One-minute review
Shark is a brand that’s very quickly become well known in the vacuuming world. Often compared to Dyson for cleaning power, Shark offers an array of vacuum cleaners that are more affordable than Dyson models yet just as capable.
The Shark Anti Hair Wrap Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner with PowerFins & Flexology is the brand’s latest release, and is a contender for our list of the best vacuums. This cordless vacuum cleaner, which can also be used as a handheld vacuum, offers three levels of suction. It’s powered by a rechargeable battery, which Shark claims will last for up to 60 minutes between charges.
The cleaner head has two brush rollers that spin at the same time. One roller is hard, with flexible silicon fins (known as PowerFins) that Shark says dig deep into carpets to dislodge dirt and debris. The second roller is a soft, fluffy unit to tackle fine dust. Both benefit from Shark’s handy anti-tangle feature, which stops human and pet hair from becoming wrapped around the brush roller; instead, it’s whipped straight into the dust canister. The cleaner head also features six LEDs, which light a path and make it easy to clean in dark corners or beneath furniture.
The Anti Hair Wrap Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner with PowerFins & Flexology also has a bendable wand that enables the cleaner to reach under low-clearance furniture, while also making the unit more compact for easy storage. There’s a 1-quart / 0.7-liter dust canister and two attachments for when the vacuum cleaner is being used in handheld mode.
In a nod to rival, the Dyson V15 Detect, the cordless cleaner also has an LED display that can show the remaining battery level, as well the suction mode selected, and whether the hard floor or carpet setting has been activated.
Shark pitches itself as an affordable brand, and at £399.99 / $449.99 this cordless vacuum cleaner is slightly more affordable than rivals from Dyson. Nevertheless, it’s still more expensive than many of its similarly specced rivals. However, if you want a powerful cleaner, or have lots of nooks and crannies around your home, the flexibility the Anti Hair Wrap Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner with PowerFins & Flexology offers may be worth the investment.
Shark Anti Hair Wrap Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner with PowerFins and Flexology price and availability
- List price: £399.99 / $449.99
The Shark Anti Hair Wrap Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner with PowerFins & Flexology, which is called the Shark Vertex Pro Lightweight Cordless Stick Vacuum with DuoClean PowerFins (IZ662H) in the US, is priced at £399.99 / $449.99
In the UK, it’s also available with an extra battery for £499.99 (around $700) or with a PowerFin pet hair attachment for £429.99 (around $600).
Design
- 0.7-liter / 1-quart dust canister
- Comes with one floor head and two tools
- Converts into a handheld cleaner
The Shark Anti Hair Wrap Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner with PowerFins & Flexology is one of the heavier cordless vacuums we’ve tested, weighing in at 4.58kg / 10.2lb. The UK model boasts a 0.7-liter dust canister, while the US version has a capacity of 1-quart.
The design is fairly standard for a cordless vacuum cleaner, with the motor, filter and dust canister at the top. It’s attached to the wand, with the floor cleaning head at the bottom. The complete unit measures 26 x 24.5 x 118 cm (w x d x h) / 10.24 x 14.7 x 46.46 inches .
On the main unit you’ll also find a 2.5-inch LCD screen that displays the remaining runtime, along with the power button, suction level control, and the carpet or hard floor selector. The swappable battery sits in this section, too, with three LEDs that indicate the remaining power.
Rather than the wand being a single section, it has a flexible extension tube in the center. When you press the catch on the back of the wand, it can bend by up to 180 degrees, enabling the vacuum to be easily manoeuvered under furniture or made more compact for storage.
As we’ve already mentioned, the floor-cleaning head features a hard brush roller with flexible silicon ‘PowerFins’ and a soft, fluffy roller; both rotate when the vacuum is switched on to improve pick-up. Six LEDs at the front of the head light a path, plus Shark’s Anti Hair Wrap technology stops hair from becoming tangled around the brush roller.
Detaching the wand and floor-cleaning head turns the cordless stick vacuum into a handheld cleaner, to which you can connect any of the two included tools.
Performance
- Powerful suction
- Anti Hair Wrap tech
- Noisy in use
The Shark Anti Hair Wrap Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner is certainly a powerful vacuum. During testing, it sucked up fine dust and larger debris on both carpet and hard floor with ease on all power settings. However, when it came to hard floors, we did find the wheels on the back of the cleaner head flicked some of the oats around the floor, rather than collecting them. This meant we had to make several passes to ensure the mess was cleared.
The vacuum cleaner glided easily across hard floors, although there was some resistance on carpet since it’s a heavy cordless cleaner. The flexible wand proved useful for reaching under furniture, as did the six LED headlights on the floor-cleaning head – they made it easier to see the area we were vacuuming.
We were impressed with the Anti Hair Wrap technology, which ensures hair doesn’t become tangled around the brush roll. When vacuuming up a clump of hair we’d removed from a hair brush, it was whisked straight into the canister without becoming stuck.
We also found the Shark Anti Hair Wrap Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner was easy to empty. Just disconnect the wand and use the button on the left-hand side of the canister to activate the mechanism that ejects the debris into the bin in one swift move.
What we weren’t so enamored by was the noise – it’s one of the loudest vacuums we’ve tested, with our decibel meter registering 88db when using the vacuum on its most powerful setting on carpet. This is the same level of noise as when using a blender. The vacuum cleaner also proved cumbersome to use in handheld mode, as a result of its weight. It made our arms ache when we cleaned up high, so we wouldn’t recommend using it in this way for very long periods.
Battery life
- Ranges from 11 to 60 minutes, depending on the power setting
- Battery takes up to four hours to fully recharge
- Swappable battery reduces interruptions to cleaning
Shark claims the battery lasts up to 60 minutes between charges; however, this is on the lowest powerful power setting. In our tests, when used on the most powerful setting, the cleaner managed only 11 minutes of vacuuming before the battery required recharging.
The battery took four hours to fully recharge. Handily, the unit is swappable, so providing you purchase an additional battery, there will be minimal interruptions to your cleaning session.
Should I buy the Shark Anti Hair Wrap Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner with PowerFins and Flexology?
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First reviewed: September 2021
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You might also want to check out our Shark Anti Hair Wrap Flexology Cordless Vacuum Cleaner (opens in new tab) review.
