Shark
Stratos Cordless Vacuum IZ862H
About the product
Great attachments, great smart features, great performance
Shark claims that its Stratos Cordless Vacuum has the strongest suction of any of its cordless stick models, boasting plenty of power and excellent dirt-detection technology. To see how well it cleaned in a real-world environment, the BestReviews Testing Lab put the Shark Stratos Cordless to work — and came away impressed. With its first-rate performance, solid battery life and a pair of useful attachments, it was the top scorer among all Shark stick vacuums we tested.
While you’ll have to pay more for this winning combination of advanced tech and ease of use, it’s a worthwhile alternative to other premium handheld cordless stick vacuums for most households’ everyday cleaning.
Why we like it
- Powerful suction: The Stratos Cordless successfully aced all our suction tests on both carpet and bare flooring even at its lowest power setting.
- Quiet operation: The Stratos Cordless was the quietest of the Shark stick vacuums we tested despite being among the most powerful.
- Solid battery life: At just over 60 minutes, the Stratos Cordless’ battery life matched Shark’s claims and is more than acceptable for a cordless vacuum.
- Good attachments: We liked the utility and assortment of the attachments included with the Stratos Cordless, especially the anti-allergen dusting brush.
What we don’t like
- Price: The Stratos Cordless is one of the most expensive models of handheld stick vacuum made by Shark and costs much more than corded uprights.
- Recharge time: The Stratos Cordless took three hours to recharge from empty, which could interrupt a big cleaning job too long.
- Slight imbalance: When cleaning above the floor with the wand attached for extra reach, the Stratos Cordless was a little unbalanced for one-handed use.
The 60-second scoop
Product specifications
Dustbin Capacity: 0.72 qt | Dimensions: 13.78" L x 10.24" W x 51.18" H | Battery Life: 60 min (tested) | Cleaning Path Width: 10” | Weight: 8.9 lb
The Shark Stratos Cordless vacuum is a handheld stick vacuum powered by a rechargeable battery. It comes with a 0.72-quart dust cup, larger than the dust cups of other Shark stick vacuums, and the floor nozzle has a 10-inch cleaning path. The nozzle itself comes with bright LED lights and Shark’s DuoClean rollers with PowerFins for picking up dirt and buffing floors while avoiding hair and fiber tangles. It also offers a deodorizing feature with a removable, replaceable scent cartridge. Other attachments include a crevice tool with integrated brush and an angled dusting wand with anti-allergenic properties. The Stratos Cordless’s MultiFLEX wand can be angled to reach under furniture or fold over for storage.
The Stratos Cordless features Shark’s CleanSense IQ auto-sensing technology that adjusts the vacuum’s suction power depending on the amount of dirt detected. An informative, colorful LED display shows charge status and power settings.
Price and where to buy
The Shark Stratos Cordless costs $499.99. It’s available from Amazon and other major retailers as well as directly from Shark.
Setup
Setting up the Shark Stratos Cordless was generally straightforward and unremarkable. All components are packed vertically in the product box and separated by cardboard inserts. It’s easiest to begin by installing the odor-neutralizing cartridge into the floor nozzle as these are packed closest to the top. The main unit is at the far end of the product box. The Stratos Cordless comes only partially charged and it’s encouraged to fully charge the battery before first use (charging takes up to three hours). A battery charge indicator changes color to indicate charge status before turning completely off to show a full charge has been reached.
Design and maneuverability
Like most modern vacuums the Shark Stratos is mostly made of plastic, which minimizes its weight. Its design style is contemporary with metallic accents on its motor housing and an overall black-and-silver color scheme. Its main hand-vacuum unit has a flattened oblong cross-section with a vertical grip that was generally comfortable to use during testing. The MultiFLEX wand, DuoClean floor nozzle and all included attachments connect with click latches, which were easy to connect and remove during use while being secure as well.
As a floor vacuum, the Stratos Cordless was pleasantly maneuverable. It was easy to get in and out of corners, and it changed direction with just a turn of the wrist. The floor nozzle was low-profile enough to get under low furniture, but we had occasional difficulty getting it out again. As a hand vacuum, the Stratos Cordless could become somewhat unbalanced when we used the longer attachments and required two-handed operation for best control.
Battery life and recharge time
The battery of the Stratos Cordless lasted just over 60 minutes during our testing, consistent with Shark’s marketing claims. The Stratos Cordless defaults to using its CleanSense IQ auto-sensing feature, which increases or decreases suction power depending on detected dirt; we used it primarily on this setting to obtain our 60-minute battery life result.
When the battery level dipped below 10%, the Stratos automatically went into a low-power Eco mode, indicated by a green-leaf icon on its LED display. We found this mode still effective for light floor cleaning. Boost mode drained battery the fastest, followed by carpet cleaning with the floor nozzle, which was due not only to the increased work the Stratos had to do but also the energy used by running the nozzle lights.
Shark Stratos Cordless Suction power
We ran the Shark Stratos Cordless on various surfaces with different test materials to approximate common kinds of dirt and debris.
Carpet performance
We were more than satisfied with the carpet cleaning performance of the Stratos Cordless. On its automated CleanSense IQ mode, it picked up 100% of 0.5 teaspoons of granulated sugar spilled on the pile, although we noticed a few stray granules scattered onto the top of the floor nozzle by the brush rollers. It picked up 100% of 1 tablespoon of breakfast cereal in a single pass, the best results among Shark stick vacs tested. The Stratos Cordless’s nozzle had a little bit more trouble with some 2-inch long faux fur fibers that we trod into the pile; it required several passes and then Power Boost to pick them all up.
The Stratos Cordless ran as quietly as 68 decibels during the carpet tests, substantially quieter than a conventional corded upright. Power Boost increased the noise level to 80 dB, which is still quieter than some conventional vacuums. For comparison’s sake, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 80 decibels is the noise level of city traffic when you’re inside a car.
Hardwood floor performance
The hard surface cleaning of the Stratos Cordless was superb. With its default CleanSense IQ settings, it picked up 100% of 0.5 teaspoons of granulated sugar, 95% of cereal pieces and 100% of faux fur strands, each in a single pass, with only a few stray pieces of cereal being scattered by the motion of the floor nozzle. Not only that, but the buffing action of the second DuoClean roller gave the testing area’s hardwood-style vinyl-plank flooring a polished look. It also wasn’t too loud, with sound levels never exceeding 72 dB during hard-floor tests.
DuoClean PowerFins HairPro
The DuoClean floor nozzle on the Shark Stratos Cordless uses two separate roller brushes to both pick up dirt and buff or polish the floor during cleaning. One roller features Shark’s flexible PowerFins, which rotate at an angle for what Shark claims is constant contact with the floor surface. These PowerFins are designed to penetrate into carpet pile as well as maintain contact with bare flooring to pick up dirt and debris. Meanwhile, the second roller offers small, soft fibers that continue debris pick-up and also dust and polish bare floors.
We found the performance of the DuoClean rollers with PowerFins to be consistent with Shark’s claims, with the exception that the rollers sometimes had issues scattering fine particles on carpet and larger particles on bare flooring. These results are not unusual among vacuums with floor nozzles, however, so we didn’t consider them deal-breakers.
We noticed visible buffing from the DuoClean soft roller during hard-floor tests, and we had no concerns with the Stratos Cordless’s overall dirt pickup as a floor vacuum, judging from the dirt transferred to its dust cup. We also noted no hair wrap or tangles during testing, again consistent with Shark’s claims.
How does it compare to other stick vacuums we tested?
The Shark Stratos Cordless is at the top end of Shark’s cordless vacuum lineup. It has a similar shape and size of dust cup as the Shark Cordless Pro, with flatter sides than the rounded dust cup of the Shark Vertex Cordless.
Like the Vertex Cordless, the Stratos Cordless has a 300-watt motor for impressive suction in a cordless vacuum. It shares the MultiFlex Wand with the Vertex Cordless as well, although, in our tests, it alone had the anti-allergenic dusting wand. The Vertex Cordless steered less fluidly than the Cordless Pro’s floor nozzle, but they both offer the odor-neutralizing cartridge.
The Stratos Cordless cleaned as powerfully as the Vertex Cordless and more powerfully than the Cordless Pro, but it has the same smarts as the Cordless Pro, which the Vertex lacks.
Features and accessories
The Shark Stratos Cordless offers a number of features and accessories, each of which we studied during our testing.
CleanSense IQ
The CleanSense IQ system was an effective and welcome setting during testing. With it activated, we managed to clean an entire 400-square-foot space without having to worry about increasing or decreasing suction settings. We could trust it to detect dirt we could not see, which it did several times during floor cleaning, increasing suction force without our needing to do a thing. The CleanSense IQ maintained a good balance of suction power and battery life during our test period. We think it’s ideal to leave it on all the time and let it decide the best settings at each moment.
Duster crevice tool
We found the duster crevice tool a little unwieldy for some tasks. Its length makes it a natural solution for small jobs and getting into tight spaces, but it’s less suited for tasks such as vacuuming upholstery or shelves. We wished the Stratos came with a dusting/pet multitool like other Shark cordless vacuums we tested. The length also made the Stratos Cordless somewhat unwieldy when used as a hand vac, and even more so with the MultiFLEX wand in between.
Anti-allergen brush
Compared to the crevice tool, we were pleased by the anti-allergen dusting brush and wand. We liked how its long, broad blade glided over shelves, blinds and upholstery. We were particularly pleased with its ability to change angles, which helped a lot during furniture dusting.
Odor-neutralizing cartridge
The Stratos Cordless comes with an odor-neutralizing cartridge that plugs into the floor nozzle. The cartridge emits a subtle, fresh scent as the floor nozzle works. We found this feature to be pleasant during cleaning, but we weren’t sure whether it actually “neutralized” odors or just covered them up. It was a nice addition to cleaning, but we didn’t see it as particularly important, although pet households may find it useful.
How we tested the Shark Stratos Cordless
We tested the Shark Stratos Cordless in a 400-square-foot space with mixed surfaces, including medium-pile carpeting, hardwood-style vinyl plank flooring, low-pile area rugs and loose throw rugs.
Setup
We observed how the Stratos Cordless was packed in its product box and how easy it was to remove and assemble. We also noted any special instructions we needed to follow before first using the Stratos Cordless and how long it took to charge its battery after shipping.
Suction
We used sugar, puffed-rice cereal and 2-inch-long faux fur to test the Stratos Cordless and its suction power on carpet and bare flooring. We measured amounts of our test materials and used the Stratos Cordless with its floor nozzle attached to clean them up, noting how many passes it took, how complete the pickup was, what settings the Stratos used on automatic and their impact on its battery. We also used a smartphone app to measure the decibel level of the Stratos Cordless during operation.
Battery life
We measured how long the Stratos Cordless lasted on a single full charge and how long it took to recharge to full from empty. We took note of which settings or situations seemed to draw more power from the battery and which drew less.
Attachments
We used each attachment included with the Stratos Cordless as directed, evaluating them for effectiveness, balance, utility and how easy it was to connect or disconnect them while the vacuum was in use.
Cleaning
We noted how easy or difficult it was to empty the Stratos Cordless’ dust cup, how to remove it for cleaning and how to access its filters. We also looked for any wear on its attachments and hair wrap on its rollers.
The final verdict
The Shark Stratos Cordless was the most impressive cordless stick vacuum from Shark that we tested. While it had a few slight hiccups with our suction tests, its combination of power, effectiveness, battery life and advanced tech, such as CleanSense IQ, made it a complete cleaning solution. Despite its price, it doesn’t cost as much as competitors, while still being a capable and powerful all-around home vacuum. We think the Stratos Cordless is a worthwhile alternative to higher-priced cordless vacuums and an overall winner among cordless stick vacuums.