Is this $230 Shark vacuum cleaner a waste of money or a steal of a deal? | Tried & tested
Two Yahoo Canada editors tested the Shark Rocket Lightweight Corded Stick Vacuum Cleaner — here's what we thought.
A good vacuum review involves, you guessed it, a lot of vacuuming. Luckily, two Yahoo Canada editors (unknowingly) bought the same vacuum — the Shark Rocket Lightweight Corded Stick Vacuum Cleaner — and, after several months of use, are here to compare our experiences. Below, we'll tell you if and why the Shark Rocket vacuum cleaner is worth your money and what we wish we knew before placing our orders.
The Shark Rocket has a 4.4-star rating on Canadian Tire.
- Versatile attachments
- Lightweight & powerful
- Cord can be bothersome
- Cannot control the suction
What is it: A lightweight, corded stick vacuum cleaner with multiple attachments for pet hair, floor-to-ceiling vacuuming and hard-to-reach crevices.
Specs: Under 8 lbs (3.6 kg), 29.9 ft cord length, suitable for carpet, area rugs, hard floors and tiles.
Best for: Smaller homes and spaces where you won't feel hindered by the cord.
The details
The Shark Rocket offers the power of a full-size vacuum cleaner in an apartment-friendly, compact size. It has several attachments, including those designed for hard flooring, carpets, fabrics and upholstery, and a long crevice tool for hard-to-reach areas.
Swivel steering allows for easy maneuverability around and under furniture, and the vacuum's easy-empty dust cup ejects debris without you needing to touch the mess. For vehicle owners, the Shark converts into a convenient hand vac, so you can vacuum the inside of your vehicle as long as a power source is nearby.
Shark Rocket Corded Stick Vacuum Review: Kayla Kuefler, shopping editor
Prior to the Shark Rocket, I had a robot vacuum, and to be completely honest, I hated it. While many people swear by their hands-free robots, mine was more Megatron than R2-D2, so I was happy to see it re-homed.
Knowing that I was looking for a classic stick vacuum, I opted for the Shark Rocket for a couple of reasons. 1) It's small-space-friendly. 2) It has hundreds of five-star reviews, and 3) I trust the Shark brand, having fallen in love with its viral FlexStyle hair system.
After several months of use, here are my favourite and least favourite features of the Shark Rocket Lightweight Corded Stick Vacuum Cleaner.
What I like about it
It works on all flooring types: I like almost everything about the vacuum. It is lightweight, easy to use, and, importantly — sucks up everything. I don't have carpet in my home, but the vacuum picks up dust, hair and debris on my tiles, hardwood, area rugs and furniture.
Versatile attachments: In my opinion, the vacuum's attachments make it a worthwhile buy. It comes with several (see above photo) so you can clean everything from your high-up air vents to underneath furniture and your vehicle's interior.
Mess-free clean-up: Its easy-empty dust cup is also incredibly handy. There's no bag to deal with, and the mess, minus some floating dust if you're not careful, goes directly into the trash.
While I don't have a pet, I live in an apartment with the world's worst air filter (perhaps an exaggeration), so the vacuum has become a must-have to combat dust and keep my always-shedding hair at bay.
Tried & Tested by Yahoo Canada
Shark Rocket Lightweight Corded Stick Vacuum Cleaner
What I don't like about it
It's a corded vacuum: I bought a corded vacuum. I know I bought a corded vacuum. And yet, I wish the vacuum didn't have a cord. My decision to buy Shark's corded model was purely cost-related — it's more than $100 cheaper than Shark's other vacuums. However, constantly moving the cord, wrapping it and unwrapping it makes me wish I had bit the bullet and shelled out a little more for the cordless Shark PowerFins or the Shark Cordless Detect Pro Stick Vacuum.
It gets caught in my rug: I have one particular area rug in my home that's a pain in the you know what to vacuum. My old robot vacuum never stood a chance, but even the more powerful Shark gets knotted in its fibres. Is the rug the problem? Probably. But, as the great philosophers once said, beauty is pain. Moral of the story: the Shark Rocket is powerful, but a heavily textured area rug may have it beat.
Shark Rocket Corded Stick Vacuum Review: Rick Mele, branded content editor
This is my second Shark vacuum, after buying and loving a Shark Rotator Lift-Away Upright Vacuum a few years back on an absolute steal of a Black Friday deal (which necessitated calling around and travelling to multiple stores before a sympathetic sales associate finally agreed to hide one away for me). Shark vacuums are pretty popular, I’ve learned—especially when they go on sale.
Buying this Shark Rocket (also on a great sale) involved way less fuss, but I’m no less pleased with it. It’s perfect for what I bought it for: as a lightweight second vacuum that would be less hefty to lug around the house and more convenient for cleaning pet hair off the stairs.
What I like about it
It’s light but powerful: Did I ever imagine I’d be someone who owns more than one vacuum? I did not. But moving from a one-plus-den condo to a two-story house meant more space to clean and, crucially, two flights of carpeted stairs. While my Shark upright detached (hence, "Lift-Away"), the XL canister got a bit unwieldy when vacuuming the stairs.
This ultra-light Shark stick vacuum, meanwhile, is easy for both my wife and me to carry around the house. It's powerful enough that I don’t need to bust out the upright unless I'm doing a deeper clean. Most importantly, though, it comes with a detachable hand vac that makes vacuuming the stairs a breeze.
It’s perfect for pet hair: Between my short-haired cat and long-haired wife, "great at picking up hair" is a major consideration for any vacuum purchase, and the Shark Rocket comes with a special pet hair attachment for cleaning upholstery, curtains and stairs. The brushroll even has a small groove to make it easier to get a pair of scissors in to untangle any longer hairs that invariably get caught up while vacuuming. (I will not be including a picture here because some things are too personal to put on the internet.)
It easily tucks out of the way: Something I learned after moving from a condo to a house? Closet space will always be at a premium, no matter how many closets you have. Luckily, this slim stick vacuum takes up barely any space. It also comes with a wall mount; while I haven’t used it, it’s a nice option to have.
Tried & Tested by Yahoo Canada
Shark Rocket Lightweight Corded Stick Vacuum Cleaner
What I don't like about it
It’s corded: Like Kayla, I knew what I was getting into when I bought a corded vacuum (and the price was right!). However, also like Kayla, there are times when I wish I’d ponied up for the cordless Shark Rocket Pro instead. especially considering I primarily bought this vacuum to use on stairs, and, well, suffice it to say, tangled cords + stairs don’t mix.
There’s no way to control the suction: One of my favourite features of the Shark Rotator is the built-in "Suction Control," which can be easily adjusted by opening a small valve on the wand. This is especially useful for vacuuming rugs that might otherwise get caught up in the brush roll on max power (something I learned the hard way).
The Shark Rocket doesn’t come with this useful feature, meaning I have to switch to the Rotator to vacuum our larger area rugs. So, even though I love the lightweight Rocket, we’re stuck being a two-vacuum household for the foreseeable future. Who would’ve thought?
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