A small cordless handheld vacuum with a large dust cup for bigger jobs. We love that despite the smaller size, it was just as powerful as other hand vacs on the market. Runs for an hour on a single charge, making it the perfect companion for whole-room clean-ups. Some readers have asked us about handheld wet-dry vacs from DeWalt, Milwaukee, and Ryobi.
According to Shark, this 16.5-inch stick is drawing 10.6 amps. This specific model, the WV201, is the second most powerful of Shark’s five handhelds. The Shark’s thin profile and gray color give it a futuristic edge much like the original Dustbuster. “Shark vacuums never disappoint us,” wrote one loyal fan. Small and lightweight, these vacuums are ideal for taking care of small spills and hard-to-reach, tricky, or high-up areas, whether that’s your kitchen drawers, the stars or even your car.
Check your vacuum’s owner manual for specific instructions on cleaning the filter, and do this task as often as the manual recommends (PDF). In all of our picks, the filters (PDF) are washable (PDF). “Remember that the motor is trying to draw air to breathe through the filter. Clean the filters often, like at least every other shark handheld vacuum use,” said Tom Gasko, vacuum-cleaner collector and repair specialist and owner of Mid Missouri Vacuum. We also had difficulties opening the dustbin during our testing and ended up showered with glitter. This vacuum does not come with a purpose-built pet-hair tool, but in our tests, its wiry brush tool did the job just fine.
Lastly, we followed the manufacturer’s cleaning and emptying instructions, noting any difficulties in the cleaning process and the effectiveness of the suggested cleaning methods. Sense IQ automatically adjusts suction to tackle bigger messes, and a lit control panel indicates power level and simplifies switching between hard surface and carpet modes. On tile, this pick offered solid performance—it doesn’t push around larger debris like cornflakes as do other brands we tested. It’s also passable on carpet, though we recommend springing for the Stratos or the Pet Plus if you have more carpet than tile or hardwood in your house.
For a limited time only, shoppers can buy it for just $100—that’s $30 off the original price. Just like the Stratos, the Shark Cordless Pro easily converts to a handheld vacuum. This is super handy for tackling shelving and eliminating debris from couches and crevices. A manual boost function bolsters its performance when faced with especially high carpet or big pieces of debris. Overall, it’s a bit of a bust on extremely hairy floors (hair tends to collect and wrap in the brush roll), but for households without pets its a solid pick. When it’s time to look for a new vacuum, the options are almost overwhelming.
Those looking for equally impressive performance without the bells and whistles should snag the Shark Vertex instead, which offers similar features and price without the additional attachments. Shark Wandvacs have around 10 volts (nearly 11 volts) of power. The Shark UltraCyclone’s power is actually measured in watts (80 watts). We recommend these products based on an intensive research process that’s designed to cut through the noise and find the top products in this space. Guided by experts, we spend hours looking into the factors that matter, to bring you these selections. The Ryobi 18V One+ Performance Hand Vacuum Kit (which includes the battery and charger) is sold only through Home Depot and has gone out of stock at times, sometimes for several days or weeks.