Shark Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner with Anti Hair Wrap, 120 Minute Run Time (2 Batteries), Flexible DuoClean Vacuum Cleaner with Motorised Pet, Multi-Surface & Crevice Tools, Black & Blue. IZ320UKT

Product Information

It comes with just two accessories: a crevice tool and a two-in-one upholstery nozzle and dusting brush. Lots of premium cordless vacuums come with several more accessories, including a mini turbo brush - which is handy for giving awkward spots a thorough clean. For those who struggle with the weight of a cordless cleaner, this setup provides the perfect solution of powerful cleaning without the burden of carrying a heavy unit. The screen is also used to show the current power mode (Eco, Standard or Boost) and, if you have the floor head attached, the floor mode (carpet or hard floor).

As with Shark’s plug-in Lift-Away models, this vacuum cleaner has a pull-out central section that means you carry the cleaner where you need it and use the attached hose to get into hard-to-reach areas. For the price, the Shark Anti Hair Wrap with Flexology is a terrific vacuum cleaner. The two-in-one motorised floor head means you don’t have to keep swapping floor heads to get the best performance, so it’s always ready to clear up mess, whatever surface you’re cleaning. If you can manage its weight and stiff handling on carpet, this Shark is an excellent buy. In testing, the Shark ICZ300UKT performed extremely well. The soft roller is by far the best tool vacuum cleaners have at their disposal for collecting larger particles, because they trap them without crushing and guide them gently towards the suction tube. On both carpet and hard floor, the Shark gathered all 26g of a 26g Cheerio spill in a faultless, virtuoso performance.

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Performance is excellent, with Standard mode cleaning a path through my spilt rice grains, with nothing dropping out at the end.

The Shark makes a lot of noise, so it's not a good choice if you tend to vacuum while others are asleep or working from home - even if they're on the other side of the house. I measured the Shark IZ320UKT at 71.2dB (Eco), 75.4dB (Standard) and 76.8dB (Boost). That’s about average for a cordless vacuum cleaner with this much power. On the plus side, Shark’s articulated “Flexology” elbow does make cleaning under low furniture very easy indeed, allowing you to stand up and swing the cleaning head underneath your cupboards and sofas from a standing position, without having to get down on your hands and knees.There are three power modes to choose from (Eco, Standard and Boost), plus you can choose between carpet and hard floor modes, which adjust the speed of the floor head. It didn’t carry its perfect performance over to the flour test, but it still did a decent job. On hard floor, I measured 44g of a 50g spill making it into the collection bin. However, apart from a small residue near the start of our pass, it certainly didn’t leave 6g of flour behind. I suspect most of the missing flour was lining the tubes or caught in the floor head and would work its way into the bin eventually as I performed other cleaning tasks.

Many of the latest models from the top vacuuming brands are turning things up a notch by introducing lights and lasers to the front of the heads. This one has an LED light on the head, which allows for better visibility of what is lurking in hard to reach and see areas. The light stays on the whole time, is clear (not coloured) so it really helps seeing what you’re doing if it’s a darker corner of the house – and you’ll be as surprised as me how dusty it is. Like most cordless vacuums now, the Shark Stratos uses a point-and-shoot mechanism, which means the canister collapses out into your main rubbish bin when you empty it. Unlike some vacs I've tested, the mechanism here is seriously powerful, and I've not yet had to fish any hair or dust out from the bin manually. I upped the power to Turbo, approaching the leftover mess at different angles, but there was still a tiny amount left remaining at the end. It was nothing that the crevice tool couldn’t deal with, mind. The Shark Stratos Anti Hair Wrap Plus Pet Pro IZ400UKT comes heartily recommended. It’s a terrific cleaner at a good price. Its performance in our tests rivals that of vastly more expensive models, and I love the fact that you don’t need to switch the floor head over when moving from one surface to another. I put the Shark ICZ160UKT through the usual set of tests, first of which assesses suction. Starting on standard power, I measured the vacuum as having a 25-inch water lift capability, delivering airflow of 14.63 cubic feet, which I worked out as a useful 43-airwatts. Upping power to boost, water lift increased to 61 inches and airflow to 22.22 cubic feet, which I worked out at a powerful 159.46 airwatts.Still, it’s quite a bit more expensive than a Gtech Pro 2 and equivalent Hoover H-Free, but cheaper than a Dyson V15. On balance, I think the price reflects the performance, and all things being equal I’d choose this over its rivals for those removable batteries and clever elbow joint in the tube. The fact it happens to be really powerful and agile makes it even more convincing. Verdict Lastly, we found it didn’t quite live up to its anti-wrap claims compared with other similar models. Despite that, it gives a good thorough clean of all floors – just be mindful if there’s lots of people with long hair in your household, as you’ll likely have to do a bit of untangling yourself. Voucher codes Overall, this is a superb performance, surpassing the abilities of the more expensive Dyson models, including the V15 Detect and the V11 Outsize.

It’s worth noting how good the anti-hair wrap technology is, too. The soft roller has a comb that cleans itself as it goes, catching long hairs and sending them into the vacuum before they can wrap around the roller. Despite being tested in areas that collect a lot of hair, such as around dressing tables, the rollers on our test unit stayed tangle-free. In the box, Shark has been very generous with accessories. You get a crevice tool, a multi surface brush (hard brush and upholstery tool), mini pet brush (great for carpets and sofas) and the anti-allergen brush, which you can use for dusting pretty much everything from blinds to furniture thanks to its articulated joint. Measuring 1180 x 260 x 245mm when fully extended, Flexology roughly cuts the height of the vacuum cleaner in two. Unlike rival, Hoover H-Free 500, you don’t have to unclip anything to get the Shark vacuum down to its compact form: simply press the button and fold. Our house has both carpet and hard floors and a staircase that harbours all manner of detritus ground in by outdoor shoes that one or both of my kids have forgotten to remove. In terms of battery life, the vacuum performed reasonably well. At full power it lasted 10mins 47secs, which is slightly short of the competition. In Economy mode, however, it was only a few seconds short of the more expensive Dyson Gen5detect, while in Clean Sense mode it lasted almost 41 minutes. We don’t move the vacuum during this test, so we’d expect that time to drop in real-world use as the vacuum encounters more dirt and increases the suction.Overall, the look and feel of the vacuum is a winning formula for Shark in my eyes. Sure, it's never going to be as pretty as a Dyson, but it's sleek and compact, and the colourway works really well. Using the Shark Stratos Shark has included its DuoClean head, which has a soft roller for hard floors and a brush for carpets. For this model, Shark has included its PowerFins tech, which adds fins to the roller to really get into carpet fibres and agitate dirt. It’s also got Anti Hair Wrap tech, which really works to prevent hair from wrapping around the rollers. This wand has an articulating elbow that allows the vacuum to be folded up and stored upright, and it also allows you to more easily vacuum under low furniture. There’s a large display on top of the handle that shows the battery level and the power mode you’re using.