Shark Rotator Professional Lift-Away NV501PR Upright Vacuum Grape

Prior to this I had a Kirby from about 1999 I believe. The kirby was great in my opinion, but was always a tad too heavy. I held on to the kirby because of the awesome suction power of the attachment hose, and I am still not sure I will ever find anything more powerful that that. I wanted to test my new vacuum, so I performed one last full house vacuuming with my kirby, and then put it away. I then vacuumed again with my new Shark. WOW. Is all I can say. I was ashamed at my Kirby at the sheer amount of dirt it had left behind. The Shark picked up so much dirt I was almost amazed at how it outperformed the Kirby on carpet cleaning. So on to the pros and cons! Pros - Very powerful bare floor and carpet suction. Killed my Kirby in performance in both areas. Easy to use. Once you get accommodated with this unit, it is very easy to use and switch between the different modes of operation. Holds enough dirt to vacuum the whole house before needing to be emptied. I have 2200 SQ FT of carpet to deal with. Easy to empty/clean the filter. Push button to empty. Trap for small objects. I vacuumed up a BB by mistake. Even though small, it still segregated the BB in to the little side port for these types of objects, and I was very easily able to open the side door, grab the BB, and get it out of the machine. Very handy for people with kids, or little items that might get left on the floor or sucked up. Seems durable, so far. Cons: Hose attachment not as powerful as the Kirby, but I did not expect it to be. Hose length, as mentioned by others, can also be an issue. I think they designed this to be a perfect fit for someone who is between 5ft 6 and 5 ft 11. I am 6 ft 2 and the hose is not quite long enough for my stature. This is not a deal breaker, because you can detach the canister at any time to lift it up higher. If you are old and frail, this may not be an option for you so it is definitely something to take in to consideration. Definitely a House vacuum, not the greatest for cars, etc... Hose length and the inflexibility of the main hose shaft keep this from being optimal for cleaning a car out or other vehicle. The Kirby was great for car cleaning. As the attachment hose is entirely a hose. Not a long hard stick that cannot adapt to tight locations. Price you pay for having everything built in to one unit, and not having attachments everywhere. Cant take off the main cover of the brushes to clean hair out. I would have liked this feature, but using scissors or a small knife you can still clear the hair out pretty easily. I will have to update my review after a year or two to comment more on durability. If you have any question please let me know. Overall this is a good unit that put my Kirby to shame on carpet cleaning. Read more

Great vacuum. Works 90% as well as a Dyson, so great value for the price. Read more

I have had my Shark Rotator for a few weeks now and I am really pleased with my purchase. We have three dogs, hardwood floors, area rugs, and carpet in our bedrooms. The rotator has actually revitalized some area rugs I felt were in need of replacement. I have to say they rotator has done an amazing job of lifting and removing pet hair and dirt from all of these surfaces. It is a huge improvement over the old vacuum it is replacing. My most pleasant surprise is the lift away feature and cleaning wand. This is a real time saver when cleaning. I can simply pull out the wand and do the areas between and under furniture, corners, cabinet tops, molding around trey ceilings and air returns. I wasn't looking for this feature, but I have to say it has saved me a lot of time during the weekly cleaning- I love that I can reach places I used to have to use a step stool to clean before. The cord is long enough that I can do our great room and an adjacent room which is another step saver. There are a few things I am not sold on, this vacuum does turn nicely and is easy to use. It does feel a little wobbly sometimes but maybe that is because I am not used to it. The other concern is the plastic snaps and clips to secure the hose, and tools and the dust collector. These all work well now, and feel tight. I just wonder if they will break, or loosen prematurely. I guess I won't know until it happens. Overall I am very happy with my purchase and think it is a great vacuum for the price. Read more

This is a replacement for an 8-yr-old Bissell lift-off vacuum that died for the last time (the motor died in less than 2 yrs and had to be replaced). I like the lift-away type vacuums where you can can lift up the canister and use the attachments for dusting furniture and getting into corners of rooms and oter hard to reach places. The suction power of the vacuum is very good, especially the smaller brush for vacuuming floors and under furniture while holding the canister. My Bissell was very weak, to the point where I could only very lightly touch the surface before it would stop the rotation of the brush. Not with this one. The only thing to note is, when using the canister, the hose is short so you have hold it canister fairly close to the object you're dusting/vacuuming. Thus, the caddie for wheeling around the canister doesn't really work well unless you're using it for furniture not too far up from the floor. Using it as an upright vacuum is good as it is powerful, very maneuverable, easy to push and well-designed so it fits into tight spaces well. The only thing not tested is its durability/longevity. If it can last for a good 8 or 10 years without needing a major repair, it will be a great investment. Time will tell. Read more

I have only gotten to use the vacuum for a couple of days, so I can't comment on the life of the vacuum. However, I LOVE this vacuum. The suction is powerful and the fact that it turns into a canister style makes vacuuming my hard surface downstairs and my carpet stairs easy. I vacuumed in 10 minutes! Usually the stairs take me 20 min alone. The swiveling/steering feature is pretty helpful as well. When I first took it out of the box, it felt very heavy, but once I put it together it was very manageable. This vacuum is well made and versatile! Read more

Love how sturdy this vacuum is, never loses suction - brush roll on/off is great, wonderful on hardwood and rugs even jute rugs. SO easy to empty and very easy to use the hose attachment to quickly suck up a pile of spill like chocolate chips/swept dust etc. Light, flexible - love it SO MUCH MORE than my dysons that quickly broke and often lost suction. Read more