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

Okay, so, I've been looking for a vacuum so that I have something when moving into my new place. I was only really hoping to have a few certain yet important features.- No bags.- Strong suction.- At least a 6ft hose (or around there).- Fully sealed (no allergens get ejected back out).This unit met all of that & more! I won't bother going over everything that's shown since you can just read about it in the descriptions or even look up a video on the unit (I'd suggest doing simple research like that anyway). So instead, let me point out the features that surprised me or just plain pleased me to confirm. To note, I used this for about 40-60 minutes in 2 bedrooms & a hallway, all carpet (that tall stringy type), as well as a hard wood floor living room. For the carpeted area, I ran over everything the day before with what could only best be called a cheap simple store bought vacuum. Enough to do the job on hardwood & still sucks up plenty on carpet, but it isn't gonna win any prizes.1: The suction power. Let me put it this way. Just having the vacuum on, you could feel it trying to pull forward. Dragging backwards was the same. If you use this on carpet, I highly suggest you leave the main body of the unit (the engine & dust bin) attached instead of separating it from the rest of the unit. Their weight will help counter this.2: The noise. It's a vacuum, so it's gonna make noise, but it was much quieter than I thought it'd be, especially for the level of suction it has. I could have a conversation with someone sitting 10ft from me & barely have to raise my voice at all.3: The versatility. It's an upright, but you can pull the main "engine" & dustbin unit off, turning it into a handheld that has long reach & can get under furniture with just a bit of bending over. Both the head & handle have a light to see into dark spaces. You can remove the tube running from the handle to the suction head & use it that way if you so wished. Never mind the attachments that come with it.4: The instruction manual. I know, I know. "You look at the instructions?" My uncle already laughed at me for it, but I prefer to go through the manual so I can know how to put things together the first time & even find nice little tidbits. Which is EXACTLY what I found going through this one. Let me just say that not only does this show you how to put it all together, but it shows exactly how to clean everything & even perform your own maintenance. No calling the support office, no scratching your head to figure out what's wrong. Just look through the manual & it'll give you guides on cleaning, troubleshooting, why it may be doing this, etc. I LOVE when a brand actually gives you the ability to properly & fully maintain & troubleshoot the product you paid for yourself.5: The filters. Four of them total. A mesh hair filter in the collection bin, a "barrel" sponge-like filter & a finer cloth pad filter before the suction engine & then finally a HEPA filter before any air gets shunted back out. All of these sealed up with rubber rings. I checked the filters (all removable & washable by the way, so you can keep them for much longer if you take the extra few minutes to rinse them after each session or so) & was very impressed with how much they grabbed. Honestly, not gonna lie, I sat there for a moment looking at these filters & thought "... is that what I've been living in?".Now, I couldn't finish this review off without mentioning the one downside I had to this vacuum. The extra attachments. Ya know, the little tool heads that come with it & sit in slots on the back of the vacuum. I got a narrow hose head for tight spaces, a furniture head & a "pet brush" (ya know, like a little mini suction head with it's own brush roller). The first is simple & works fine. The second does it's job as much as I'd expect it to as well. The third however... Never mind the fact that the unit only has space for 2 of the 3 attachments, but the pet brush didn't even work. The reason why is just as simple. It felt cheaply made. Out of everything that came with the vacuum, these were the cheap parts. The first two, as I said, work fine since they don't have to do much. The pet brush however didn't even have a proper seal between the top & bottom half. In fact, it had vent slits in the back so that the moment I set it down (lightly I might add) onto fur covered furniture, the brush stopped moving because it was too much & could just pull in suction from those vent slits. I should also mention that this was done on fabric upholstered furniture, not any kind of leather or similar material.Thankfully, I did not buy this vacuum for pets. My parents have them, sure, but I won't. I don't need this vacuum to tackle pets. So, long & short is this. Besides the pet brush attachment not having anywhere to sit & being cheaply made, I don't need it so I'm fine with that being the cheap part. Everything else on this vacuum has already made me decide that the $300 spent on it was very much worth it.

Seriously though, I purchased my first Apex back when Shark originally launched their “high-end” vacuum a few years ago (2019?) to compete with Dyson, and I was super impressed. It cleaned better than our previous (ridiculously overpriced) Dyson and Shark Navigator (which was good for the dollar!) vacuums. I found the Apex delightfully easy to use, had all the “empty bin” latches in the right places, the lift-away feature, was clearly made with high quality material, and even had a VERY helpful light on the handle for when you used the tube to get into corners! (How cool is that?!)Roll the tape forward… after using it relentlessly, cleaning up after a freakishly heavy-shedding golden retriever, a husky (known heavy shedder), cat, cat room (ew, gross!), and German shepherd, etc, the motor died. I was a bit disappointed as I expected it to last longer than 4 years, but relative to the abuse I subjected it to, maybe it’s fair to call it even. (The golden retriever has since moved out with his owner, and the husky and cat have sadly passed, so now it’s just our German shepherd. I figured it’s a good time to get a new vacuum cleaner.)So I looked for a new Apex, but saw Shark has a NEW high-end vacuum out, called Stratos. (And apparently, in between Apex and Stratos, they came out with Vertex). Stratos and Vertex reviews were very good, and I had the impression Shark was just keeping a good thing going with their high-end line. I guessed they probably made some minor improvements wherever improvements might be made (though I couldn’t think of many, except maybe making it lighter weight, and would it be too hard to add a duster/brush attachment on your high-end vacuum?), so I bought one.After one use, I put the Stratos back in the box and sent it back. Yes, it was a pound lighter than the Apex (oooh), but the materials seemed to be noticeably cheaper quality, and -what the frick- they discontinued the light on the handle?! And still no duster/brush attachment?? So in a way, it’s an overpriced Navigator, with a good brush upgrade. I then got online and checked the Vertex - it also had no handle light. Only Apex has it. Ok then.I got back on Amazon and found a new-in-box Apex *still available* and happily purchased it before someone else grabbed it. It just arrived today, and I went over one of the rugs I did yesterday with the Stratos and was surprised with how much additional dust and dirt the Apex picked up. It’s just a fantastic vacuum. I’m very happy to have a shiny, new Apex (with handle headlight!), and will absolutely wince each time the initial dings and scuffs happen and it no longer looks new. I’ll be super bummed the day it dies and can no longer be replaced, as based on the last 2 high end product releases from shark, they’re not on a trajectory of “better than last model”. I get it, corporations are always trying to be more profitable, and maybe for many people (non-Apex users), removing the handle light won’t be noticed, and maybe most (non-Apex users) won’t notice the cheaper materials. But in my opinion, it’s noticeable. Apex truly is the best vacuum I’m aware of. Get it while you can.