If you’re willing to upgrade to an exceptionally durable vacuum that can clean the heck out of your home, buy a Miele C3 canister vacuum cleaner. Every industry expert we’ve spoken with (even one from a competing brand!) has told us that these are excellent vacuum cleaners, and a few technicians have said they’re simply the best you can buy. Canister vacuums are popular in Europe, and upright vacuums are overwhelmingly more popular among American homeowners. This shift probably comes down to a difference in floor plans, with spread-out wall-to-wall carpeting floorspace favoring uprights versus the bare floors and staircases of old-world architecture. Choosing a canister vacuum without a powered carpet head was tricky, since the bare-floor cleaning that these vacuums are best at isn’t particularly complicated. The Bissell – Zing offers good power at a very affordable price, and it doesn’t skimp on the details.
We then compared all of the Shark vacuums to provide a variety—including handheld, stick, upright, and robot options—that will perform well in any home. We plan to try out the Airsign bagged canister vacuum, a design- and environmentally- focused model, and the Sebo Felix Premium, one of Sebo’s most shark canister vacuum powerful (and most stylish) upright models. But the evidence we’ve seen leads us to believe that the Navigator Lift-Away is actually more reliable than most vacuum cleaners in this price range. Thanks to the long-lasting geared belt and reusable filter, performance shouldn’t decline much over time.
Handling is smooth and light, the extra tools are useful and conveniently store onboard the vacuum, and it’s easy to empty. Similar to the Navigator series, this early Rotator design from Shark is a great option if your home has lots of carpeted areas. We found the adjustable suction power to be a game changer for effectively cleaning all types of carpet. This model was simple to set up and it also had an average noise level equivalent to a hair dryer.
This is not too pronounced but you will also notice it when pulling the cleaner head back towards you – its fights you a little. Turning on carpet is average and while the two large wheels at the back of the cleaner head help, the cleaner head still doesn’t turn that sharply. The cleaner head and canister are easier to maneuver and turn on hard flooring. Most of the full size vacuums we test these days range from about 13 to 17 lbs. Of course the cordless units are much lighter (see Cordless Vacuum Reviews).
For about a $200 savings compared to the Elite, you’ve given up handle-mounted controls, the bigger bare-floor tool, two feet of hose length, noise reduction, dust capture performance and more agile steering. This isn’t a vacuum we’d choose above other designs unless budget were the primary consideration. If you want the flexibility of a canister vacuum for maneuvering in tight places, the Shark – Apex is a contender than also works as an upright vacuum for shark dustbuster covering lots of floor area quickly. The soft rollers work well on all surfaces, but the hose is short in canister mode. The Shark is also more agile than other fully-powered brushroll systems, and it has handle-switched lower-power settings that will keep it from eating up area rugs. For mixed flooring types, this vacuum is just as good as the Kenmore Elite, but you can’t shed the weight of the brushroll for quicker coverage of large bare-floor surfaces.
As a corded, upright model, you won’t have to worry about running out of battery power with this pick by your side. The 25-foot cord gives plenty of reach and the lift-away canister is useful for accessing hard-to-reach areas. We did find the canister was best used from the ground, rather than trying to carry it while also maneuvering the extension wand. This vacuum easily collected hair on every surface we tested it on, but we did have to cut it out of the brush roll after each use. We also really enjoyed this vacuum’s brush roll shut-off feature, which made it easier to clean slick surfaces like hardwood and grouted floors.
You can turn down the suction to make gliding along easier, but at that point you’re not really vacuuming up much dirt. The Bissell – Zing did manage to pull slightly more dirt out of our test carpet than the other non-powered heads in our test, but it was a very difficult process. Powerful Shark® suction and advanced cleaning technologies, now in a compact canister vacuum. PowerFins™ and the selfcleaning brushroll give you multi-floor cleaning with no hair wrap.
The power, filter performance, ease of use and flexibility of this system are competitive with the better-known European brands, but at one-third the price. An upright vacuum, by comparison, really shines if you need to clean up and down a carpeted hall or over a large open space. The cord is usually long enough that you can finish the job without unplugging, and you won’t have to drag a canister along behind you. The included air-turbine-powered pet-hair brush isn’t good on carpet, and there’s no place to store it on the vacuum so most owners will likely lose it quickly. Shark also includes the obligatory mini-power-brush for cleaning dog hair off your sofa.
There’s no way to turn the brush roll off, either, and it sent large, crunchy debris scattering around the room on our bare-floor tests. It did not glide across floors as easily as the Simplicity or Miele canister vacuums we tested. Dyson plays up its self-righting feature—it can pick itself up when knocked over.
If you’re looking for the powerful suction of an upright vacuum but the convenience of a cordless stick vacuum, this is the one for you. And with such a long battery life, you could vacuum your apartment multiple times or clean an entire two-story house before having to charge it. For all of these reasons, plus the easy three-minute assembly time, this is our top pick. Canister-style vacuums are less common than uprights in the US and Canada, but are popular in Europe.