Shark Stratos cordless vacuum review

Stratos is the newest premium vacuum vary from Shark, with each corded and cordless fashions which are pitched as options to the ever-popular Dysons. 

I’ve been testing the corporate’s top-end cordless model, which to provide it its full identify is the Shark Stratos Anti Hair Wrap Plus Pet Professional Cordless Vacuum. That’s a little bit of a mouthful, so we’ll persist with ‘Stratos’ for now. 

With costs ranging from $499/£449, that is an costly vacuum, but it surely nonetheless undercuts the top-end fashions from rivals like Dyson and Samsung, regardless of providing comparable options like an LED floorhead and sensible filth sensor. Even higher, the anti-odour tech constructed into the top is a welcome countermeasure to the musty odor all of us recognise from vacuuming carpets. 

Design & construct 

• Slim however heavy 
• Versatile physique bends to scrub beneath furnishings 
• LED lights construct into the top 

On a easy stage, the Shark Stratos appears lots like most different cordless stick vacuums, together with current Dyson fashions. It’s a protracted, skinny design with a clear plastic mud compartment that sits on the prime close to the set off and deal with. 

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Whereas it’s slim, the Stratos is surprisingly heavy at round 4kg (9lbs), comfortably greater than most of its rivals. Thankfully it doesn’t really feel that manner, helped by the truth that a lot of its weight is in the principle cleaner head, so it’s not top-heavy. 

It additionally helps that once you’re not cleansing the vacuum can collapse all the way down to a form that’s a lot simpler to hold. That is because of a hinge midway down the wand, and has the additional advantage of constructing the Stratos cordless a lot simpler to retailer. 

The hinge has one other benefit too. You should utilize it whereas cleansing to will let you angle the vacuum higher to succeed in beneath sofas and different furnishings with out having to crouch down your self. 

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That is additionally once you’ll admire the LED lights constructed into the principle cleansing head, which illuminate the ground forward, revealing mud and dirt you won’t in any other case spot. 

If I’ve a gripe with the Stratos’s design, it’s a comparatively minor one. It’s somewhat too simple to lock the vacuum into an upright place, at which level the angle not works for vacuuming. This solely takes a couple of seconds to repair by clicking the top again down, however occurs to me a number of occasions each cleansing session, and does get on my nerves. 

Equipment & options 

• As much as 4 included cleansing instruments 
• Anti-odour tech holds off smells 
• ‘Clear Sense IQ’ mud detection 

By default, within the UK the Stratos ships with simply two instruments: the principle multi-surface cleansing head plus a skinny, plastic crevice instrument for reaching as much as ceiling corners and the like. For ease, they ship with a small black tote bag too, which you should use to retailer the spare head and charger when not in use. 

Unhelpfully, the add-ins differ by market, so within the US the common mannequin additionally embrace an anti-allergen brush head instrument. 

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Within the UK there are two different variations you should purchase although. The primary is the ‘Pet Professional’ improve, which throws in a pet hair cleansing head. Improve once more to the double battery mannequin and also you get (you guessed it) a second battery, a dual-battery charging dock, and that anti-allergen brush discovered with the US mannequin. 

Most individuals will doubtless be completely happy sufficient with the essential setup, which is easy however handles most eventualities. I don’t have a pet myself to check it with, however I think about the pet hair instrument can be a worthy improve for many who do at solely £30 extra.

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As for the double battery mannequin, that’s positively a luxurious possibility for many who aren’t constant about charging. That mentioned, I’ve had my gripes with the battery – extra on that later – so in case you can afford the £549 asking worth, it’s price contemplating. 

As for the vacuum itself, it additionally packs in a few additional options you won’t be used to. The headline is Shark’s anti-odour tech. This basically consists of a small cartridge of perfume that slots into the principle cleansing head, together with a management dial to set the depth. 

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As you vacuum, it releases a delicate perfume that masks and combats the smells that the vacuum itself kicks up out of your flooring – and particularly carpet. Don’t fear although, it’s delicate, extra like a automobile air freshener than somebody blasting your own home with cleansing spray. 

The draw back in fact is that every cartridge is finite. Shark says they need to final round six months, and replacements can be found straight from the corporate at $14.99/£14.99 for a pair.  

The opposite edge you get from the Stratos is what Shark calls ‘Clear Sense IQ’. It is a fancy identify for tech much like some Dysons, with a sensor embedded within the cleansing head that detects how a lot mud and dirt there may be at any given time to let you understand how soiled the spot you’re engaged on actually is. 

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Shark’s execution sees a bar alongside the cleansing head mild up, with extra mild the dirtier the realm is. You’ll additionally hear the vacuum itself kick into greater gear when there’s extra work to be accomplished.  

In actuality this doesn’t change issues an excessive amount of for the tip consumer, but it surely’s helpful to have the vacuum modulate its depth based mostly on how a lot there may be to scrub. At occasions, it serves as a helpful trace on when to maneuver on from the spot you’re cleansing, as it may reveal an space that appears clear really isn’t fairly completed. 

Efficiency 

• Highly effective cleansing and suction 
• 0.7l bin capability 
• Inconsistent battery life 

In order that’s the bells and whistles out of the best way. In relation to precise cleansing the Stratos impresses, with sufficient suction energy to deal with any every day cleansing with ease. 

My flat is a mixture of carpets and laborious wood flooring, and happily the default cleansing head right here is designed to deal with each, so there’s no want to modify forwards and backwards. I didn’t discover a lot that it couldn’t clear, fortunately choosing up hair, crumbs, mud, and all kinds of different grime from each surfaces. 

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Shark boasts that the top is designed to keep away from trapping hair, and to this point this seems to be true – my final vacuum would normally wrap coils of my girlfriend’s lengthy hair across the brush head, however a couple of weeks in there’s not a single hair trapped contained in the Stratos. 

I’ve largely cleaned utilizing the default mode, the place the Clear Sense IQ adjusts energy mechanically. In case you want although, a single button push can cycle by way of the eco and high-power modes, relying in your circumstance. 

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As for the mud bin, the 0.7l capability isn’t the most important round, however provides sufficient area that I can clear my two-bed flat a couple of occasions over earlier than needing to empty it – a course of that’s simple sufficient, with a single button flick to pop the bin open. 

Then there’s battery – maybe my greatest annoyance with the Stratos. Shark claims the vacuum delivers 60 minutes of cleansing, and remaining battery is indicated with a helpful proportion indicator on a show by the deal with. 

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I’ve discovered that the battery dies sooner than Shark estimates it ought to, and specifically the cost appears to run down surprisingly quickly when the vacuum isn’t in use, so you’ll be able to’t belief it’ll have cost once you seize it from the cabinet. Simply as annoyingly, the battery indicator is unreliable – I’ve had it show 50% cost solely to die minutes later. 

That’s why I’m glad to have been testing the highest mannequin, with a second battery, as a result of the choice to shortly click on in a brand new cell – which takes simply seconds – alleviates this situation nearly totally. With out that possibility, the inconsistent battery expertise would grate rather more. 

Worth & availability 

The Shark Stratos cordless is available now from Shark, or from retailers together with Amazon in every single place, Finest Purchase and Walmart within the US, or Currys and John Lewis within the UK. 

At $499/£449 for the essential mannequin – rising to £549 within the UK for the model with an additional battery and all of the equipment – the Shark Stratos is on the higher finish of the cordless vacuum market, in the identical area as some Dyson and Samsung choices. 

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Nonetheless, it runs somewhat cheaper than these manufacturers’ prime fashions, the Dyson V15 Detect and Samsung Bespoke Jet, whereas matching them on energy and plenty of core options (besides the Samsung’s self-emptying bin). It’s additionally usually decreased from full-price, making it even higher worth.

Try our rating of the perfect vacuums we’ve reviewed to learn how it compares to these and different choices. 

Verdict 

The Shark Stratos cordless is a powerful premium possibility that holds its personal towards the large boys of the market, whereas delivering some distinctive benefits like its resistance to tangled hair, the added flexibility of its hinged design, and the intelligent anti-odour tech. 

The largest draw back is the flaky battery, which is each shorter than marketed and troublesome to foretell. The choice to scorching swap to a second battery helps lots, but it surely’s a reasonably vital added expense, and one which isn’t even an possibility for US consumers. 

Meaning the Stratos may nonetheless swimsuit these in smaller properties, or anybody who can afford the second battery. However you probably have loads of area to hoover in a single go, you could be higher off with a extra dependable different.