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

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.

We have two long hair Siberian cats who are drop-dead gorgeous, but the down side is that they have thick, silky, fine, MAGNETIC hair that they shed non-stop. We have two Roombas (which we still run daily to pick up the surface hair), but they just cannot pick up all of this kind of cat hair, which embeds itself in even the finest weave carpets. We bought the the Shark AZ1002 Apex in April 2020, and wow, what a difference. It did a truly amazing job on that cat hair. But. This cat hair embeds in the brushes on the brush roller, and it takes hours to pick it all out (and we cant get it all out!). Other than that, we have been super happy with it. Shark recently introduced the Stratos, which doesnt have the little brushes on the roller like the Apex does. Instead, it has fins. So, we bought it direct from Shark because it wasnt available yet on Amazon. It just arrived, and we used it for the first time. Stratos Trial: vacuum ONE 5x8 area rug. The rug was vacuumed approximately 47 hours prior to this trial. There was no visible cat hair on the top of the rug before using the vacuum. Photos show the results of using a brand new Stratos for the first time on just this one rug. I was dumbfounded at the amount of hair and litter dust it picked up. One photo shows the underside of the Stratos so you can see just how much hair got caught on the bottom of the rollers. Its not perfect, but compared to the Apex, its vastly superior. The Stratos certainly costs more than does the Apex. The Apex is a wonderful vacuum cleaner, and I can highly recommend it for most applications. But if you have pets that shed a lot, I recommend spending the extra $$ and getting the Stratos. Note: Im adding this comparative review here because Amazon wont let me put a review on the Stratos because I didnt purchase it through Amazon. Heres the Stratos link: https://www.amazon.com/Shark-AZ3002-Self-Cleaning-Neutralizer-Technology/dp/B0B2VTZ432/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2KXOIL36AU9OW&keywords=shark+stratos&qid=1660406393&s=home-garden&sprefix=shark+stratos%2Cgarden%2C69&sr=1-2

This vacuum is great. Extremely powerful, easy to use and great functionality. This is my second shark vacuum and I will never buy anything else. The performance is second to none. I literally just got done vacuuming with a Dyson that I borrowed, and then used my new shark. It literally filled up the entire can. I love these vacuums.

Edit 6 months later: Seriously if you are looking for a vacuum that will suck all of the dog hair up this right here is it. This thing is a dream to use. I breaks down super well so it cleans easily. It sucks great never once had a clog. I try to vacuum once a week with two dogs that shed quiet a bit and this thing is just as good as the day it got here. Okay I know the title is a little over the top but Im dead serious. So heres my story... 4 years ago I bought a vacuum and was great for spitting whatever your vacuuming back at you unless you were on hardwood floors. I also researched that one for months before I picked it. Got rid of that vacuum and got a completely different vacuum brand style and all. Spent 6 months researching before I made my decision. That vacuum had to be unclogged every pass on the carpet practically and empty halfway through a room even if I vacuumed every day. Then after about 6 months parts started breaking left and right. So back to my research I go. I deep dived an googled and inquired with friends and googled some more and deep dived and googled some more and then I found this Glorious machine. Now this is what the other vacuums were against 2 clean adults we kept the house nice and anywhere from 0 to 2 dogs. All of our dogs are short hair. I vacuumed once a week to keep on top of things and make sure to give them a fighting chance. Now in comes this work horse. I was shocked thoroughly but the amount of dirt and dust and hair that came out of our low pile carpet. I actually vacuumed twice the first time to make sure I got it as best I could. Directly after I carpet cleaned. THERE WAS NO HAIR TUFTS PULLED UP ANYWHERE. Also this is the first vacuum I have ever had that didnt smell like I kicked up a tone of dust. I can honestly say it helps my allergies. Seriously get this vacuum. You will not regret it.

Super powerful, lightweight and cleans the first time. No need to keep going over areas. Best dog hair vac weve purchased yet. Accessories are easy to use.

Just home use with many animal

This is a beast of a vacuum! It is super at inhaling hair and debris from the edges of baseboards. When you switch from hard floor to carpet, you feel the brush kick on and it pulls you forward. It is very well made and worth the money!

I purchased this vacuum after returning the Dyson Animal 2 which was a terrible disappointment. Having always used Dysons I was very hesitant to switch to Shark. All I can say is wow! This vacuum is obviously designed by someone who actually does a lot of vacuuming. It’s designed to be so convenient, and intuitive. You can do anything without reading the directions. From the hose detachment to the multiple setting from floor to carpet, to the pull away canister, to emptying it. Everything is a dream! Everything is conveniently located, like the floor to rug switch and the power switch, right on the handle. I didn’t think the lights on the roller and the hose were a big deal, but they are an amazing help when vacuuming under furniture and in dark corners. And the suction!!! I can’t believe how much dirt and hair I’m pulling out of our rugs. I have a dog and two cats and this vacuum can handle a pet hair filled house like a boss. Not to mention actually clean my car! I’d say the only downsides are the pet hair attachment (kinda meh), and the one small attachment does not stay put because of where the holder is placed by the power cord. But these issues are nothing. Amazing value, amazing vacuum.

I was embarrassed how much dirt this picked up! Lol! I bought this to replace a Dyson and it put my Dyson to absolute shame! Wouldn’t hesitate to purchase again. Great machine. Five stars.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is my second Ninja. The first was a Ninja Rotator I bought in 2018. It failed in 2020. Beyond any repair I could perform. The problem was not one noted in the 5 or 6 troubleshooting tips in their manual. Couldnt find a solution anywhere on Youtube either. It just lost suction. I just accepted my fate ($400 worth) and ordered a new vacuum. As mentioned when these work..theyve got superior suction. When they work there is a WHOLE lot to like about these. So, I bought a new model of the Ninja from Amazon. Another $400 . The Apex, which is advertised as having self-cleaning rollers (dont believe it..they still need cleaned) and all sorts of other little technologies that sounded pretty cool. This was purchased at the end of December this year. Last week it failed. Thats less than 3 months. This time it was really strange. I smelled a little burn..instantly turned off the vacuum (even though these are supposed to shut themselves down when hot to avoid damage). I went through all the trouble-shooting tips. The roller was wrapped in hair. Cleaned out. The hose was full of debris..was able to blow this out. Ive always kept the filters clean so these were not even in the equation. I will say, this vacuum is very easy to get into ANY possible trouble spot..thats the good news. The bad news is, it doesnt matter once you hit the point of no return. Tried to turn it back on. When upright, where you can typically pull out the hose and use it to spot clean, it wouldnt even turn on. When I engaged the floor cleaner it did turn on, but had no power and a very high-pitched whirl. I knew it was fried. Again, there was nothing on the internet that even mentioned this behavior. This time ($800 plus into Ninja products) I took a shot with Amazon perhaps helping me out. And they did. Amazon sent me another unit. Im hoping it will last. If it doesnt last at least 3 or 4 years I will never-ever buy another Ninja. The only reason I gave this 2 stars is based on Amazons integrity and motivation to help out a long time customer like myself. I may not always do business with Ninja, but I will always shop AMAZON!. ****update****. The 2nd replacement(3rd in all) I got is still going strong. Now, Ive replaced all carpet in my home with wood besides a couple area rugs. Undoubtedly that puts less stress on a vacuum cleaner. However, I did add a star to my original review because this 3rd Shark is working like a champ..Love It!