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

1.5 years ago I purchased a Miele upright for $750 because I have pets and wanted something that had great suction power. When I tried in the store it was wonderful….HOWEVER, when I got it home it was a different story since it weighed 21 pounds and was soooooo difficult to maneuver in my home. I dreaded when I had to vacuum (which is very often), so I succumbed to the fact I just needed to move on. Yep….. many nights spending endless hours reading reviews of “the best vacuums”. With this being said, I settled on this Shark model and I am soooooo glad I did!! This Shark vacuum out performed the $750 Miele within minutes; it was 5 pounds lighter with better suction and maneuverability. Will never own another vacuum except for a Shark in the future.

I upgraded my Shark Navigator True Pet to the Apex and I love the new rollers. They stay hair free for a while and are very easy to get to when I have to clean them. One of the rollers is kinda fuzzy and its perfect for hard floors because it actually sweeps up the dust that other vacuums cant pick up because its technically not debris. My only issue is that its not a smooth ride. My forearms get quite a workout pushing this thing around. The swivel is not as easy as my last two sharks.

I am the former owner of the Shark Rotator Pro Lift-A-Way. <--- this was my favorite vacuum ever. I have owned it for a few years and would have never considered giving it up until it quit, but my daughter is moving into a new home that is carpeted, so it turned into a hand me down. I thought about purchasing the same again for myself, but the one and only thing that drove me nuts was that hair (mostly my own, which is long) had to be cut from the roller often - so I opted for the Shark APEX AZ1002 DuoClean with Self-Cleaning Brushroll Lift-Away Upright Vacuum. This thing has great suction. I had just vacuumed the day before I got it, then vacuumed again when I got this new one. It picked up so much dust (and dog hair) out of the carpet I was shocked. It is definitely heavier and a little more bulky than my previous vacuum, but it is just a matter of getting used to it. The headlight works great, and I didnt notice until today (Im a couple of weeks in on this thing) that the part that you detach to use the hose (with attachments) has a light as well - thats pretty awesome. The roller has not had any hair wrapped around it. It did have a string that it sucked up from somewhere, but that was easily removed by using the handy hatch that sits above the roller (no need to turn this thing over to clean it). The control buttons are on the handle, up high where they are easily accessed with your thumb- the power button, and the adjustment button. All the things that detach/reattach (the hose, the wand, and the canister) are much better on this model than the last one, except the canister is heavier and take a second to get it on the tracks to remount it. The cord is a little longer than my other Shark, but both were absolutely sufficient and longer than cords on other vacuums I have owned. Would be nice if it was retractable - not sure Shark has a model that does that. Works well on hard floors, but would go with a lighter, more agile model if thats what I needed it for; Im a broom and dustpan kind of person, so no big deal there. If you are vacuuming area rugs, you will need to have someone stand on one end, because it will suck the whole thing up (or get acrobatically creative and do it alone). The area in which the vacuum is a bit lacking would be the hose, when using attachments, is so short, but I dont know how this might be fixed. Two attachments ride on the vacuum, but one of them gets knocked off easy because it sticks out away from the vacuum some. The attachments work find, but seem cheap compared to my previous Shark. The lift a canister is heavy when holding it (detached from the vacuum). I had gone around the house sucking cobwebs out of corners and near the ceiling so there was a lot of moving around - this thing will give you a work out. My other Shark came with a base with wheels that you could set the canister on and it would roll behind you - wish this one had that option. Someone in another review mention that the cord holder thing that keeps the cord up off the ground while you vacuum didnt work well - thats true. It gets knocked out of there pretty easy. It may have been the same review that someone also mention that the deal that holds the hose (like a ball into a joint) doesnt work well. Ive only knocked it loose once. The first time I used this vacuum, I noticed it doesnt really fluff the carpet up as well as my other Shark - I think it must have something to do with the hair free roller - I miss the stripes in the carpet. I would recommend buying extra filters so that when you wash them out, you can alternate while the ones that were just cleaned dry out. None of the less attractive things mentioned above is a deal breaker. This vacuum does the job.

I LOVE this vacuum. It’s design and quality are amazing. But the older I get, the more impossible it is to do anything with the hose detached without the entire vacuum falling onto my feet. Ouch! The hose is too short and too rigid. The Liftaway feature is ok but ‘gets heavier’ with every passing year. They DID NOT include a round brush, which is critical to doing baseboards and surfaces higher than the floor. No other vacuum’s round brush fits this Shark model, and no adapter seems to exist on the market (I keep trying). But it’s otherwise the BEST vacuum I’ve ever owned, and I’ve had Kirby, Electrolux, Oxygen, two Orecks, and two Dysons. It’s a workhorse picking up anything on any surface, gets close to edges, actually dusts the floor, eats pet and human hair for breakfast, does a fab job under beds, is extremely versatile, seemingly emits nothing out (filters and holds well), doesn’t mar furniture, and is easily dump-outable, which I zip out to the garage garbage can to do. I’ve cleaned and replaced the filters and roller over time and bought spares for the future, with no problem.

Ive been a loyal Dyson owner for 11 years now, but when the thing lost suction due to a tear in the hose, I needed to decide if I should buy another hose (which I just replaced about a year ago), or a new vacuum. After doing some research, and reading a lot of reviews, the decision became clear. Im typically brand loyal, but was really impressed with what I was reading from Dyson owners switching over to Shark, therefore, I decided to take the plunge. I vacuumed one last time with my trusty Dyson on Sunday, and received the Shark on Tuesday. It was easy to assemble, and the lift-away feature is amazing. With my Dyson I need to pull the hose to the top of the stairs since the dang thing was so heavy. But with the Shark, cleaning stairs is a breeze. I did some very light vacuuming, because like I said, I had already vacuumed on the other day, but I was very impressed with how much the Shark sucked up that the Dyson had left behind (see the attached photo). I guess my only regret is that I didnt do the switch sooner.

I gave it 4/5 because it is heavy. It has great suction and its transformer abilities work great for different applications. We have a 70lb husky who sheds a lot. It does a great job with all his hair. I have been overall very happy but it is a heavy vacuum. I think my 75 year old mom would struggle with it. Just something to keep in mind.

I bought the Dyson Ball Animal 2 for comparison and kept the Shark. Serious suction and maneuverability with this machine; as well, as well, the lift away features are great. Very happy! The only corrections Id offer are: - The main hose is too short for comfortable ceiling vacuuming applications and is a kind of cheap plastic and the main extender hose doesnt have a brush on it. Hey, you cant get everything you want; I recommend this item.

I was never a fan of upright vacuums but after hearing and reading about this APEX I couldnt resist. The power nozzle on my central vac just wasnt doing the job of picking up short hair from four dogs on area rugs (I have hard wood floors) without 4 or 5 passes. After vacuuming, I had no desire to spend another half hour untangling my hair from the brush roller. So this Shark APEX Duo Clean with Zero-M caught my eye. It arrived a day after I had vacuumed my entire house so I was anxious to assemble it and use it on the rugs already vacuumed the day before to see just how much my central vac didnt pick up. Assembly was a snap as was disassembling. Didnt even need to read the directions to assemble. BUT DO READ them BEFORE you start vacuuming because youll discover, as I did, it wont turn on unless the wand is in a reclining position. I was certainly impressed with the suction power it had. Shark wasnt kidding. Its powerful. Picked up even more hair and ground in dust/dirt on the area rugs vacuumed just the day before! The self-propelled feature with swivel nozzle is a MUST because without it Atlas couldnt push it. However, found it to be top- heavy and cumbersome until I removed the Lift-Away canister from the wand and held it in my left hand as I pushed the wand and power nozzle with my right hand. That configuration felt as if I was lifting weights but you cant put the Lift-Away on floor and drag it since there are no wheels. So for all intents and purposes I used it like I would a canister vacuum. I had a real workout vacuuming this way though. Despite the Lift-Away being detached from the wand, the vacuum doesnt get under the low-to-the-ground furniture and if it does manage to, it doesnt get under very far. The vacuum is noisy as one would expect of an upright. The Lift-Away was a snap to detach from the wand and the three vacuuming modes: hard floor, carpet/low pile and thick carpet/area rug were easy to switch. 30 ft cord is convenient! And my long hair strands didnt get stuck in the brush roller! Nice feature. Bottom line, this is a powerful vacuum that I will use on my area rugs by detaching the Lift-Away canister to make it less top heavy while holding with my other hand as I get a work-out! I will respect the limitations this vacuum presents in my home and vacuum the hard wood surfaces with my central vac floor brush attachment. Still happy with my purchase as it has lots of great features!

I seriously love this vacuum! It’s so easy to move around and clean! The reason I gave it 4 starts is because I’m not thrilled about how cheap the plastic is around the wheels. I’ve had this for less than 2 years and only use it in one carpeted room, and it started to crack, and each use it seems to get worse, to the point that it wouldn’t stand up without me leaning it forward against the wall. Well it fell over and completely broke, so now I have to buy a replacement part, which isn’t covered. So at least it’s only $90, rather than having to buy a whole new vacuum. Just wish the plastic wasn’t so cheap right there. Hoping it doesn’t happen again.

Great suction. Great on dog hair. Really good machine. Very satisfied.