Shark Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner with Anti Hair Wrap, 120 Minute Run Time (2 Batteries), Flexible DuoClean Vacuum Cleaner with Motorised Pet, Multi-Surface & Crevice Tools, Black & Blue. IZ320UKT

Product Information

I ran my carpet test to start with, placing a teaspoon of flour on the ground. Running the Shark IZ320UKT through the middle I got a clean collection of the dust on Standard power. Next, I ran the vacuum through the top on Eco mode and the bottom on Boost. There’s little to tell between the two, and it’s impressive that the Shark IZ320UKT can clean so well on its lowest setting. As with most vacuum cleaners, this model has two filters. The main filter is easy to get out, but the HEPA filter is a little fiddly. Both filters can be washed to keep them working at optimal efficiency. Performance I then combed cat hair into the carpet and ran over it using the standard power setting. Again, everything was collected with ease. This vacuum cleaner comes in about average for noise, at 67.5dB on Eco, 72.6dB on Standard and 75.6dB on Turbo. You can clearly hear the Shark ICZ300UKT and can’t really hold conversations over it, but it isn’t so loud as to be annoying. In the box, Shark provides a crevice tool, pet tool, dusting brush and upholstery tool. That’s all that you’ll need, although it’s a shame that there’s no onboard tool storage with this model. Shark does provide a tote bag to put everything in, though.

The Shark Stratos Anti Hair Wrap Plus Pet Pro Cordless Vacuum IZ420UKT marks a big change in design and strategy for the vacuum cleaner company, introducing a host of new features, including a new floor head, an Anti-Odour pod and automatic power modes. It’s a triumph of power, features and design. Anti-allergen brush: This extra accessory features felt and soft bristles to thoroughly clean spots that need a gentle touch, like your blinds or your laptop keyboard. Glide from carpets to hard floors with Shark’s DuoClean floorhead – now enhanced with PowerFins, digging deep into carpets to agitate dirt and directly engaging hard floors. Anti Hair Wrap Technology actively removes hair from the brush-roll as you clean. I’ve reviewed the top-of-the-range model with dual batteries and the pet tool, but there are three other versions that have the same basic features: IZ320UK (dual batteries, no pet tool), IZ300UKT (single battery and pet tool) and the IZ300UK (single battery and no pet tool). Design and featuresI finished off the test using Eco mode at the bottom of the mess and Turbo at the top. As you can see, the vacuum performed well in Eco mode, although it left a trace of dust behind; for smaller spills, this lower power mode will do the job. Pull the floor head off and you can easily clean close up or even around the ceiling, with the Shark IZ320UKT nicely balanced. Shark quotes battery life at up to 60 minutes per battery running on Eco mode without a powered tool. I tested with a powered tool and found that it lasted 61m 28s on Eco power, 33m 58s on Standard and an impressive 17m 58s minutes on Boost. Recharge time is four hours for both batteries. As I said before, it delivers where it really counts, thanks to a powerful motor, large dust capacity and effortless movement around the house. The Shark IZ320UKT was subjected to a month of high-intensity family use – it didn’t get away lightly with a couple of lab tests – I’m talking about broken glass, sand, mud, damp cereal, pet hair, trodden in garden debris and probably half a kilo of peas during that time.

Shark has included its Anti Hair Wrap technology on the floor head, which stops hair from becoming caught around the rollers. And it works, meaning you won’t have the dirty job of cutting away hair on a regular basis to maintain optimum performance. This floorhead is the new version with PowerFins, which are designed to agitate dirt in carpet better, making the vacuum cleaner more efficient and effective. Flour proved a bit more of a challenge. On hard floor, the vacuum collected enough flour from a 50g spillage in a single pass to register 50g on my scales afterwards, although close inspection showed it wasn’t entirely perfect, with some flour still left over. A few subsequent passes on the Boost setting removed the rest effectively.

Although the Shark IZ420UKT superficially looks like its predecessor, the Shark IZ320UKT, this new model retains the best features of the old cleaner and adds some new ones into the mix.

There are also selectable Eco and Boost modes available if you want to take control. Eco can be useful for delicate items, such as vacuuming a keyboard, while the Boost mode is a good choice for when there’s a lot of mess to deal with. Moving on to the hard floor test, the Shark ICZ300UKT impressed. Its floor head is a DuoClean model, which means that it has a hard floor roller built-in; there’s no changing floor heads to move between surfaces, as you do with a Dyson. Anti-hair wrap: Like other models, this one is equipped with Shark’s special guard that stops hairs from getting tangled in the brush head. Our house has both carpet and hard floors and a staircase that harbours all manner of detritus ground in by outdoor shoes that one or both of my kids have forgotten to remove. DuoClean and PowerFin technology: The main suction head has two motorised rollers (DuoClean), with one featuring a tougher “blade” (PowerFins), which work together for a deeper clean.

Overall, this is a superb performance, surpassing the abilities of the more expensive Dyson models, including the V15 Detect and the V11 Outsize. The Shark cordless vacuum cleaner IZ320UKT has everything you'd need from a vacuum cleaner Credit: Shark Pros: There’s no on-body storage for these tools, although Shark does throw in an accessory bag for you to keep everything in. Shark has included its DuoClean head, which has a soft roller for hard floors and a brush for carpets. For this model, Shark has included its PowerFins tech, which adds fins to the roller to really get into carpet fibres and agitate dirt. It’s also got Anti Hair Wrap tech, which really works to prevent hair from wrapping around the rollers. In the box, Shark has been very generous with accessories. You get a crevice tool, a multi surface brush (hard brush and upholstery tool), mini pet brush (great for carpets and sofas) and the anti-allergen brush, which you can use for dusting pretty much everything from blinds to furniture thanks to its articulated joint.

On the plus side, Shark’s articulated “Flexology” elbow does make cleaning under low furniture very easy indeed, allowing you to stand up and swing the cleaning head underneath your cupboards and sofas from a standing position, without having to get down on your hands and knees. Performance is excellent, with Standard mode cleaning a path through my spilt rice grains, with nothing dropping out at the end. There’s a 0.7-litre bin, which is a good size for a cordless vacuum cleaner. You can empty it in-situ, pointing the vacuum’s bin down and opening the ejection flap. Or you can remove the bin from the body completely, which lets you pull out the rear filter for cleaning and thoroughly clean out the bin. Enjoy an amazing run-time of up to 120 minutes† with this twin battery model. The removable batteries can be charged on or off the vacuum, wherever suits you. Charge both batteries at once in the dual charging cradle. Easily see how much charge you have remaining with the LED Smart Display and simply switch between 3 suction levels and 2 floor type settings. †When using two batteries consecutively in ECO Power Mode, with non-motorised tool There are three power modes to choose from (Eco, Standard and Boost), plus you can choose between carpet and hard floor modes, which adjust the speed of the floor head.I started by measuring the raw power of the vacuum cleaner in AirWatts (AW). On Eco mode, the cleaner had a reasonable amount of power at 39AW. On the CleanSense setting, the vacuum cleaner started at 118AW by default, but it does ramp power up and down. On Boost, the Shark IZ420UKT managed a massive 219AW. Keeping the Shark emptied and clean is simple, too, with one button that releases the collection bin and filter unit from the device and a second button to open the trap door on the bottom to empty it. The filters can all be rinsed in running water and, since the vacuum also comes with Shark’s Anti Hair Wrap tech, you don’t need to worry about detangling regularly, either. This hasn’t transferred across to the pet tool, unfortunately, which gathered quite a bit of tangled hair during our testing. There’s a large 0.6-litre bin on this model, which should see you around an average house without having to be emptied. It’s easy enough to pull out, and opens at both ends to make it easy to clear dust and to clean. You get two batteries in the box, plus a charger that can take both batteries, so you can keep them both topped up all of the time. If you prefer, you can just charge the battery in the vacuum’s body by plugging in the power cable at the rear.