I Tested the Shark Stratos Cordless Vacuum, and I Understand Why It's One of the Best-Selling Cordless Sticks Out There

I've been testing vacuum cleaners for more than two years now, and there are no brands I have more experience with than Shark and Dyson. These two somewhat similar brands produce some of the most well-known vacuums in the world.

And of their famous collections, the Stratos Cordless is one of Shark's best-selling cordless vacuums of all time. It's remained popular and well-reviewed as newer releases have succeeded it, so I was excited to finally get my hands on it.

I tested the Shark Stratos Cordless in our test center and a local pet shelter to find out if it truly is one of the best vacuums.

My One-Minute Summary

The Shark Stratos Cordless excels in many ways. Its suction is strong on both hard floors and carpets, it's a breeze to use, and it comes with smart features to make cleaning easier, notably sensors that automatically adjust the suction to match the floor type and dirt volume you're dealing with.

In many ways, this is one of the best Dyson alternatives out there – although it's more expensive than others we've tested and has a few features you won't find in any Dyson (such as the anti-odor cartridge or dual brushrolls).

It isn't perfect, though, and while its performance on pet hair is strong, a few stubborn hairs remained. It's also heavier than most cordless vacuums, and I found it a little tiring to use in handheld mode for longer than 20 minutes.

If you want better, I'd go for the Dyson V11 or Dyson V15 Detect, as they have stronger suction and more specialized floorheads. But to save money, the Levoit LVAC-300 [Amazon] performs similarly in many ways, but it isn't quite as powerful as the Stratos.

Shark Stratos Cordless: Specifications

Shark Stratos Cordless: Design and Features

The Shark Stratos Cordless is in the same genre of cordless vacuums as many of the best Dyson vacuums, notably the Dyson V15 Detect, which detects what's on your floors to automatically adjust the suction levels. Here, Shark calls it 'Clean Sense IQ'.

So, instead of having to change the settings as you pass from hard floor to carpet, the vacuum does it for you. It's a neat feature that, now I've gotten used to through testing so many cordless vacuums, I would miss otherwise.

And as cordless sticks rely on battery power, this feature helps preserve the runtime by avoiding unnecessarily high suction on easier surfaces, like when cleaning laminate flooring. You only get the boost when you need it.

There are LED headlights on the floorhead that help illuminate the floor and reveal dust and thin hairs that can easily go unnoticed.

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The floorhead has two rollers: A soft one and a bristled one, making it a more seamless experience passing from soft to hard flooring.

This is a key difference when comparing Shark vs Dyson cordless vacuums, as Dysons have floorheads that you swap out. This gives Dysons more specialized cleaning, while Sharks are more convenient.

My model included all of the attachments available for this vacuum, including: A crevice tool, an anti-allergen brush, a duster, a motorized hair tool, and even a spare battery, meaning my runtime is doubled to up to 120 minutes in one session (I would recommend investing in a spare Shark battery if you have a big house).

The Stratos also has odor-neutralizing tech – a small cartridge that slots into the floorhead, releasing a fresher scent than the odor-ridden air that can sometimes exhaust out of a vacuum cleaner.

What Is the Shark Stratos Cordless Like to Use?

I'm a fan of the Stratos design. There are no floorheads to swap out, it changes its suction level by itself, and the light helps you see more clearly how dirty your floors are. That's a suite of useful additions that can help make cleaning feel easier.

The Clean Sense IQ indicator on the floorhead is a nice touch. It's similar to what I've seen when testing the best vacuum-mop combos, where the light shows how much dirt is left to clean. It means, whether you're slow vacuuming (which I highly recommend) or keeping the vacuum still to get deep into the carpet, you know when no dust is left, and you can move to the next patch.

It also automatically stops the brushroll from spinning when you stand the vacuum up or stop moving it for a few seconds. A nice battery saver.

The floorhead wheels are made of a rubber-y plastic, so the Stratos is safe to use when cleaning hardwood floors or other delicate surfaces. I found that it grips nicely to different surfaces, which I was a bit surprised by, as there's no grip adjustment for cleaning carpet.

However, while the LED headlights help to illuminate the floor, they only somewhat reveal dust that you can't normally see:

The feature pales in comparison to the Dyson V12 Detect Slim and Dyson V15 Detect, which use a green laser that actually reveals particles that the naked eye can't see. Still, the Stratos' lights are more useful than none.

At 8.91lbs, it's also heavier than most cordless vacuums I've used. I found it hard to reach above my head while holding it with one hand, which is a shame as this is one of the benefits of a cordless stick vacuum. It's powered using an on/off button, though, so at least it doesn't become cumbersome having to hold down a trigger the entire time.

And personally, I'm not a fan of the anti-odor cartridge. It smells artificial, like a cheap car air freshener. I found that the Shark Stratos was effective enough at trapping odors using its three-stage filtration, and I preferred cleaning without the cartridge, adding an unnatural scent to the room. But maybe that's just me.

Test 1: Flour and Sugar

I tested the Shark Stratos Cordless with a half cup of flour and sugar. It's one of our standardized tests to assess a vacuum's ability to pick up dust, dander, and other fine particles that are common around the house, from the pantry to common household allergens.

On hard floors, the Stratos cleared pretty much everything in one pass. The suction immediately raised and sounded much stronger than before, and it even got between the cracks in one pass. Impressive – not far off the Dyson V11's performance that costs $200 more.

Running the test again on eco mode, it cleaned most of it in two passes, and only a few bits of sugar remained that I needed to go over once to clean.

On carpet, it cleaned virtually everything in one. There was the tiniest bit of residue leftover, but this was vacuumed up instantly afterwards, and I didn't need to go slowly to pick it up. Outstanding performance for a cordless.

Test 2: Pantry

I tested the Shark Stratos Cordless using a cup of cereal and lentils. It's another standardized test to assess how well a vacuum cleaner can handle medium and large debris. The cereal poses a particular challenge, as the large pieces can easily get stuck in airways, or flung around the floor.

If a vacuum struggles with this test, it isn't necessarily a bad vacuum; we just learn how to use it more effectively when cleaning different-sized messes at home.

On hard floors, it easily vacuumed a line through the mess. The floorhead – clearly robust – crushed down the cereal pieces, and I didn’t have the frustrating task of cleaning up any flung crumbs. Only one cereal piece fell out afterwards, which is tighter performance than most. A few lentils were flung but it took a few seconds to go back and suck them up.

Again, it easily vacuumed a line through the mess, and the grip to the carpet was satisfying. It didn’t do everything in one, however, but going over the bits that were missed or pushed around took under a minute. Similar performance to the newer Shark Cordless PowerDetect.

Test 3: Pet Hair

I also tested the Shark Stratos Cordless in a local cat and dog shelter, Bristol ARC, that is consistently full of animal hair, to find out whether the Stratos could shape up to be one of the best vacuums for pet hair. It's also an excellent way to see how a vacuum can handle a busy, messy environment with a variety of floor types and furniture.

On an entrance mat – the most difficult surface to clean – the Stratos couldn’t get every hair after repeated passes, even on boost mode. It picked up pretty much all of the long hairs, but the short, stubborn ones couldn’t be vacuumed. It also didn’t have the best edge cleaning, as some straw was unable to be picked up on the left side.

I tried multiple times, and quite a lot was left behind. For a cordless stick, this isn't uncommon, as it's typically only the super-premium vacuums, such as the Miele Guard L1 Cat & Dog or the Dyson V15 Detect, that tackle this well.

Good performance on low-pile carpet. Most of the time, almost all visible hairs were gone after a couple of passes, but there would occasionally be a few tiny stubborn hairs left over. There's a firm grip when cleaning carpet – nothing that makes it hard to push around, but strong enough that you can feel consistent contact with the floor.

The performance on hard floors was strong, with every speck of dust and strand of hair picked up in one.

After a few hours' worth of vacuuming at the pet shelter, the dustbin was full of fur. Impressive, even if a few spots couldn't be completely cleaned.

Test 4: Attachments

I tested every available attachment for the Shark Stratos Cordless, on a mix of surfaces including padded upholstery, sofas, furniture, and window sills.

While every attachment proved effective when cleaning different surfaces, they were let down by the Stratos' heavier weight, and my wrist ached after cleaning just one room with four chairs and a sofa.

The motorized pet hair tool is great at pulling fur from padded fabric, and I like that it pivots at an angle to make sure you're maintaining consistent contact with the surface. It takes a bit of scrubbing back and forth, but it gets all the hair eventually. It's a great lightweight cleaner for pet owners in this regard, but similar to the Levoit LVAC-300, which costs $200 less.

I'm a big fan of the anti-allergen dust brush. I wiped it across a table as you would with a cloth, and it picked up every crumb that was on it. The other dusting brush was great at cleaning a windowsill, too, but that's standard across most vacuums. The anti-allergen dusting brush is a unique win for the Stratos.

Shark Stratos Cordless: Setup and Maintenance

The Shark Stratos, like any cordless vacuum, assembles with a few clicks. Attach the floorhead, wand, battery, and vacuum, and it's ready.

However, it's recommended to charge the battery to full before first use, as this preserves the battery's health. For me, this took almost three and a half hours, so be prepared to wait a little while until you can use it out of the box.

I was pleased to see a complete lack of pointless plastic packaging, and everything was packaged compactly using cardboard or paper molds.

In terms of maintenance, this is a bagless vacuum, so you'll need to empty it after every clean. Cleaning the filter regularly (ideally once a month), cleaning the brushrolls when dirty, and removing any internal clogs are all that's required to keep it at its best.

How Does the Shark Stratos Cordless Compare?

Although it was released years ago, the Shark Stratos Cordless remains one of Shark's most expensive cordless vacuums, priced at $499.99 at SharkNinja at full price. Surprisingly, it isn't discounted as often as the newer releases – likely because of its popularity.

It shares many features with the Dyson V15 Detect and the Dyson V12 Detect Slim, notably the floor and dirt sensors, and automatic suction. The Shark Stratos Cordless may be a little more convenient (there are no floorheads to swap out between surfaces), but the Dysons outperform the Shark when it comes to cleaning, in every way. However, they're more expensive, costing up to $350 more at Dyson, but it depends on promotions, as at the time of writing, the V12 Detect Slim is cheaper.

Or, the Levoit LVAC-300 and the Dreame R20 are more affordable alternatives, costing under $200 if you buy them at the right time. The Shark Stratos Cordless certainly performs better, especially on carpet, but they're cheaper options if your home has mostly hard floors.

Next, learn which of the best robot vacuums is best suited to your home, after spending hundreds of hours testing them in our own houses.