Shark AZ1002 Apex Powered Lift-Away Upright Vacuum with DuoClean & Self-Cleaning Brushroll, Crevice Tool, Upholstery Tool & Pet Power Brush, for a Deep Clean on & Above Floors, Espresso

We have hardwood throughout our home, 2 dogs (one is a snowstorm of a shedder), and two cats. We had been using a combination of a normal everyday Hoover, a Dyson cordless stick (very good), rubber rake, and Swiffer to try and keep up with hair, dander, dirty dust that constantly looks as though we havent cleaned in weeks (just 24 hours after a cleaning). The goal was to consolidate down to a single, versatile tool if possible. The Hoover just blows the hair on the floor around before it could ever pick it up, so almost useless. The Dyson (we like it a lot mind you) picks up the pet hair and CRAZY amounts of fine stuff, but cant pick up the most routine, everday debris if its bigger than a cookie crumb (and it hadnt better be big cookie crumb...). The Dyson also struggles with clogs, longevity, and a real loss of suction effectiveness with its non-motorized attachments. The rubber rake is a terrific way to do a quick sweep, but it leaves a lot of dust behind (aaaaand thats where the Swiffer comes in). Funny thing is, we end up a VERY sizable with a pile of hair/debris, and it would be great to finish that off with a vaccum, one blows the pile to the ceiling and the other clogs immediately. After watching several vids on YouTube (pos and neg), a couple Vacuum Wars (super thorough) review/comparisons had me convinced the Shark Apex Duo w/ZeroM was worth a try. Amazon had it for $100 off this week, so we gave it a shot. Put it together last night in 5 mins, read the warnings, got started. FANTASTICO! Played around with it open areas for a couple of minutes to get the feel of it, and the floors looked cleaned and dusted (thanks to the soft roller). Then on a lark I took it a raked pile of hair/debris and gave it a shot: Sucked that whole mess up like it was nothing. I went slow and careful, but I didnt have to go over the area twice. Have to say I laughed a little at how easily it happened. Stuff I had marked as concerns based on reviews I saw/read: Weight - I dont have an issue with it, and neither does my 5 foot wife. The thing glides on the newer rubber rollers Shark added. So, as long as they hold up (I under stand there used to be hard plastic wheels that ground down with use), were good. Manueverability - It has a twist steer setup that is nice and smooth, but it does take a little getting used to. A little heavyish. Think family minivan, not F1 race car. Dont rush, dont take your corners too fast. Smooooooth though! Hose range for wand - I saw a couple of complaints about this, but if you pop off the canister to walk around with, I dont see the issue. Cord Clip - I saw complaints about no cord clip A LOT reviews...Theres a freakin cord clip built right into the piece where you wrap the cord. Not sure how you can miss that... Versatility - Call me crazy, but I read directions. Be aware of the operative warnings and take a minute check out each release button. I found it really easy to pop the canister and wand off the base to do my stairs, baseboards, ceiling corners, and then put it all back together again. Also, popping the dust cup off and emptying was a cinch (easier than the Dyson!). I can see giving the dust cup a simple clean water rinse once a week to keep it from looking cruddy. Ill likely do another update (with a PILE of fur) after a few weeks or months, Im not usually a review writer kind of a guy, but I was really impressed right away. Thought maybe my experience might help someone else who has paralysis by analysis like I usually do.

Seems well built (like a tank!), picks up seeds etc (we have birds in the dining room) off the hardwood floors no problem even on the carpet setting. Just 2 complaints, and maybe theyll be less a problem as I use it, but 1. It weighs 16 lbs.....previouse model was ~12lb. 2. the hose appears to be shorter than the previous so I cant just detach the canister & set it down while I use the wand. I have to lug the whole thing. Ill probably keep it, but will come back with an updated review after a month or so.

Bought this because I have two super-shedders. I can vacuum a room and within 5 minutes I have tumbleweeds. Purchased a robotic vacuum which is okay, but I wanted something more heavy duty to run once or twice a week that would pick up more than just surface stuff. Also I was very tired of cutting wrapped up pet hair out of the robotic vacuum. It was driving me crazy as I had to do that every time I ran the thing. Thought this would be the solution since so many pet owners loved it. Will admit the Zero-M is a total game-changer when it comes to not having to clean out the pet hair. This thing sucked the hair right up and not a single strand was clogging the brushes. Thats a flipping miracle considering that I have to take scissors to the robo vac every time I use it. I was really looking forward to getting this vacuum. What I did not expect was it size (which is only exceeded by its ugliness). However, I was willing to overlook the ugly factor if the thing worked great. It did work great but the vacuum is huge. First off it has a giant fat cannister on the front which makes it impossible to get underneath anything, unless you are willing to stop and deal with removing the cannister. I have too many pieces of furniture to do that. Sheesh. So when I was vacuuming the rooms were actually getting LESS clean than they were with the robot vacuum which was going under stuff. Secondly, the thing KILLED my shoulder to vacuum with. Yes I have a minor rotator cuff tear, and yes this thing only weighs 17 lbs, but when you are trying to push against carpeting it is clumsy at best. Especially when you cant get under anything. The handle is huge (tall) and feels like it was designed by a 63 engineer and not the average 54 woman who probably does the majority of vacuuming at most homes. Im 54 and the top of the handle was only about 2 shorter than my shoulder, making for super-awkward movements. Handle also has a weird design that prevents you from being able to pick the machine up easily unless using 2 hands. Last but not least it what I said about the ugly factor. Just about everyone who looked at the vacuum the day it arrived was like whoa whats that...??? The machine has a weird disproportionate factor where the vacuum part that meets the floor seems small in comparison to the rest of the machine making the whole thing look very weirdly top-heavy and the enormous, and very cumbersome canister simply adds to that problem. I have a lot of stairs and cant imagine trying to haul this thing up and down stairs. Ugh. Sorry Shark. How about putting Zero-M on one of the robotics that empties itself -- and mops too! Theres something pet owners actually need. Update: Exchanged this vacuum for the Zero-M DuoClean STICK vacuum which I like MUCH better. It also has a glitch in that it wont stand up on its own (falls over if you take your hands off it - the go around is to remove the canister / motor top part when you stop vacuuming, which sounds like a hassle but it actually pretty easy the way it is designed). Also it is only half as powerful as the upright above, but SO much easier to use.

I love this vaacuum, granted our old one wasnt working well, but I can not believe all the stuff this has picked up and betweeen my long hair and the dog, none of it is wrapped around the roller.. love it. I do find it a tad heavy to push around, but worth the effort.

Heavier, difficult to maneuver

I ordered this vacuum five years ago and it still runs perfectly!! We are very hard on vacuums in our home. I have three dogs, one of which is a German shepherd-Great Pyrenees mix who sheds nonstop. [Pic included to showcase his cuteness and mass amount of fur that I’m vacuuming daily! I’m talking big huge chunks of fur.] Additionally, we live in a 3700 square-foot house that is made up of hardwood floors and carpeting. This vacuum is fantastic. Never once had any issue with it. I love the suction power of it, how easy it is to clean and the light on the cover of the beater bar. The light is especially fantastic when it’s a little bit dark out and you can really see how filthy your floor is and how well the vacuum works. I highly recommend this product. You will not be disappointed!

Im sure that given a bit of minor cyber skills you can find my review of the Dyson Cinetic Big Ball Animal Plus Allergy Vacuum. It was my second, and last, Dyson. Its main fault centered around the latch that held to flap to empty the canister, and the canister itself being a bit hard to empty completely. It finally dumped its contents on the floor enough times that I tried the Shark. While in the end I did not like the Dyson much, I will try to give it its due. It is a good at the basic function of getting stuff off the floor. It also had some good attachments that were at least partly well thought out (more on that in a bit). I have been a long time skeptic of Sharks offerings, mainly due to their television advertisements. the way the market their stuff does not engender trust from me, so I was ready to send it back at the first sign of trouble. But I did expect that my skepticism was not really warranted. I really think they should fire their marketing team and start over with new marketing. The first thing they should ask the new team is to rename what they now call their Zero M technology. But enough of my soapbox, Im just trying to say that all this amateur attempt at marketing hides the true value of this beast behind senseless and confusing and unfocused attempts at marketing. So Ive pointed out my two top criticisms for these two top of the line machines. Seriously. I was unprepared to see the Shark eat Dysons lunch so thoroughly (sorry, had to go there). From the unwrap to usage, there was never a point where I thought I should go back and try the Dyson again. It picked up as good or better than the Dyson, was far more useful, and easier to use and clean. The only point where I felt the Dyson did better was in the attachments, but that a thin win since Dyson chose to make their attachments harder to use by forcing you to align them a certain way to attach them. Places where the Dyson should shine, it is left in wanting by lazy engineering. It stores its hose around what you think of as its stem. You only have to lift it out and extent the stem to use it. The problem starts when you try to put it back. At nearly every point, the Dyson is a bit fussy and multiple attempts to replace the hose and stem will eventually seat it. Similarly, replacing the canister is fussy, never mind the brush when you need to clean the hair wrap. While the Shark Apex is not perfect, I would have had to clean the Dyson at least a couple times in the weeks since it arrived. I havent had to clean the Sharks brush roll at all. Bottom line for me though is how dead simple it is to empty the canister. a flip of an easily accessible button with the canister pointed in the trash can and its empty. There is a top latch to empty any large items that dont make it into the canister, and it is as easy to empty as it is to avoid contact with dust. I would have gladly compromised on the vacuums ability to get stuff our of the carpet as payment for the ability to get under cabinets and beds and such. The Dyson is flat out pathetic in this realm. The lift-away by itself made the Shark a winner. But one area I expected to find problems was with the way these things fit together. Where the Dyson was fussy, the Shark is effortless. The hose detaches from the stem, and re-attaches easily as does the stem from the body, and the lift away, and the canister. I found nothing fussy about the Shark. In the end, I didnt have to compromise. I usually vacuum the carpet twice with a new vacuum, once with the new one, and then once with the old one. While not all that scientific, I know that if the old one picks up lots of stuff, they new ones not up to snuff. Here I expected to see the Shark not do as well as the Dyson, and Here again, I was wrong. All that said, the standard disclaimers apply. This is my initial impressions after using the Shark for a few weeks. If you did go back and read my review of the Dyson, youd see I was initially somewhat happy with it, but after time I started running into disappointments and issues, resulting in updates to the review. The same policy applies here. I dont tend to wear disappointment well.

This is probably the 5th version of this Shark that I have purchased. The “zero m” is awesome for preventing hair from wrapping around the brush roll, the bristles are better in my experience than their upgraded “power fins” (which I think just move hair around on carpeted surfaces and don’t actually help pick it up) and it has the light on the wand. Once you’ve had the light on the wand “upgrading” to the vertex or stratos models that don’t have it doesn’t actually feel like an upgrade. The suction for this vacuum is spot on. We are a house with 4 dogs and 7 cats (2 dogs have recently passed so now 2 dogs, and 3 cats are our sons that he will take with him when he moves out…again. Fingers crossed) anyway….this vacuum cleans all the hair, litter scatter, etc. effortlessly…and I vacuum at least one area of our house every day! Where I run into issues with this vacuum, is the power cord. Within a month of purchase the cord Inside of its casing seems to twist itself around and this creates a cord that is constantly tangled as you’re using it. It makes it a pain in the a$$ to wrap back up, and it’s (so far anyway) the only model that I have this issue with over and over again….but because every upgraded model skips the light on the wand, and thinks silicone power fins are better than bristles, I’ll just keep on buying this one.

Ive had this vacuum a couple of weeks now and used it about half a dozen times. Overall, I am very happy with it - previously I had a canister vacuum but wanted to switch to an upright as long as it still had a hose and attachments for cleaning furniture and along baseboards, etc. Suction - A+!! The first time I used this on my bedroom carpet I was APPALLED at how much dirt it picked up (and knew I wasnt wrong that the old canister vac wasnt working nearly well enough). Its very powerful. Features - Overall good, like I mentioned I like that its almost a hybrid between an upright and canister vac. I really like that it has a light - great for cleaning in darker places like closets, or in the evening when the light isnt as good. It comes with a pet hair attachment that does a fantastic job at getting up the cat hair. I like that it has a switch to go between bare floors, low pile carpet and deep pile carpet. Nitpicks - There are two dings Id give this vacuum - one, the maneuverability when using it as an upright takes some getting used to because it seems a bit top heavy, especially on carpet. Second, there are a couple of spots for on-board attachments at the vacuums base, but I find that the cord often knocks off whatever attachment is housed on the left. Third, the upholstery attachment that came with mine keeps coming apart at the slightest bump. I will likely use some super glue to keep this from happening in the future, but for a vacuum at this price point I expected something a bit sturdier. Overall, though, very good and Im happy with this purchase!

My dyson all floors basically fell apart after 10 years of use. I read hundreds of reviews and watched review comparison videos of all types of vacuums from super expensive down to inexpensive. I settled on this on based on the suction power and the zero-m anti hair wrap. I vacuumed my house after 8 days (my vacuum broke then it was a holiday so delivery was delayed) and there wasnt one hair on the brush roll. Other reviews said they had hair wrap so I wasnt expecting much but there was no hair. I have long hair and my daughter does too and we have a golden retriever. Super impressed. Also, the ease of access to the brushroll is a huge plus since my old dyson you had to flip upside down and use a coin to open the casing. It was pain. With this one you just click a button and the over comes off exposing the roll. The hand held pet tool did however get hair wrapped around it on the first use but it doesnt advertise the zero-m technology. It is tall. If you are short it may be cumbersome for you. I am 57 and it is noticeably taller than other vacuums. It drives itself when in carpet mode, very strong forward pull you have to control it. Easy to move between hard floors and the two carpet settings. The hose doesnt seem very flexible and I am getting used to the way to wand works it seems awkward but I may be using it wrong. 3 tools, and two spots for tools. Kind of annoying so I just kept the one brushroll tool with the manual in the accessories box that came with it. Seems like there should be a spot for all tools. Dust collection bin is smaller than the dyson I had, I emptied it 4 times for one vacuum but like I said it had been a week. Overall I am loving it. The negatives are very minimal and dont outweigh the positives. I did a ton of research before I landed on this one and I am glad I did. I have only had it a week so I cant comment on longevity but I have vacuumed daily for 8 days and not one hair is on the brushroll. For me thats a win.