The best Shark vacuum just crashed to a record-low price ahead of Black Friday

Person using Shark PowerDetect Vacuum, with Black Friday deals graphic alongside — (Image credit: Future)

If you're hunting for a vacuum cleaner deal in the early Black Friday sales, you're in luck – there's an outstanding price-drop on one of my top-rated models: the Shark PowerDetect Cordless Clean&Empty is $399.99 (was ~~$599.99~~) at Amazon US, and £314 (was ~~£549.99~~) at Amazon UK. That matches the cheapest price on record in the US, and is a new record low in the UK.

• Shop the full Amazon early Black Friday sale

There are plenty of Black Friday deals around right now, but I'm especially excited about this one, because this is one of my very favorite vacuums. I recently ran a big group test of all the best cordless vacuums on the market, and the Shark PowerDetect cordless won out in the cleaning categories. It's superb on carpet, great on hard floor, and whisks away pet hair with ease. Read on to find out more...

Today's best Shark PowerDetect Cordless Black Friday deal

There are a few reasons why I think the PowerDetect Cordless is such a great vacuum cleaner. Of course, it packs a punch when it comes to suction, which is an important starting point. But the floorhead is optimized for different floor types, too. For carpet, there are rubbery fins that do a great job of agitating thick fibers to release dust and hair. There's also a flap that lifts when the vacuum is pulled back over chunky debris, so it can suck it up rather than causing it to pool behind the floorhead – this feature really comes into its own on hard floor.

The extras also shine. The auto-empty base included in both these deals is a big effort-saver and mess-minimizer (hooray for not having to excavate wedges of dog hair from a small vacuum bin every 30 minutes), and I found the mini motorized head did an outstanding job of shifting pet hair from a velvet cushion. For the full low-down, head to TechRadar's Shark PowerDetect Cordless review.

However, be aware that all that cleaning clout comes with a bit of a weight penalty – this vacuum is rather heavy and chunky. If that's a deal-breaker, my guide to the best vacuums has plenty of alternative recommendations.