The 'fantastic' Shark cordless vacuum that crushed Dyson in Daily Mail's Test Lab with the 'Queen of Clean' - and it's 34 per cent off in the Black Friday sale!

Daily Mail journalists select and curate the products that feature on our site. If you make a purchase via links on this page we will earn commission - learn moreThey're light, zippy and easy to store so it’s no surprise that cordless vacuum cleaners have become an indispensable addition to our cleaning arsenal.All the big names, including Dyson, Shark – and even old faithful Henry – offer sleek stick cleaners boasting high-tech suction power and robust brush heads to rival traditional corded models. But in a crowded market, which of these nifty, handheld cleaners really deliver the best results?To find out which are up to the job – and which are simply not – the Daily Mail Test Lab team put eight of the most popular models to the test, enlisting the help of leading home expert Lynsey Crombie. Known as the Queen of Clean to her hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers, Lynsey has two decades of professional cleaning experience and regularly shares her tips on ITV’s This Morning.Key findings (and rankings) at a glance...Our overall winner was the Shark PowerPro. It offered exceptional performance at a great price point. We've found it on sale at Amazon for £179.99 - which is around 34 per cent off the RRP for Black Friday.Shark also had the runner-up model - the Shark Stratos was pipped to the post because it's just that little bit pricier than the PowerPro.The two popular Dysons we tested were massive flops.If you're on a budget, then take a look at the Gtech AirRAM2. Lynsey was a big fan of this machine. How we tested cordless vacuumsWith prices ranging from £239 (and well under £200 in the Black Friday sale) to upwards of £600, the quest was on to discover which models are worth the spend and which simply don’t justify the price tag. THE QUEEN OF CLEAN Lynsey Crombie, known as the Queen of Clean on Instagram, is one of the UK’s leading home experts.A familiar face on This Morning and Good Morning Britain, she is trusted for her practical advice and simple, time-saving solutions.With over 18 years of professional cleaning experience, Lynsey was the first cleaning influencer on Instagram.Lynsey is also the author of four Sunday Times bestselling books, including her latest, The 15-Minute Clean, available on Amazon.queenofclean.blog The cordless cleaners were put through their paces in a barrage of tests devised to assess how well they’d cope with different kinds of dust and debris on a range of flooring.First, we challenged each cordless vacuum cleaner to pick up 20g of dirt, made up of flour, sand, oats and rice to mimic fine and coarse dust, from 2m samples of short pile and long pile carpet provided by Right Flooring London in Chiswick.Then we repeated the same test on a strip of wood effect vinyl, supplied by Factory Direct Flooring, to see how they fared on hard flooring.Next, we worked in 5g of pet hair, donated from clippings collected by Lola’s Pet Salon in north-west London, counting the number of passes it took to get rid of it.Lynsey also conducted a corner test, scattering the dust mix in those awkward to reach nooks and crannies to see how well the stick cleaners would cope.Then she carried each model up and down the stairs to gauge how easy or strenuous it would be to do this regularly in the home.Each model was marked out of 5 for each test. But to come up with the final score, Test Lab analysed other key factors including run time, noise levels, number of attachments and how easy they were to empty and clean. Other metrics assessed across all models included how quickly the battery took to charge from empty to full – and of course, price.In short, no stone was left unturned. We then picked our winners and ranked the cordless vacuum cleaners into three categories: standout buys, middle of the road models – and don’t buy disappointments.No brand paid for promotion or influenced our verdicts in any way. Read more on why you can trust Daily Mail Test Lab's verdicts. We tell you how it REALLY is!Write to Daily Mail Test Lab at testlab@dailymail.com with YOUR product review wish list. Our champion vacuums!Tough on dirt, our winners boasted the most impressive suction power and manoeuvrability as well as the best value for money. It turns out there's good reason Daily Mail readers tell us they're big fans of Shark's vacuums – not one, but TWO of its models topped our test rankings. In third place – and awarded best budget buy for its lower RRP – was the Gtech AirRAM2. What about those Dysons? Read on to find out just how poorly they performed... Full review: White and futuristic looking, with the touch of a Star Wars droid about it, the Shark PowerPro effortlessly tackled even the muckiest of floors. It beat the more expensive cleaners hands down making it excellent value for money. Its winning formula? Strong suction power combined with a seamless swivel action, which meant it performed well on both short and long pile carpet, sucking up dirt on the first pass without coughing up flour and rice at the sides like many of the other models.The machine boasts what the brand describes as ‘FloorDetect’ technology, which means it senses floor type and adjusts the brush roll speed and suction power accordingly. And in our tests, this worked well.Our expert Lynsey was also impressed by how easy it was to manoeuvre. ‘It feels like it does the moving for you rather than you using two hands and really pushing,’ she said, pointing out that the swivel head is so effective it requires very little wrist action, especially when tackling corners. Lynsey Crombie, known as the 'Queen of Clean', came to the Daily Mail's Test Lab to help rate cordless vacuumsIt wasn’t deterred by hard flooring either, sucking up the dust mix with a satisfying crunch.When it came to the pet hair test, the Shark PowerPro made it look super easy, working effortlessly across all surfaces. Even if it didn’t get it all on the first stroke, it thoroughly cleaned up the rest on the second and third.As one of the heavier models at 3.45kg, it was more of an effort to lug it up and down stairs. But there is a way to make it more compact – it folds in half, a clever feature which makes it easier to transport and store.The PowerPro was also incredibly easy to clean. The dustbin canister, a generous 0.7 litres, opened at the touch of a button.The only real downside? It’s quite noisy, so might not be suitable if you have nervous pets or need to keep a quiet household.However, with a battery life of 50 minutes on eco mode (albeit, with a longer charge time of 3.5 hours) and a competitive price, this model – the cheaper of the two Sharks on test – was our clear overall winner.On Amazon it has a customer review score of 4.4 out of five – with 72 per cent five-star reviews. One customer said it could clean their whole house on a single charge.Lynsey said: ‘The PowerPro ticks all the boxes, and the biggest box it ticks is price. I'm thoroughly impressed with it for performance and value for money. A fantastic cordless vacuum!’ Full review: At first glance, the Gtech, which has a fixed head that doesn’t swivel, seemed bulkier and less versatile than other contenders. And yet in action, it moved easily, effortlessly gliding along the carpet sucking up everything in its wake. The cheapest model in our test, the rectangular brush head proved to be very effective, and you could hear it eating away at the dirt and pet hair, even if it did need three or four passes to pick everything up. Smooth: Lynsey was impressed with the Gtech vacuumThe lack of rotation was a downside and should in theory have put it at a disadvantage when it came to corners. However, it worked better than expected, outdoing many more swivel-headed models. Because it fit so snugly against the wall, it made up for the lack of movement by sucking up dirt right up to the edges.Lynsey was particularly impressed by its performance on long pile carpet. 'If you've got thick carpet, this is the one,’ said Lynsey, who found it made light work of the dust mix and pet hair.However, it was less effective on the short pile carpet. ‘It more or less broke the hair down but left traces so I had to go over it more than once,’ she said. ‘And on the hard floor, it didn't pick everything up and took a couple of goes.’On the plus side, it was easy to clean – you simply pulled out the canister from the brush head and emptied it. There is even a special attachment to make scraping the finer dust out easier.Amazon reviewers give it 4.6 out of five. In November it was a gigantic 38 per cent off in the early Black Friday sales, though some customers raised concerns about durability. Daily Mail Test Lab will put it into long-term testing to find out.Much like the other hard hitters, it paid the price in run time and battery charge times. For just 40 minutes of use, you have to plug it in for four hours. But it wins on price, making it our budget buy choice. Full review: The Shark Stratos performed exceptionally well in the practical tests, living up to its claims that it picks up 50 per cent more dirt.Its ability to automatically change suction power impressed our expert Lynsey, who said: ‘You're not faffing about looking for the turbo button when you hit tougher dirt. It recognises that and does the work for you, which I think is amazing.’Even some of the most challenging, burrowed in messes – like pet hair buried in long pile carpet – were a doddle to pick up. As for the dust mix, the Stratos seamlessly powered through, sucking everything up with little to no kickback, save a little flour on the carpets. This just needed a quick second go over, showcasing the cleaner’s impressive swivel action. Stairs test: Lynsey carrying the Shark Stratos to feel its weight and assess its suitability when moving around the home ‘It should be harder, but it tackled dirt with absolute ease,’ said Lynsey. ‘And just listen to that power. I feel like I'm at the Grand Prix!’It was also a more user-friendly height than some of the other models. ‘I’m tall and the extra length meant I didn’t need to bend down all the time,’ commented Lynsey.It was the heaviest vacuum tested at 4.1kg – a definite downside if you need to carry it up and down lots of stairs. But it does fold down like the PowerPro. Although noisier than most, it offers a very reliable clean, with an impressive 60-minute run time on eco mode. The model also comes with two batteries which can be swapped if one runs out.Amazon reviewers give it 4.2 stars out of 5. They liked the pet hair performance but some said the battery drains more quickly than they'd like.All in all it’s a powerful machine which is worth the splurge if you have the cash. And if it's on offer (it was 27 per cent off at £314.99 on Amazon in mid-November), it's a great option.Middle of the road modelsThey may not have been able to compete with the winners but these two models were solid performers with more pros than cons: the Halo Capsule XR and the Dreame R20, a brand Lynsey hadn't heard of but which is being heavily promoted across the internet. Full review: This model from up-and-coming British brand Halo made Lynsey’s top four – falling just behind the Gtech AirRAM 2.Lynsey praised the futuristic-looking design. ‘It’s extremely light and looks quite cool,’ she said. ‘The switches are easy to reach, right where your thumb goes: an on button and an option for the more powerful turbo.'Only the shape of the handle let it down in her opinion. ‘The bit where you rest your wrist just felt really uncomfortable,’ she said.In action, although it wasn’t always the smoothest glide, the suction power was impressive. While many other cordless models struggled with long pile carpet, the Halo proved itself a solid contender in our test, picking up the dust mix effortlessly.There was a little kickback but this was resolved with an extra swipe. ‘It has a lovely swivel turn, which is really good because not all vacuums manage that on thick pile,’ said Lynsey.The hard floor roller attachment also did a very good job on the dust mix. But it struggled with dog hair, often needing to switch into turbo mode and making an odd rattling sound.Though reasonably priced, there’s an added cost as the vacuum uses 2L dust pouches to collect the waste that’ll need to be repurchased. It comes with 20 pouches, which should last a year. But after that, it’s £7.99 for a 6-pouch pack.In terms of battery life, though, it cannot be beaten. The Halo offers an impressive 70 minutes of run time from a 2.5 hour charge and it comes with a spare battery you can swap in.It doesn't have many reviews on Amazon, with some reviewers criticising the suction performance over time. While it’s a little less efficient than the top three, it’s a modern, lightweight option which offers a great clean. Full review: This vacuum boasts a lightweight frame of just 1.76kg and the longest run time of those tested, at 90 minutes on eco-mode. What’s more, it’s the quietest of the vacuums tested in the Lab and the second cheapest.However, it was clear after just a few uses that the trade-off comes in terms of power. It particularly struggled on the long pile carpet, where it cut out on turbo and mostly just pushed things around. ‘It really didn’t like that carpet,’ said Lynsey.And while it should have been easy to use in more awkward corners because it’s so light and easy to manoeuvre, its inability to tackle dirt with adequate suction power meant it failed to impress. It would consistently switch into the much more battery-draining turbo mode, which would turn the suction up too high for it to actually move properly across the thicker, coarser carpet. This was an issue highlighted by Amazon reviewers, too.It was surprisingly powerful on the shorter-pile carpets though, navigating both the dust and pet hair with relative ease.While the dust canister is relatively easy to clean, the brush head suffered terrible fallout, spilling out grains of rice and flour dust when the cleaner was picked up. Lynsey was also not keen on the fact you have to keep your finger down on the on button when it’s in use. Cleanest of them all: Lynsey with the Shark PowerPro, which topped our rankings thanks to its performance and value Don't buy disappointments The three worst performers were all at the more expensive end of the price range – and in our expert Lynsey’s opinion, they’re simply not worth the spend. Bad news if your name is James Dyson: two of the three were from his world-famous vacuum brand. Full review: A high price tag comes with high expectations. And if you’re looking for a cordless vacuum for hard floors and kitchens the Dyson V15 won’t disappoint. It comes with a soft roller head attachment with a laser-like light to reveal hidden dust and it picked up well on the vinyl without much kickback. If anything, the suction was too strong, making it hard to push at times, even in eco mode. ‘It felt like a workout,’ said Lynsey. But it did the job.It was when it came to carpets that the V15 started to struggle.During the long pile test, the V15’s brush head stopped spinning and kept cutting out as it attempted to pass through the dust mix, leaving flour and rice in its wake. The results were equally disappointing on the short pile carpet, leading Lynsey to conclude that the model is not a good buy.‘I think sometimes you’re paying for the brand name,’ she said. ‘It's like buying designer trainers when you could buy the same pair on the high street for a quarter of the price.’On the plus side, it has a 60-minute run time. But both the Dysons were among the longest to charge (4.5 hours for the V15 and four hours for the V8). Full review: Smiling Henry is the iconic brand professional cleaners swear by – but its cordless cousin left a lot to be desired.The Henry QuickPro was easy to carry and comes with a special brush head attachment for hard floors. But it simply does not live up to its sizeable price tag, failing to impress in any of the cleaning challenges.In eco mode, it was not powerful enough, while the turbo mode was so intense – and not battery efficient – that the machine could barely move. There was also an issue with residue falling out of the bottom when the machine was picked up, dirtying the cleaned surfaces once again. The Henry QuickPro particularly struggled with pet hair on the hard floor, pushing it around and not sucking it up.‘I may as well be using a broom,’ remarked Lynsey. So it’s not the best choice for pet owners.Its disposable one litre collection pods do make for a dust-free cleanout, but they are also an added cost. Six are included in the initial purchase, and then it’s £12.99 for a pack of ten. Full review: Dyson’s V8 model fell short in nearly every single one of Test Lab’s metrics and Lynsey was scathing in her verdict, saying the V8 Cyclone reminded her of ‘a budget vacuum you'd buy at a petrol station’.When it came to the long pile carpet, it took a Herculean effort to push the device forward, and as it did so, dust shot out from the back, covering everything in rice and flour. It also spat debris out of the sides and back on the short pile carpet, while on the hard floor, it felt scratchy – making Lynsey fear it could damage flooring. It fared just as badly in the pet hair test, with hair getting wrapped around the brush head as well as stuck inside the tube.Failure: The Dyson V8 struggled to retain the debris in our tests and ended up bottom of the product pileDespite being fairly compact and light, the non-flex brush head restricted movement and spat the dust mix back out. Lynsey was also not impressed by its small 0.54L dust bin – which didn’t compress dirt and filled fast.On the plus side, the Dyson V8 comes with a decent two-year warranty which, unlike many others, includes the battery. Amazon reviewers give it 4.6 stars, praising its 'incredible suction' but Lynsey was not won over. ‘It's not Queen of Clean approved, put it that way,’ she said. Write to Daily Mail Test Lab at testlab@dailymail.com with YOUR product review wish listWhy you can trust Daily Mail Test LabWe test it. We tell you the truth. You decide. Every Daily Mail Test Lab review is 100 per cent independent. No manufacturer, brand, retailer or advertiser has any say in what we test, how we test it or what we conclude. If something isn't worth buying, we will tell you. If there's a better value alternative to the market leader, we will find it.Independent testsOur results rest on clear criteria and verifiable facts, not on brand relationships. Our team picks products through retail analysis and customer-review research, looking for things we think will interest you at the right quality and the right price.Bought or loaned, same rulesWhether a product is bought off the shelf or loaned to us by a brand, the rules are identical. No brand sees a review before it is published, nothing is promised in return, and a loan is never a guarantee of coverage. A product that doesn't make the grade gets the same honest verdict as everything else.Tested properlyProducts go through our dedicated testing laboratory, where we measure performance properly. We also test in real homes and real-world conditions. Our testers spend days, weeks and sometimes months with a product before giving a verdict, and we challenge the advertising claims against the specs, so you get an accurate picture.Expert inputOur team of consumer journalists has decades of experience reviewing the things you want to buy. But we also consult industry experts on every test, and their feedback feeds into every overall rating. For many of our tests we bring leading professionals into the lab to help us pick out and test the features that make for a great purchase.Showing our evidenceWe don't just hand down a number and let you work the rest out. Each review explains how the product was tested, what it was tested against and where it fell short, so you can judge whether our priorities match yours. We measure it, film it and include photos and video from our testing, so you can see products in action and witness exactly how they perform. Don't take our word for it: watch the tests, study the pictures and judge for yourself.How we rateEvery product gets a final rating out of five. The score reflects the features of the product that matter to you. For cordless vacuums that meant: dust pick-up, manoeuvrability, price, run time, battery charge, noise and how easy each machine was to empty and clean out. Each category was scored out of five and the final scores were reached using weighted averages, prioritising suction strength, battery life and value for money.How we make moneyIf you click on or buy through links in our articles, the Daily Mail earns a small commission. That money helps fund Test Lab. It never changes the price you pay, and it never changes our verdict. Our writers always choose what to cover and what to say about it, not the brands or retailers. Affiliate links are regulated by the Advertising Standards Authority, and we always disclose them. We never choose a product because it has an affiliate link, no brand can pay to be included in a review, and if you'd rather not generate a commission, you can simply go direct to the retailer to purchase. When choosing retailers to link to we look at price, availability, our trust in them, delivery times, returns and warranties and reader feedback.This is NOT sponsored contentAny article about a product or service the Daily Mail has been paid to write about, where the brand or retailer controls the content, is clearly labelled 'Advertisement', 'Ad Feature' or 'Sponsored'. It is never part of a Test Lab review.Read more about how Daily Mail Test Lab works