On the other hand, the Shark is self-propelled and requires hardly any strength to guide it around furniture. It too turns on a dime and does so effortlessly. Definite winner here!
Stairs – Shark
We have about 15 stairs. This means the hoses are not long enough to cover the full height of the stairs. So, we’re carrying a vacuum on the stairs no matter which vacuum we use.
The wand on the Dyson is longer. So, if you have fewer stairs, you might be able to do them without needing to carry the vacuum with you. Or without the fear of the vacuum falling on you.
The weight of the Dyson makes our stairs an acrobatic feat and often makes me worried I’m going to slip and fall or the Dyson is going to come crashing down on me, but the Shark is able to lift off it’s base and you can carry it without the fear of the base crashing down on you. Have I mentioned that the Dyson has fallen on me more than once while doing the stairs? That sucker hurts!!
Hose – Dyson
I need to clarify that I’m not talking about the hose itself, but about the whole hose apparatus. Meaning the wand, hose, and accessories.
The Dyson has a really long hose, wand, and several accessories. It’s great for extending and reaching into longer crevices. Or just reaching the ground while standing.
The Shark is great, because it lifts off the base and can go anywhere, which is probably why the wand is shorter, but when you’re doing baseboards or trying to get under tables, you’re constantly hunched over with the short wand. In this case, longer is better!
Weight – Shark
I’ve mentioned several times already, so it shouldn’t be a surprise Shark wins in the weight category. Hands down.
I have bad shoulders/arms and I need something lighter to carry. The Shark is great!
Suction – Both
My husband swears the shark picks up more, but I don’t think so. I think they’re pretty even. Being in a house instead of a controlled test environment, there isn’t a way to accurately judge this. The more times I vacuum the same room, the more debris I will get. It doesn’t matter which vacuum I use. There’s too many people/animals in this house to get everything out of the carpet.
Switching Surfaces – Both
Both vacuums are good at going from carpet to wood, carpet to tile, or vice versa. They both have buttons to hit when you switch and it makes the transition pretty seamless.
Other – Shark
The Shark has a light. At first this was one of those features that I didn’t think would be useful, but it’s been really nice. Our house tends to have a lot of shadows and the light is helpful when going into the darker areas. It isn’t something that I would seek when buying a vacuum, but it’s an extra nice to have perk.
