, hair again.

I've used it several times at this point, and it's a terrible design. The canister pops off randomly, and with how often I have to clean the stupid easily clogged filter it now also falls off occasionally.

Just don't buy this one, it's not worth the effort.

I read a lot of reviews before purchasing this vacuum. Eventually, I decided to give the battery powered vacuum a try. I liked the idea of conveniently being able to vacuum my house without messing with a cord. In the end, it wasn't the vacuum for me.

The pros:
Lightweight
Relatively quiet
Easy to assemble and empty canister
No cord or bags to mess with
Good on hard surfaces

Cons:
Lacks power. It can suck up debris on the surface but not deep down
We have new carpet that's producing a lot of fuzz. This vacuum struggled to pick it up
Battery starts losing power after about 15 minutes of vacuuming - not long enough to finish my house

Number #1 CON: THIS VACUUM CANNOT DEAL WITH HAIR!!! I have shoulder length hair, and this vacuum was constantly stopping when a few hairs would wrap around its rather flimsy rotating brush. Once the brush quits spinning, it won't pick up any more dirt until you remove the hair.

This problem occurred the first time I used the vacuum and continued each time after that. I had to stop the vacuum multiple times each time I used it.

I kept this model for about 3 weeks but ultimately decided to return it and get something heftier. Amazon refunded my money and I purchased the Hoover Widepath Tempo. It has a lot more power and is much sturdier.

I do not recommend getting this vacuum unless you have a very small area to clean that's mostly hard surfaces and you do not have long hair.