Shark - Rocket DuoClean HV381 Bagless Upright Vacuum - Plasma blue

I received this device in exchange for a review. This Shark is a lightweight but powerful and quite impressive vacuum. It outperformed the larger and more expensive high-end vacuum model that I already owned. Read below for more details. Coming out of the box, there was a healthy assortment of attachments. There is a crevice tool with dusting brush, a pet hair tool, an upholstery tool and even a wand for cleaning under appliances. The last tool was new to me, but I appreciated it a great deal after running it under my refrigerator. I haven't owned a vacuum in this configuration before, so I wasn't sure what to expect when I used it. I was pleasantly surprised. The style is what I would describe as modular. The actual vacuum portion is hand held. I can be attached to a wand, which can in turn be snapped into the lower portion with the brush rolls (motorized floor nozzle, according to the instructions). The different sections attach and detach quite easily and are well constructed. There are electrical connections between each part, so the brushes are motorized, not just powered by suction. This is also apparent in the LEDs on the front. It can be stored hanging on the included wall bracket, or the top can sit on a hook on the wand for more compact storage, which is nice. This device, unlike the others I own or have owned, is designed with maintenance in mind. There are clearly marked buttons and levers to remove every part to clean, from the filters on the canister to the two brush rolls. There is even a slot inside the brush compartment than stores a tool for removing hair, threads or other debris from the brush rolls. I was really impressed with that design point. On to performance, which is one of the key concerns, no matter how slick it looks or easy to maintain it is. I ran the vacuum on hardwood and carpet and was able to utilize the two different vacuum settings. There is one setting that is lower power for hardwood and area rugs. This cleaned quite well on the hardwood, although it required a little bit of care on the thin area rug I have in the entry. It tended to pick up the rug instead of rolling over it if I didn’t hold the rug down with my foot. Not a big deal. A neat feature is the LED lights on the floor nozzle. They are quite bright and help to see what is ahead. I didn’t realize at first, but I was missing some dust under my kitchen counters which I saw under the lights. The carpet cleaning on the second setting was impressive as well. The vacuum itself felt well balanced and was easy to roll around. Not to mention the two brushes work well together at full speed. We have two dogs and two cats in my house, so there is no shortage of hair around. It seemed to be no challenge for the vacuum. When I filled up the canister, it was easy to dump out into the trash and remove excess pet hair from the brushes. Finally, I used the hand tools with the wand on my couch. I was impressed with the power of these as well, and it managed to remove a great deal more pet hair than I am proud to admit. The crevice tool was useful along the baseboards and between furniture. And the appliance tool is one I never thought of before but am now glad to have. A lot of dust and dirt can accumulated underneath kitchen appliances. The only con I could find is that due to it’s top-heavy construction, you can’t exactly leave it upright without it tipping over. So if you need to walk away from the vacuum, you have to lean it on something else or lay it down. That comes with the territory on this stick/modular style, so it’s not unexpected. All-in-all, I was very impressed and would recommend this vacuum.

I really like this vacuum; it's easy to assemble, as easy to reassemble into other configurations (for different jobs), and almost enjoyable to use... as much as vacuuming can be enjoyable. I have two indoor cats, so I was eager to see how this vacuum would compare to my name brand canister as well my Shark upright that is billed as a 'pet' vacuum. The Rocket did very well. I unboxed the vacuum and was using it within 15 minutes. The first thing that struck me was how light the vacuum seemed compared to the upright Shark that I usually use. My first test was around the area where my cats' litter boxes are; they always seem to drag litter onto the tile floor. My other vacuums clean this area, but there are times when a few grains of litter will be missed on the first pass, especially along the grout lines. I engaged the lower speed on the Rocket, and what struck me was that it seemed much quieter than my other two vacuums. (I had a simple decibel meter, so I compared all three: the canister was around 90 decibels, the upright Shark was about 80 decibels and surprisingly, the Rocket was at 80 decibels (both speeds). I suppose the pitch of the motor is lower which makes it easier on the ears, but to me it seemed much quieter). The dual roller combination of the soft front roller and the ‘rear’ brush roller was amazing, and the swivel head (which my other two vacuums don’t have) made navigating the area MUCH easier. The dual led lights on the front of the sweeper head even helped see litter ‘dust’ on the tile. When I was done, every single grain of litter was picked up on the first pass; it looked as if I had wiped the tile with a rag! Next I moved to the stairs, which are carpeted and notorious for holding fur. I quickly removed the long metal wand and connected the sweeper head directly to the vacuum, making the whole unit easy to handle as I worked my way up the stairs… almost like a car-vac. I engaged the higher speed on the vacuum and got to work. I could actually feel the power head pulling my arm as it cleaned. There was one bothersome thing I noted; the sweeper head has about a ½”+ area on each side where it doesn’t clean (at least on this carpet). I understand this is because of the rotational mechanisms needed for the rollers are located at the outside edges, but I would think there would be some way to at least add suction to these areas so you didn’t have to go back over them with the wand or a crevice tool. Regardless, it was easy enough to vacuum what I could with the sweeper head and then switch to the crevice tool to do the edges (and it’s nice that the handheld portion of the vacuum has an led light as well); I was done with the steps (15) in 5 minutes or so. After this I emptied the dust cup and was pleased at the amount of fur it had picked up. I then decided I’d see how the long curved extension worked for getting under sofas, appliances, etc. It took a bit of getting used to, but it’s a great tool. After this first use, it was easy to clean both rollers and remove any fur that had been wound around the brushes. I haven’t installed the wall mount hanger for the Rocket, choosing instead to simply store it upright, but even that takes up nominal space. All in all, the Rocket is a nice lightweight tool. It has plenty of suction, is easier on the ears, and the thought that went into the design is clear to see. It’s easily the most versatile vacuum I have. Changing out attachments to convert it from one configuration to another is quick, making cleaning faster. There are a few things that might make it better; one being adding better cleaning ability at the edges of the motorized brush head (again, not a show stopper for me), and the other, possibly making a cordless version, although the cord on the Rocket is longer than my other vacuums and didn’t really impact its use in multiple rooms. I see no reason this vacuum shouldn’t be considered as an addition to your cleaning arsenal.

The vacuum is small enough to manuver through tight spaces and has good storage for all the dust, dirt, and pet hairs. The vacuum is also very easy to maintains.

I am really impressed with Rocket Complete Upright Vacuum with DuoClean. Let me try to make it short and simple :) Pros: + Adjustable suction power for bare floor and carpet + Easy to take out roller brush for cleaning + Comes with Under Appliance Wand and Duster Crevice Tool which are really handy. + Super light weight, easy to carry on and handle + Lot of different attachments; can be used for variety of cleaning + Easy to empty dust cup + Wall mount kit included Cons: - Roller brush scatters debris around on the hardwood/bare floor even on the correct setting. (e.g. cat litter) Other thoughts: I hope shark will make a bare floor brushless attachment for this vacuum soon. I have been using professional grade back pack vacuum for years and compare to the suction power, I am truly impressed with this light weight handheld vacuum from Shark. That is the only reason I am giving this product 5 stars instead of 4 stars. Good job team Ninja. Cordless competitors nightmare begins here!

Let me preface this by saying that I already own a high quality, German-made canister vacuum that has served me very well over the years. To qualify this Shark Rocket as a great unit, I would have to be convinced that it could clean better than canister vac could. Here are my thoughts: Assembly: The Shark vac was very easy to assemble. Upon opening the box, the basic idea is install the floor unit into the wand and insert the power unit into the top of the wand. NO TOOLS REQUIRED! Of course, the unit is top-heavy, so you must unhook the power unit and set it on the base or hang it from the wall (with the included wall mount) while not in use. Use: Running the unit is pretty straightforward. Turn on the switch to one of the two speed settings (1 for bare floors and rugs, 2 for high-pile carpet) and sweep the floors as you normally would. I liked that the unit basically pulled itself along on carpet and rugs which made it easier to control. The unit is a little top heavy in the hand and my wife complained that during a long cleaning (the entire downstairs for instance) that her arm became I tired. Personally, I have not had this happen to me. The unit was much easier to push and pull that my canister vacuum is. Accessories: This particular model included a slew of attachments: - Convertible crevice/brush tool - Dedicated upholstery tool - Convertible upholstery/brush tool - Under appliance/under furniture tool - great for cleaning the nastiness under the couch - Clip to mount two attachments to the stick - Accessory storage bag Cleaning: For my test, I cleaned a 5' x 8' rug in our kitchen. FIRST, I thoroughly cleaned the rug with my usual canister vacuum. Then I used the Shark twice, first on speed 1 and then again on speed 2, emptying the cup after both times to see the difference. I think the attached images speak for themselves... A fair amount of dirt and debris was lifted from the carpet on the first pass with the Shark (after already "cleaning" it with my canister vac). Upon switching to speed 2, it is clear to see that much more is pulled out of the carpet telling me that my expensive canister hasn't been cleaning "as good" as I had hoped. Emptying the dust cup was easy to do; not quite as easy as some Dysons I have used (A minor detail), but easy nonetheless. Final thoughts: Overall, I am very pleased with this unit. I like how easy it is to maneuver through the house and around furniture and it cleans better than my MUCH more expensive German-made canister vacuum. The cord on the Shark is about 8' longer than my canister which allows me to clean almost my entire first floor without having to unplug the unit. It is great from everything to quick clean-ups (I have a 3-year-old) to full-on cleaning. The additional accessories and on-board storage are great, although I find that storing the accessories on the unit did cause them to get in the way at times. I will probably just keep them in the storage bag and get them out when I need them. I like that the filters are washable so that I don't have to purchase new ones every year (as I have had to do with my previous canister vac). I can't say enough good things about this vacuum. Great cleaning. Great price. Great product!

I'm an owner of a Shark Rocket vacuum (HV301). I was skeptical about the original purchase, but we wanted a vacuum for the main floor that was small and could handle the steps upstairs. It needed to do hardwood, and get under furniture. Our old vacuum was best for carpet, and while it did well, it was a heft to carry up and down stairs. This is where the original Rocket fit into our household. It worked very well in this roll, but eventually we went robotic for our day to day. Our primary compliant about the original Rocket was the size of the head. While it never loses suction as the advertisements will tell you, it just didn't cover much area and took a long time to clean our downstairs square footage. That, and the fact the dustbin was non-removable and extremely small meant that it was a bit of a pain to use. Shark certainly listened to these sort of complaints when designing the Rocket Complete. First of all, it retains the light-weight size that makes the Rocket series appealing. The floor head is the same size, but due to the dual brushes, it seems to require less re-sweeping. The first brush is microfiber, and the second is more of a bristle style. It also retains compatibility with the accessories from the first generation, so it's easy to add this to a Rocket household. One can never have to many vacuums around when little ones are running around. On that subject, my son is quite sensitive to vacuums, so it's really nice to see them keep the noise level to a minimum. The Rocket Complete is quieter and stronger than the original Rocket. Another improvement from the original is you can easily detach the floor head with your foot, instead of having to bend down. There is a foot switch that detaches it, so you can use the attachments without much effort. As for attachments, inside the box you'll find a upholstery tool, dusting tool, and crevice tool. Additionally there is a long wand that is designed to go under appliances. I can't tell you how much this excites me, as I know after moving a few appliances how nasty it can get under there. Don't expect the first time you use it to get everything, but if you keep using it, it'll do a great job getting a majority of the dust bunnies. My only complaint is with the crevice tool, which has a sliding dusting attachment. The attachment effectively limits the depth you can use the crevice tool to about 4". I might be missing something there, but while the attachment itself says its removable - but all I seem to be able to do is slide it back up. The Rocket Complete addresses another compliant I had, the dustbin being permanently attached to the motor. This made emptying the container cumbersome. My wife is sensitive to dust, so I lug the motor and all 30' of cord out to the garage and empty it into the trash out there. The Rocket Complete's dust bin detaches, making this a much easier feet to accomplish. Coupled with the fact it's nearly twice as big, its a huge usability improvement over the original Rocket. Additionally, there are LED lights on both the floor attachment and the vacuum base itself, which mades it easy to see those harder to pick up pieces or stains you might otherwise miss. So with robotic vacuums at my command, would I still want a Rocket Complete? Absolutely. This is probably the perfect companion to those with robots. It's small enough to easily store, it's easy to pull out and sweep, but it has the capacity to do a nice full cleaning and really dig out what those weaker vacuums cannot. It also fits in places they can't, and under appliances as well. I'm very impressed with this next generation, and like the direction Shark is going with the Rocket line.

The Shark Rocket Complete with DuoClean is the most pleasant experience I have had with a vacuum cleaner. It comes with many accessories that help make specific jobs easier and more seamless, but most importantly, it provides real cleaning power. It took more time to open the box than it took to assemble the vacuum and start using it. It snaps together (and disassembles) quickly and easily due to the snapping mechanisms used. This makes breaking the unit down or switching accessories a quick, easy endeavor. After vacuuming my whole house, which consists of both hard-wood floor and carpet, I can say that this versatile vacuum does its job in spades. It quickly switches between hard-wood floors and carpet at the touch of a button, so I no longer have to lean over to adjust a switch at the base of the vacuum. The on-board lighting system makes it easy to see the surface being cleaned, even in darker rooms. This, combined with the many accessories included made the job of vacuuming a breeze. The upholstery attachment made cleaned my couch in a way it has never been cleaned, giving it an almost new look. The duster crevices tool allowed me to get into hard to reach places, like the couch crevices. The brush that is connected to the crevice tool was also great for vacuuming ceiling corners where cobwebs tend to get. My favorite attachment was something I had never heard of: the under-appliance wand. This this extension can easily go below your refrigerator, furniture, and other appliances, making cleaning under larger appliances and furniture much easier, as it removes the need to move the appliance. This saved a ton of time. Emptying the dust-catch and cleaning the unit is also easy. The brushes are easy to access and even have a brush cleaning tool. This ensure that the vacuum can be properly maintained without a lot of hassle.

Being able to compare this to an equally great Shark vacuum (Shark professional model), I can definitely say this upright is worth the investment. It is very easy to assemble out of the box with two simple clicks and has a very long power cord giving you plenty of distance to clean more than one room before changing outlets. This vacuum is very light weight but has more than enough power to suck up the most demanding dirt, dust, and pet hair. The vacuum capacity is very good for the overall size while the maintenance and cleaning of the vacuum is also very easy and quick to do. The maneuverability of this vacuum is amazing and it almost feels like a toy while using it. It comes with all the accessories that you would need to clean in the tightest, lowest, or highest reach of places. You can the store the accessories in the included bag or just snap them onto the main vacuum tube which is more convenient. When not in use, store the vacuum in a closet or behind a door by just unclicking the main unit and setting it on the hook on top of the brush housing. This was much easier and convenient than installing the wall hook to store the vacuum in the upright position. This is the only negative that I could find with this vacuum which is not a deterrent from buying it. It is not able to stand on its own fully assembled, also the under dresser or table attachment has no place for storage on vacuum and does not fit in accessory bag. Overall this is a great vacuum and I am very happy with it.