I'm writing this because we initially returned ours, only to later realize that it's the best bagless option available. How did our opinion change?

My wife and I own a cleaning company catering to mid to high end residences. She runs it's on occasion steps in to help clean. Half of the homes have central vacs. To avoid cross odors from house to house, she requires the other half to purchase their vacuum cleaners. They can buy any model. Most purchase either Dyson, Miele, Shark, or Kirby.

My wife filled in for an employee who was out for a couple of weeks. She had the chance to really compare models. The Shark came out as one of the best.
Instead of pros and cons, I will go over what she first didn't like, leading to returning the Shark. I'll compare that with the reality of using the Shark and discovering the things that made it worth repurchasing.
At first we were disappointed because:
- the vacuum felt top heavy
- the lift away hose was too short
- the canister was to hard to clean
- the stick was too tall and couldn't be adjusted
After using on cleaning jobs at other homes, here is the reality:
- the weight posed no major issue. It was easier to carry than a canister vac.
- the hose extended further than originally thought
- the canister can be washed or rinsed after emptying
- the stick could use an adjustable height but was tolerable
We now recommend the Shark as the best current bagless convertible.

One more comparison to other models:
- the Shark tangles less than canister vacs like the Miele
- the Dyson in our opinion is bulky, heavy, and is overrated. We've seen more mechanical issues with the Dyson brand than any other.
- bagged vacuums eventually smell, regardless of the claims of filters

Hope this helps you in your decision

One more item: someone mentioned their hands getting tired after vacuuming for awhile. We recommend wearing garden gloves with grippable, breathable material. Sounds strange, but Her hands don't slide, and she is less fatigued.

I did not purchase this product at amazon for a couple of reasons. One it's available at many big box retailers chiefly Bed Bath & Beyond where aone of their 20% off coupons comes in handy. However, I did not purchase this at BBB either. I bought directly from Shark(another story all together) for a couple of reasons: 1. They offer some "VIP" warranty which I'm positive is not worth the extra cost alone but also 2. Because they give you a free steam mop and 3. Because I got a couple extra attachments which I could have lived without but for $350 total I was able to get all that plus I received my products in 3 days.

The Good
Handsome looking machine with a nice color scheme.
Great Suction even more than the new Dyson flagship Cinetic. I think 270 AW but performance in real life is more than adequate.
Good brush pattern on the powerhead and made my carpets feel noticeably fluffier and cleaner.
Unmatched versatility and ease of use. This is the vacuum real selling point. It is as easy as they demonstrate on the infomercials to transform this into a lift away or canister vac. The powerhead and wand are able to reach into type spaces and can truly lie flat to get under most beds.
The mini MOTORIZED brush tool is an excellent tool that I have not seen offered by many manufacturers. Those pet turbines that are suction driven are no match for this tool. The added agitation and uncompromised suction provide awesome cleaning power for upholstery furniture as well as cat trees, small areas where a powerhead is too clunky like stairs, etc.
It is a completely sealed system and the filters work and release only HEPA clean air. (Caveat below)
Nice bright leds on powerhead and the handle.
Bottom line it does an excellent job with cleaning carpets and hard floors as well as miscellaneous things where all the attachments come in handy. It does amazing with pet hair and embedded dust and small particles in carpet. Just go at a smooth slower pace and repeat each area.

The Bad
Tad on the heavy side.
Power rush bristles seem to be slightly fraying and separating after a week of use although pretty heavy use. I'll be pisses if shark doesn't offer replacement rolls. Or at least a 3rd party. The powerhead is on the narrower side I think 10 or 11 inches which is better for tighter spaces but takes more time with open carpet.
Now this is real nitpicky. It's better when configured as an upright as the canister and motor add substantial weight to the machine thereby creating a better seal and pushing the brushroll further into the carpet. Better cleaning in my experience in this configuration. What they could have done was redistubite the weight a little bit so when in canister mode the wand and powerhead don't seem so dainty. Plus the brushroll config really bites into the carpet and self propels this thing in canister config which paradoxically doesn't do as good a job with deep cleaning.
The biggest and potentially the worst problem with this thing is the internal cyclone technology is just not good. It seperates all the larger and lighter particles but fine dust is not seperates by the cyclone and dives straight through the primary mesh filter and onto the secondary foam cylinder filter. Now this is fine dust and most of it is captured by this filter and the rest by the felt pad and post motor HEPA but the fact remains that eventually this machine will start to lose suction a lot sooner than u think. Sharks recommendation of washing the filters every 3 months are bull crap. You need to be periodically dusting the foam filter after any appreciable amount of vacuuming. Just use your hands outside and get all dirty just watch were the wind is blowing and see how much fine dust you can beat out of this thing. You will probably have to wash at sooner intervals. If u don't the vacuum will slightly lose suction and you will be prematurely wearing out your HEPA. Also it doesn't perform well with a large amount of heavy particles at one time for instance I suctioned up a bunch of spilled kitty litter and it sucked it right up but the litter ended up in the wrong part of the bin where the filter is and not in the collection area. A small issue but demonstrates the sub par cyclone criticism well. The cyclone technology in the Cinetic is so good that the fine particles never find their way to the filter that's why Dyson can claim that it's filter less. Bagged is better but who wants to pay for bags and it's cool seeing how dirty your floors were.
One last gripe. On low pile carpet mode there is slightly less suction than on hard floor mode. Why? If you wanted to reduce suctionyou use the thick pile mode.

The bottom line is it's a very good cleaning machine for a price that no other manufacture can compete with. You can pay twice as much for a Dyson and not see any measurable benifit and lose on the functionality. You can pray 3 times as much for a Miele and see marginal gains in cleaning but lose on versatility. You can pay an exorbitant amount of money for a Kirby or Rainbow, or Simplicity or Riccar and still not have the versatility that this machine has. And if you vacuum well going smooth and slow and repeating, you can clean almost as well with this Shark.
If you thought this was helpful please like or leave comments. I can answer questions as well.

Amazing Vacuum. I have a dog, hardwood floors, thick area carpets, and a hard-to-clean leather shag rug. There are an astounding number of features on this vacuum that enabled to handle every surface type, nook, and cranny. The Shark is easily the best vacuum we've ever had.

Push-button operation allows the user to change modes right on from the handle. The vacuum operates like a traditional upright vacuum or it can be placed on a caddy that also carries several attachments and used as a canister vacuum. I would've liked a caddy designed to hold ALL the included attachments. The unit comes with a bag for the attachments that don't fit on the caddy in order to keep everything organized.

The dirt container is thoughtfully designed. First, the seal is complete. Gone are the days of the slightly dusty smelling vacuum bags. This unit does not let dust escape while in operation. A washable filter ensures clean running. Second, the canister opens from the bottom and the top. With the push of a button all the dust and dog hair just falls out of the bottom of the container.

The bright headlight highlights dog hair that could be missed and is especially valuable in hardwood floor mode. The hardwood floor mode includes a machine washable microfiber pad: dust and sweep in one pass!

The headlight on the wand is also very useful for dusting. The couch and crevice attachments work brilliantly. And the extra-long cord allows a lot of freedom.

Anyone looking for one of the best and most versatile vacuums on the market would do well to check out this Shark unit. We were very happy with it on all our carpets, couches, drapes, and even on the hardwood floor.