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

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.

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. 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. 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. Still, it’s quite a bit more expensive than a Gtech Pro 2 and equivalent Hoover H-Free, but cheaper than a Dyson V15. On balance, I think the price reflects the performance, and all things being equal I’d choose this over its rivals for those removable batteries and clever elbow joint in the tube. The fact it happens to be really powerful and agile makes it even more convincing. VerdictI’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 features 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.

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. 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. While raw power tells us a bit about a vacuum cleaner, real-world performance will largely come down to the quality of the accessories. Fortunately, Shark didn’t let me down. 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. 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.

Verdict score 4/5

I upped the power to Turbo, approaching the leftover mess at different angles, but there was still a tiny amount left remaining at the end. It was nothing that the crevice tool couldn’t deal with, mind.

I put the Shark IZ320UKT through my raw performance tests, measuring suction power in airwatts (AW), which uses a combination of airflow and suction. On Eco power, the vacuum runs at a basic 37.33AW, moving to 61.40AW on standard, which is about average for cordless cleaners. On Boost mode, the vacuum manages a huge 199.79AW; few cordless vacuum cleaners are this powerful, bar the Dyson V15 Detect, which manages an even higher 280.93AW. The screen is also used to show the current power mode (Eco, Standard or Boost) and, if you have the floor head attached, the floor mode (carpet or hard floor). 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. 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. As I said before, it delivers where it really counts, thanks to a powerful motor, large dust capacity and effortless movement around the house.

Shark IZ320UKT cordless vacuum cleaner: The full review

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. Enjoy up to 120 minutes run-time† with this twin battery model, charging the removable batteries wherever suits you.

I then combed cat hair into the carpet and ran over it using the standard power setting. Again, everything was collected with ease. For this model, Shark has redesigned the controls. There’s now an LCD screen that shows battery life as a percentage. This is far better than the old display, where you’d get a set of lights to indicate the rough level of charge remaining; but it isn’t as good as the Dyson V15 Detect, which shows you battery life in minutes. Designed for homes with pets. Easily clean under furniture, up high and in the car. Transform into a handheld vacuum to clean stairs, soft furnishings and hard-to-reach places with 4 attachments including a Motorised Pet Tool. Flexology bends to reach and clean under low-lying furniture and folds for compact, freestanding storage at the touch of a button. 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:

How the product was tested

There’s a large 0.7-litre bin on this model, which has an eject button to push open the flap at the front. As long as the Shark IZ420UKT was pushed into a bin, I could easily empty it without spilling dust everywhere.